We need writers to seek out fresh metaphors and turn on our brains. Annie Murphy Paul explains why.
[A] team of researchers from Emory University reported in Brain & Language that when subjects in their laboratory read a metaphor involving texture, the sensory cortex, responsible for perceiving texture through touch, became active. Metaphors like “The singer had a velvet voice” and “He had leathery hands” roused the sensory cortex, while phrases matched for meaning, like “The singer had a pleasing voice” and “He had strong hands,” did not.
Colorful metaphoric language activates the mind while reading in a way that flat words cannot.