Are Metaphors Misleading?

Professor Bonner from UCT would have us believe so. In his talk on SA History and How Research Interests Change, he denounced their use. He actively discourages his students from using metaphors and suggests they rather use other ways to communicate history accurately.

However, a creative workshop facilitated by a duo of professors from both the Sciences and the Humanities chose to demonstrate otherwise. Their fun-filled workshop used exercises which encouraged the Library Academy participants to explore their identity as librarians through creative freeflow writing – “keep your pen on the page … blah…blah…blah … and don’t think!!” Easy for some but not so natural for others ;-).

This creative process utilized bright paper (“landscape, not portrait please”), pens and smiles to stimulate 'action without thought'. Then, by means of identifying an appropriate metaphor, the research relationship between librarian, researcher and supervisor was depicted in a variety of diagrams, sketches and symbols. These graphical representions displayed varying levels of drawing expertise, but what was clearly communicated in all of them, was the positive and pivotal role of the librarian in the research process.

Can this in fact become a reality or as Prof Bonner says are metaphors misleading?