3V0777.01 Analogies — their incomprehension; deep role in cognition. (3/9/80)

Peggy woke me at midnight, she had a stuffy nose and was crying for
her Mommy. we played in the sitting room, she in my lap. Pointing to
a foxy, she said ‘Get foxy.’ I replied ‘Too far away.’ She continued ‘Like
a fader.’ Surprised, I asked, ‘He’s like a father ?’
P : ‘Yes. Big. ?
B : ‘Because he’s so big ?’
P : ‘Yes.’
I picked up things within reach, a rabbit and a toy gun. Peggy stuffed
the rabbit between her legs and the chair, then she picked up the gun.
After a few rotations and trigger pulls, she pointed to a small protrusion
about the handle ‘Who’s that ?’ (I didn’t answer.) She continued, ‘Tail ?’
Then picking up the rabbit by the tail, she said, ‘Rabbit have tail…(of
the gun, pointing again) Have uh tail ?’

This is as clear an example as one could wish to have of Peggy’s using
her part knowledge of one thing (animals) to analyze what the parts
are of things of a different sort. This is not a superficial simile, it is a
deep use of analogy to understand what’s what.

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