concept to sense experiences is like ticket number to overcoat

Categories: Comparisons

An example of an analogy (and a non-analogy) to explain a scientifc idea:

"An adherent of the theory of abstraction or induction might call our layers [of the conceptual system] 'degrees of abstraction': but I do not consider it justifiable to veil the logical independence of the concept from the sense experiences. The relation is not analogous to that of soup to beef but rather of check number to overcoat."

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (1936) Physics and Reality

Read about analogy in science

Read examples of science analogies

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Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.