An analogy explains one thing by showing how it is like another. For example DNA is like an instruction book
for building living things. DNA isn’t really a book, it is a molecule, but
equating it with an instruction book makes it easier to understand the concept. Learning and communicating science is full of
analogies because comparing complex concepts to every day experiences makes
them more accessible. Analogies don’t necessarily show a real connection
between the things in comparison but they show how they are similar.
There is another type of comparison in biology called
homology. Homology doesn’t illustrate similarities in functionality by
comparing the unfamiliar to the familiar it actually shows how things are the
same when their function is different. Where analogies are illustrative of
function homologies demonstrate actual similarities between organisms that
appear diffierent.
Analogy shows how different things are similar.
Homology shows how things that appear completely different
are actually the same.
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