ABSTRACT
Metaphor and science are inextricably linked. Many simply incorrectly believe that scientific discourse contains no metaphors. Scientific texts are thought by some to be characterised by the use of clear, precise, unambiguous language suitable for reflecting the unembellished truth of science, with metaphors occurring rarely, if at all. The last few hundred years have seen an abundance of scientific metaphors and this is a tendency that continues until this day, in spite of the efforts of the logical positivists and others. Metaphors and analogies are essential to science and theory. From at least the time when the eleventh-century monk Constantine the African, working on metaphorical principles, used the Latin word cataracta to describe a rather nasty condition of the eye, metaphor has been used as a basis for scientific and medical terminology. In spite of some dissenting voices, metaphor is an inseparable part of scientific discourse and has been for many centuries.
