Categories: Pseudo-explanations
An example of anthropomorphism in popular science discourse:
"The discovery that somehow atoms of uranium were able, of their own volition, to radiate energy, apparently without changing, was itself sensational because that was almost like perpetual motion."
Prof. Frank Close, University of Oxford, was as talking on an episode ('The uses and abuses of the atom') of BBC's 'Start the Week'.
volition: "the power to make your own decisions" (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/volition)
Read examples of anthropomorphism in science
Many examples of anthropomorphism are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.
