The Key Vision

A new directive from the National Science Foundation ordered all researchers to stop looking for "keys" that will dramatically unlock the secrets behind their research. The order came swiftly after a new study showed that a "holistic vision" was a more powerful metaphor than the lock and key. Administrators at the National Science Foundation predicted the new directive would increase discoveries by 47 percent and produce significant economies of effort.

The recent news of the metaphoric failure of the lock and key image shocked many researchers. Landon P. Murphy, a cancer specialist at Harvard's Women and Children's Hospital said, "We spent our time searching for one key insight that would open up the field and provide us all of nature's abundant secrets. One simple key insight can do that for you."

In the future, all researchers will train their minds to search for a holistic picture that encompasses all of their knowledge. An inclusive understanding is thought to yield more discoveries in a faster time period because the grand vision can often see the entire forest, not just the trees.

"Let's say you're on top of a mountain. You can see much farther than you can at the base even if you have a key to the tunnel under the mountain," said Bruce Konstantine, an Executive Deputy Administrative Aide at the NSF. "We want our researchers to focus on establishing the grand vision."

Some scientists balked at the new directive and countered with a metaphor of their own.