The standard proportional analogy format 'A is to B as C is to D' (e.g., 'shoe is to foot as glove is to hand') is commonly used on IQ tests and SATs but represents a narrow, overly formal definition of analogy that misses the true nature of how analogies function in cognition; restricting analogy to this formula puts analogy 'into a little tiny box.'

normativepending

Speaker

Douglas Hofstadter

Evidence Quote

that's not how I think of analogy, either... putting it into a little tiny box and saying that all of analogy is A is to B as C is to D... it misses the point.

Source

Analogy as the Core of CognitionStanford
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:12:22 PM

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