An enormous amount of scientific language is metaphorical. We talk about a genetic code, where code originally meant a cipher; we talk about the solar system model of the atom as though the atom were like a sun and moon and planets.
Steven PinkerA successful learner, . . . must be constrained to draw some conclusions from the input and not others.
Steven PinkerAs women are empowered, violence can come down, for a number of reasons. By all measures, men are the more violent gender.
Steven PinkerAs technology accumulates and people in more parts of the planet become interdependent, the hatred between them tends to decrease, for the simple reason that you can't kill someone and trade with him too.
Steven Pinker