Metaphor and knowledge : the challenges of writing science / Ken Baake.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baake, Ken.

Series:

SUNY series, Studies in scientific and technical communication

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technical writing.

Physical Description:

x, 245 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2003]

Summary:

A volume in the SUNY series, Studies in Scientific and Technical Communication James P. Zappen, editor

Contents:

1. Introduction: the Problem with "Rules" and Why Words Will Not Sit Still 1

Harmonics: Using Music Theory to Explain How Metaphor Works in Science 7

2. A Technical Writer at the Think Tank 25

Establishing Ethos With an "Initial Impressions" Report 27

A Technical Writer's Balancing Act: Capture the Excitement of Research, but Avoid Hype 31

Writing for the Institute's Bulletin: What Happens When Technical Writers Cannot Find Their Bearings Toward an Audience 36

3. Metaphor: Constituting or Decorating Theory in Science 43

Rhetoric at the SFI: A Qualified Acceptance 53

The Meaning of Metaphor 55

Metaphors in Motion: How They Work 62

Metaphor and Science 68

Fear of Persuasion and Metaphoric Harmonics 72

Rhetorical Alternatives to Metaphor in Science 76

4. Metaphors and Mathematics: A Shared Tradition of Constituting Knowledge in Science 79

The Metaphors of Information as the New Materiality 82

Representing Reality 85

Platonic Arguments for the Supremacy of Mathematics 89

Metaphor for Understanding a Non-Algorithmic World 93

Making Sloppy Ideas Rigorous 99

No Rational Method of Having Good Ideas 107

SFI Metaphors as Theory Constitutive or Literary? A Tale of Two Terms 111

Metaphor Harmonics: Who Intends the Bee to Be Yellow? 120

Metaphor Harmonics: Emergence, the Brain, and Neural Networks 133

Equilibrium and the Prisoner's Dilemma 138

5. Science Writers Looking for Their Audience 149

Style and Eloquence in SFI Writing 152

A Matter of Invention: Writing for Scientists and the General Public 160

Incommensurability: Trying to Cross Disciplines 172

6. "Complexity": An Etymology Leading to a Discussion of Whether it is a Metaphor or Something Else 179

The Word "Complex" in the Oxford English Dictionary 181

"Complexity" Arrives in Santa Fe 191

The New "Complexity" Returns to Old Haunts 197

Is "Complexity" a Metaphor? 200

7. Managing Metaphor Harmonics and Other Challenges of Making Knowledge in Science 207

Speak Carefully and Carry a Paradigm Shift 209.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-234) and index.

ISBN:

0791457435

0791457443

OCLC:

50478479