Brandon J. Van Every said:
>From grade school in the USA:
>'A metaphor is a comparison using "IS." Whereas a simile is a
>comparison using "LIKE" or "AS." '
>A metaphor is a substitution where one thing IS something else.
>If a GUI desktop is a metaphor, then we don't make things that are
>LIKE a desktop... we make something that IS a desktop. We put
>something that IS a file into something that IS a trashcan. We reify
>reality. It is no longer a virtual representation or comparison to
>something else, it IS a reality.
Surely we use metaphors to explain the unknown or unfamiliar in terms of
what is already understood? Hence the attempt to make desktop computers
easier to use(has it been successful?). There is no 'trashcan' or 'file'
on a GUI desktop, just a collection of a few pixels providing the
software designers idea of one(or perhaps you are a Mac user Brandon?
in which case it probably does look like a desktop);-)
You have to be sure that your metaphor will transcend cultural
boundaries too.
On the question of whether we mirror reality in cyberspace - yes if it
gains us something. There is little point in building a virtual park if
we could easily experience it in reality. I feel that one of the main
goals of virtual environments should be to allow us to experience things
that we could not experience any other way(e.g space travel)...er I
accept that this might be considered to be reality.
Just my opinion!
Cheers,
Deb
Software Engineer
Fisher-Rosemount
Leicester, UK
e-mail : pritchard@leic2.frco.com