Does it link words to pictures in your mind? So there is a mapping from the word “owl” to a picture of an owl in your head?
Can I also add that I don’t think this mapping involves word definitions, so for example the word owl won’t map to the word definition of an owl since you need to define words in the definition itself. This causes a never ending chain as you keep having to define words in further definitions.
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Do 5 year olds understand what an analogy is? This is a summary of a train of thought found in *Surfaces and Essences* by Douglas Hofstadter
The meaning of a word is an analogy that represents a specific set of conditions. Conditions that happen often become memorable, and the brain learns to link these categories of experience to the words in our languages. Thinking is a pattern recognition activity.
When we learn the name of something new, our memory stores it as an idea in relationship to all the other things it reminds us of. Then we can start using it as the basis to draw conclusions about similar things as well. This is what it means to make an analogy.
For example, an owl is a bird that’s special because it can see in the dark like a cat. They’re both animals, but experience tells us how to separate the categories. Because it has feathers we know right away it’s a bird.
In this case “Bird” is the first analogy or category we recall when we think of an owl. As we learn more details we compare it to other familiar things. The defining traits are what separate the analogy of “owl” from “cat” or “animal.”
Soon enough when we look at abstract shapes like clouds sometimes we say “oh look there’s an owl!” It may just be shaped like one, but if the picture fits then the analogy works. Words are just shapes that we’ve learned to use to invoke ideas, such as of an owl.
Of course these are all chemical reactions physically happening in your head. Thoughts are things too. We don’t fully understand mechanics behind it yet but we do know certain types of cells such as neurons play key roles.
It appears that when a thought is used frequently, the neurons that activate become stronger. Much like using a muscle to build it up, frequently relying on an analogy seems to strengthen neural pathways. “Cat” probably conjures a strong image for you, yes?
This is why when we learn new words it helps to repeat them and use them as much as possible. The brain remembers patterns that get used frequently, probably because it needs to keep calling them up. Be aware of what’s going on in your head: you are what you think!
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