Analogy Builder: AI Prompts for Analogies That Make Ideas Stick

Why Analogies Work

Your brain doesn’t store information in isolation. It builds knowledge by connecting new ideas to existing ones. When you learn that “the cell membrane is like a security checkpoint,” you’re not just memorizing words — you’re linking unfamiliar biology to familiar experience. That connection makes the new concept easier to understand, remember, and apply.

This is why analogy prompts for understanding are so powerful. Instead of building knowledge from scratch, you borrow structure from something you already know. The checkpoint analogy gives you instant intuition about the membrane: it lets some things through, blocks others, and checks everything that passes. You didn’t need to memorize that — you inferred it from the familiar domain.

The Analogy Bridge prompt (PR054) makes this explicit. You tell AI what you already understand, and it translates unfamiliar content into your language. A programmer learning economics gets analogies about systems and feedback loops. A chef learning chemistry gets analogies about combining ingredients under heat. Same concept, different mental scaffolding.

The Prompt: Bridge to Familiar Ground

PR054 has three inputs: the unfamiliar topic (what you’re trying to learn), the passage you’re reading, and your familiar domain (what you already know well). The output includes three things:

Parallels: What corresponds to what? If you’re learning about neural networks and you know cooking, the AI might explain that layers in a neural network are like stages in a recipe — each one transforms the input and passes it to the next. The parallels give you entry points.

Limits: Where does the analogy break down? Neural networks don’t have a “chef” making decisions — they’re more like a recipe that adjusts itself based on whether diners liked the dish. Knowing the limits prevents overgeneralizing.

Mental model: What framework can you carry forward? This is the simplified scaffolding that helps you think about the new topic even when you’re not looking at the analogy anymore.

Three Types of Analogies

Structural analogies compare how things are organized. “A company’s hierarchy is like an army’s chain of command.” These work well for understanding systems, processes, and relationships.

Functional analogies compare what things do. “Enzymes are like scissors that cut specific shapes.” These work well for understanding mechanisms, purposes, and effects.

Experiential analogies connect to personal experience. “Learning a new framework feels like moving to a new city — everything is unfamiliar at first, but you build mental maps over time.” These work well for understanding abstract processes and emotional states.

When you ask for analogies, consider which type would help most. Understanding what something is? Ask for structural. Understanding what it does? Ask for functional. Understanding what it feels like? Ask for experiential.

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Taking analogies literally. The cell membrane isn’t actually a checkpoint with guards. If you push an analogy too far, you’ll reach conclusions that don’t apply. Always check: “Does this inference come from the actual concept or just the analogy?”

Pitfall 2: Using only one analogy. Single analogies emphasize certain features and hide others. A cell membrane as “checkpoint” highlights selectivity but hides fluidity. Add a second analogy — “also like a soap bubble that can merge and reshape” — and you get a more complete picture.

Pitfall 3: Vague familiar domains. “Explain this like I’m a student” gives AI nothing to work with. “Explain this like I run a small restaurant” gives specific structures: inventory, staff, customers, daily operations, cash flow. Specificity creates better bridges.

Combining with Other Prompts

Analogies work well alongside other comprehension tools. If you don’t know enough to understand a passage, start with the Prerequisites Prompt (C011) to fill knowledge gaps. Then use analogies to connect the new knowledge to what you now understand.

For complex text, use the 3-Step Simplification Workflow (C009) first to identify the core ideas, then request analogies for the concepts that remain unclear. Analogies work best when you’ve already isolated what you need to understand.

Explore the full Understand Difficult Text pillar for more comprehension tools, or return to the AI for Reading hub for the complete prompt ecosystem.