Definitions by MavLinguisticsInc
Quantaphor
A metaphor that evolves beyond analogy and becomes a model for the very process that created it; a recursive metaphor that explains both the subject and how the subject came to be understood.
Often occurs when someone creates a metaphor, realises the metaphor itself demonstrates the phenomenon being described, and subsequently disappears down an intellectual rabbit hole trying to explain what just happened.
Often occurs when someone creates a metaphor, realises the metaphor itself demonstrates the phenomenon being described, and subsequently disappears down an intellectual rabbit hole trying to explain what just happened.
“His description of his brain as air-traffic control became a model for explaining how his brain generated the air-traffic-control metaphor in the first place.”
“That’s not just a metaphor. That’s a quantaphor.”
See also: meta-metaphor; recursive metaphor; Mav Linguistics Inc.
“That’s not just a metaphor. That’s a quantaphor.”
See also: meta-metaphor; recursive metaphor; Mav Linguistics Inc.
Quantaphor by MavLinguisticsInc September 28, 2026
