Thank you for taking the time/thought to understand where I'm
   coming from.

   I'm not looking to _eliminate_ the current and helpful
   distinctions between similar concepts. It's helpful to have
   terms. Within the different Sciences and within Engineering,
   there are different terms for analogous concepts. And it's _very
   important_ for the distinctions to be there, because while
   they're analogous, they're ALSO different.

   You can take an analogy too far. Metaphors / analogies- they
   have their limitations. Some of them can lead to dangerous
   ideas, even within theoretical physics :
   [1]https://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/analogy.htm [this is
   an excellent read from a physics professor warning other
   professors to BE CAREFUL with analogies, otherwise people will
   start believing The Universe is Math..... which it's not...

   [I'm making the assumption you know the Universe isn't Math
   tongue emoticon There's a guy making big $$$ writing books
   convincing ppl it is... actually a few of them. It's a case of
   an metaphorical/analogous connection gone too far].

   Anyway... all that being said, the power of metaphor goes both
   ways. While it can be dangerous and mislead people:
   [2]http://www.au.af.mil/.../milreview/paparone_metaphors.pdf - a
   nice 10 page pdf written by an air force professor on how
   Metaphors are used to lead and mislead people, in politics,
   military, science,, pretty much everywhere you go]... it can
   *also* help us with sensemaking, *if* applied correctly and with
   the knowledge that YES THIS IS A METAPHOR HERE.

References

   Visible links
   1. https://www.lhup.edu/%7Edsimanek/scenario/analogy.htm
   2. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/milreview/paparone_metaphors.pdf