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by sebscholl 2477 days ago
I have a really hard time swallowing the idea of analogies being over-rated. There is so much literature behind the effectiveness of analogies in learning, particularly in sciences: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8518/367cc1ef090ea263c39e91...

Why do you feel this way?

1 comments

I should correct myself and say that Analogies are "Overused". Feynman's teaching style had frequent use of Analogies but as a way to clarify the concept, not manifest the concept using an analogy in a didactic manner to students. He explained things in plain english first.

Analogies definitely have a place in learning but it should be carefully prefaced with a warning that analogies can only go so far. You can't explain Quantum Electrodynamics using analogies or you're misleading the students.

Challenge accepted.