Metaphors are ubiquitous rhetorical devices that, as their etymology suggests, transfer or carry over meanings from one domain to another. Recent evidence shows that far from being simple flourishes, metaphors end up shaping our thinking and determining our strategies for solving problems and gathering information.

At least that is what Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky propose in their recent study. In a set of experiments, these two investigators gave a sample of participants a report describing increasing crime rates in the imaginary city of Addison. Half the participants were given a report in which crime was metaphorically referred to as a beast preying on the city;