Metaphors are like knives. You can use them to cut yourself and if you throw rocks at them, they fall apart

Metaphors and analogies are powerful tools to make the indescribable describable and the nonunderstandable understandable.

As with every tool misused, though, they can be dangerous, leading to wrong conclusions or creating unwanted side effects.

By showing a few analogies and metaphors that are commonly used in our field and how taking them too far makes things worse instead of better, I’ll try to show you ways of detecting these fallacies and at the same time drop some serious opinionated shit on your heads, like a pigeon after the third taco. Or something.

Transcript

1. Metaphors are like knives —
   You can use them to cut yourself and if
   you throw rocks at them, they fall apart
   Jan Krutisch for Scottish Ruby Conf 2013
   http://jan.krutisch.de/
   @halfbyte
   

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2. Metaphors are like knives —
   You can use them to cut yourself and if
   you throw rocks at them, they fall apart
   Jan Krutisch for Scottish Ruby Conf 2013
   http://jan.krutisch.de/
   @halfbyte
   

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14. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_factory_interior,_published_1909.jpg
    

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24. "But this is a case where I think
    scrum in particular, and agile in
    general just got it wrong. No
    battle was won by gaining the
    consensus of the soldiers."
    Uncle Bob
    

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25. "And if you don’t think
    developing a system is a battle
    against time, resources, and
    attitudes, then you’ve never
    built a system."
    Uncle Bob
    

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26. https://sites.google.com/site/unclebobconsultingllc/master-craftsman-teams
    

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33. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cflat/2910553722/
    

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35. • Jan Krutisch
    • Freelance Web Developer
    • Hamburg/ Germany
    • http://jan.krutisch.de
    • jan@krutisch.de
    • http://thesinglepageapp.com
    Thank You. Questions?
    

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