The Mind's Eye Originally published in educational Horizons , Winter 1993. There is a long tradition in Western society that equates visibility with truth. The philosopher crawling from Plato's cave leaves behind the shadows of Illusion and turns to face the clear light of Reality. That we find these awkward or ridiculous idioms is another indication of the strength of the tradition of visual metaphor. Lips move and heads bob and understanding remains a grand presumption.
Seminars are the talk-shows of higher education.
In the course of his or her professional preparation, every teacher has had the experience of having to listen to a long lecture on the evils of lecturing. The visual metaphor has mislead us. They are sufficient unto themselves, when properly presented, needing nothing in the way of context or reader interpretation to define or discover their truth. This is the model of understanding which has grown out of the visual metaphor. It is the basis for innumerable reading programs.