Do words matter? How about metaphors?
“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” -John Keating, character in the movie Dead Poet’s Society
Do words matter? I am sure of it. If you believe words matter, then it’s time to stop using “the lost year.” Words can destroy you momentarily, debilitate you long-term, demolish your reputation forever. On the other side, they can inspire you to take positive action, uplift your heart and emotions, and strengthen your personal and professional relationship. Written words, the currency of academics, matter just as much, if not more, than spoken words. Spoken words dissipate. Written words are forever. Or however long the preserving media lasts.
Why letting go of “the lost year” matters
As the vaccines against the coronavirus roll out, I have seen a number of articles talking about “the lost year.” This is incredibly unfair to the teachers and professors who have worked ridiculously long hours to meet the demands of online, in-person, or hybrid classrooms. It’s an unwarranted criticism of both students and parents, who have struggled to keep learning while their own working lives have been upended. At the college level, professors have worked to keep classrooms engaging when pushed onto video platforms that simply do not lend themselves to engaging interaction around intellectual ideas.
We need to stop calling this time “the lost year” and come up with a new way to frame this time. Perhaps we could refer to it as “the slow year,” “the year of living differently” or even more straightforwardly, “the pandemic year.” It might even be “the found year” for some people who feel like the slowdown helped them find themselves again, or even for the first time. I like “the pandemic year.” For me that covers the reality of how the experience was for all of us, whether working and learning from home, unable to work or learn from home, coping with the grief of small losses like coffee dates with friends, or with enormous losses like the deaths of loved ones. Most of us weren’t actually lost after all. Most of us were busy coping.
Words matter because they can hurt us
Words can literally hurt. Verbal stimuli can activate the pain-processing centers in the brain. Prof. Dr. Thomas Weiss, in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, conducted a study (2010) showing merely saying “this might hurt a bit” before a shot causes activation of pain memory, which can show up in subsequent visits for shots. Think about how inhibiting that could be in terms of rolling out vaccines. Words like “terrifying,” “disgusting,” or “strenuous,” set us up to feel those things. Words might even intensify chronic pain. Weiss has continued to update and solidify this work, publishing on the valence of words as recently as March 2021.
Metaphors can help us understand
The metaphors we use matter, too. Just as a reminder, A metaphor is a figure of speech describing an object or action making comparisons in a way that’s not literally true. In Metaphors We Live By (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) the authors discuss the use of metaphor as pervasive in human life, so much so that we often do not even realize we are using them. Two simple examples are “swimming upstream” to describe an arduous task; or “All the world’s a stage” to describe human life as an ongoing drama.
Scientific metaphors shape research
For centuries we talked about the workings of the universe as a mechanical clock, ticking time over in predictable fashion following the natural laws of physics. The clock metaphor persists in science today, though the use of the term “conductor,” particularly in cell biology contexts, seems to be the currently preferred metaphor. Biological clocks are now described as “orchestrators” of cellular processes. But the clock metaphor remains. It’s easily grasped by the human mind.
Or consider how we talk about the brain. For more than a century, we have thought about how the brain works in mechanical terms as computers, encoders, or hard-wired things. If something is hard-wired, we generally assume it cannot be changed. In the latter half of the 20th century, much research was done around the concept of neuroplasticity. We now know the neural networks in the brain can make new connections and change neuron pathways, even after brain injuries. Such changes can be beneficial to the individual, for instance, allowing cortical reorganization to reduce the experience of chronic pain.
These highly complex neural networks interact with the outside world and have effects on our actions. Hard-wiring as a metaphor has now largely been replaced by the idea of networks and emergent behaviors. In this way, it is possible to describe a whole complex system without having to know exactly what each individual part is doing. Or as my mother would have said it, “The whole is more than the parts,” and the whole emerges from the way the parts interact with each other and the world.
Scientific researchers now understand choosing particular metaphors shape the line of inquiry. If you believe the universe operates like a clock, you will be less inclined to embrace ideas like the relativity of time. If you believe human biology is controlled like a timepiece, you may find it difficult to recognize that circadian rhythms vary enormously from individual to individual. And if you see the brain as a computing machine, you are less likely to honor the biological and chemical components necessary to its best functioning. Neuroscientist Dr. Karen Shue has noted the brain as a computer metaphor devalues both the way the brain works and what it needs to work. Not to mention devaluing the whole complex interaction of the brain and the world.
Choose the words—and the metaphors–you use wisely
It’s clear that words and metaphors matter. They have the power to influence your perception, your relationships for good or ill, and even the way you go about doing your research. So back to where I started: Let’s stop using “the lost year” and settle on a different term for the last 12 months or so. Use one of the ones I suggested or a new one you make up. I am going to make sure I don’t use “the lost year” in favor of “the pandemic year”, and I hope you choose your words wisely, too.
Saying we “lost a year” negates all that was accomplished by so many in the face of incredible difficulties.
If you are still struggling with letting go of the problems caused by the pandemic year set up a complimentary appointment with Hillary.
Tags: academia, academic, attitude, change, communication, letting go
Hi Hillary:
Your post about the impact of words was beautifully written, very timely and relevant — especially now, when words are being weaponized by groups across the political and social spectrums to attack, denigrate and impugn each other via the internet.
On the individual level, especially where career health is concerned, it’s incredulous how so many people don’t apply any brakes in venting their anger towards those whom they disagree with. Hence, they send emails calling a colleague an “incompetent idiot” because of how they handled a project, or post a clarion message exhorting others to abuse, discriminate against, and even physically attack a leader because they find their politics anathema to their own.
As we witness on an hourly basis, those who disseminate their vicious lexicon via social media, texting, and emails, demonstrate scant concern that their words can come back to seriously haunt them, especially when their character, behavior, and personality will be scrutinized by influencers who are considering hiring or promoting them, becoming their customers — or forming an alliance with them.
Thank you again for sharing your wisdom!
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Jeff! I like to tell people, “what you put on the internet is out there forever.” Good reason to be circumspect and practice kindness.