# Metaphor **Domain:** Language / Cognition / Representation **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition A **metaphor** understands or expresses one domain through another. It is not merely decorative comparison: metaphors select correspondences, transfer structure, guide inference, and make unfamiliar relations cognitively available. Every metaphor illuminates and suppresses. Calling memory an archive highlights storage and retrieval while risking the loss of reconstruction, embodiment, and change. Responsible metaphor therefore requires attention to both explanatory gain and distortion. ## Corpus Context Metaphor is a principal connective instrument across the corpus, joining technical, biological, political, artistic, and contemplative systems without claiming that analogy proves identity. ## See Also [[wiki/Language|Language]] · [[wiki/Knowledge Representation|Knowledge Representation]] · [[wiki/Semiotics|Semiotics]] · [[wiki/Statistical Compression|Statistical Compression]]