For example, Moore notes that metaphors imported from biology into economics may distort impressions of the economy by making it seem more natural than it really is. Economic systems have governments, which are not present in the rain forest. Suzanne Dulle, SFI director of business relations and external affairs, says that the language of complexity has flooded the popular business-book press, leading to an expectation among some business people that they can spend a few days at SFI and come away knowing how to save their company money. Metaphor is a major rhetorical focus at SFI, but it is not the only one. Other problems involve researchers having to modify their speaking and writing according to the needs of a lay audience.
People often wonder what the research means to their lives, to the world at large.
SFI scientists also face a unique challenge when writing to an audience of specialists in another field. At times they're frustrated when trying to publish their results in scholarly journals that may not be receptive to the unique and almost poetic language of complexity science. Joshi's compromise with eloquent language reveals the true essence of metaphor as a midwife of knowledge. Ken Baake is a doctoral candidate in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.