The roles of the metaphor in the scientific dissemination

In this article we analyze in a succinct way the different roles that metaphor can play in relation to the processes of the popularization of science. One is as a rhetorical mechanism similar to that of a literary metaphor: a figure full of evocations and suggestions which can arouse the desire to continue exploring. Another is referential: to be able to think and express complex concepts and phenomena in terms that are relatively familiar, as long as, however, they are used in conditions that do not give rise to important errors. The last role is that of replacing certain conceptual models (conceptual metaphors) incorporated by tradition in the cultural context with other, more adequate ones which, in principle, are incompatible with the former.