Random Analogies
Primary Key
a: Primary key ~
b: social secruity number
What: In fact, the social security number is a primary key. By definition a primary key uniquely identifies a record in a database. This idea was necessary before electronic databases so as to keep track of individuals and their personal information. There are many unique identifiers that most people should be familiar with: license plates, finger prints and retinal scans all convey uniqueness.
Useful?
Writer: LucretiaGermanica
LCC: QA
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Dec 16 2011 7:53 PM
# 1570 Critique Analogy
Energy~money~time?
a: The krebs cycle ~
b: processing loop
What: "The Krebs cycle is like a processing loop that transforms the value of a share of IBM stock into physical cash coming out of an ATM. The share of IBM stock begins as set of bits stored somewhere in cyberspacetime on the computers run by your online stockbroker. When you sell the share of stock, the bits storing the share of stock are debited from your account and some bits over in the IBM portion of cyberspacetime are deleted too. The resulting cash value is credited to the money market bits of your online stockbroker account. From there the cash value bits can be transferred to your local bank, and ultimately, you can punch in some numbers into an ATM and out pops some physical cash that can be used to buy a cup of coffee. In this example, the share of IBM stock is like an energy rich carbohydrate molecule and the cash popping out of the ATM is like a molecule called ATP, which is the biochemical energy equivalent of cash. In a capitalistic economic system, money is the equivalent of energy in a biochemical sense, since, as everybody knows, it makes the world go round. There is an old joke in thermodynamics that energy is the ability to do work, while money is the ability not to do work."
Useful?
Writer: Steve Johnston
LCC:
Where:
Date: Dec 27 2013 11:39 AM
# 4440 Critique Analogy
a: bacteriophage ~
b: a virus for bacterial cells
What:
"A bacteriophage is like a virus for bacterial cells.in the same way that viruses (eg adenoviruses) can be used as vectors to transfer genetic information into eukaryotic cells, a bacteriphage could be used to transfer a gene which confers for example, penicillin resistance, into a bacterium. This gene is expressed and the bacterium is resistant to the given antibitoic."
Useful?
Writer: Yobbomate
LCC:
Where:
Date: Dec 14 2014 8:08 PM
# 6725 Critique Analogy
a: photorespiration ~
b: an automobile with its motor
What:
"The phenomenon of photorespiration is like an automobile with its motor running but with the clutch disengaged, so that no net movement or CO2 fixation occurs, although energy is being consumed."
Useful?
Writer: David D. Davies
LCC:
Where:
Date: Dec 17 2014 2:19 PM
# 6812 Critique Analogy
