Faulty Analogy Injection
A vivid analogy imports conclusions that hold in the source domain and not in yours — 'it's like Netflix for X', 'the economy is a household'. Analogies transfer structure; misleading ones transfer surface.
An everyday example
'Data is the new oil' used to justify hoarding data that costs more to store and secure than it will ever yield.
What it can cost you
Reasoning inside someone else's metaphor; decisions that are valid for the analogy and wrong for the case.
Warning signs
- I am reasoning about the metaphor, not the case.
- The analogy came from the party it favours.
One thing to do
For any analogy, list where the structure matches and where it breaks; decide on the breaks.
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