According to the passage,

Directions:  Read the passage and answer the question based on the contents of the passage.
Passage 3
A number of effective methods for generating new ideas are based on the use of analogies. One of the major difficulties in generating new ideas is to get going. The advantage of an analogy is that it has a life of its own. For instance, in the analogy of going fishing the process is so well known that one moves from one step to another without difficulty: finding time, choosing a stretch of water, perhaps getting a license, preparing the rod and tackle, choosing a position by the water, selecting bait,  changing  bait,  moving  about,  patience,  catching  something,  or  the  fish  that  got  away, fisherman’s stories, and so on.

In using  the analogy  method,  one  translates  the  problem  situation  in  to  an  analogy  and  then develops the analogy in its own right. From time to time, one translates back to the real problem to see  what  would  happen  if  the  process  taking  place  in  the analogy  took  place  in  the  problem situation.  For  instance,  the  fishing  analogy  might  have  been used  in  considering  a  management recruitment  problem.  “Stretch  of  water”  would  now  read  area  of  exploration,  perhaps  campus, perhaps  business  college,  perhaps  other  corporations.  “Bait” would  now  read  salary,  fringe benefits, stock options, promotion prospects, status, responsibility, location, or others.

“Fishing tackle” would now read advertising media, personal contact, interviews, word of

mouth, and  the  like.  One would  then  come  to  the  point  when  no  fish?  Perhaps  those  waters  were overfished, perhaps the bait was unsuitable, perhaps the weather conditions were not right, perhaps it was a matter of too little patience. One might then consider whether the object of the fishing was sport, the odd chance of getting something really worthwhile, or the need to have some fish to eat. If it was the last, one might consider buying fish from a professional fish catcher, buying frozen fish from a store and spending extra time cooking it, or even changing the menu so that frozen fish fitted in (fresh salmon might dominate a menu but fish fingers would not). Translated back in to the problem situation, this would all mean that if changing the incentives and the search area were unsuccessful,  then  one  ought to  have more patience, or  employ professional search agencies, or decide to spend more time on executive training on the job, or even tailor the job in such a way that exceptional executive talent was no longer required.

In mathematics, one translates a situation in to the symbols of a formula and then lets the formula run along its own course of development. At the end, one translates back. This is the way one uses analogies except that one does not only translate back at the end but all the way along as well.

Analogies serve as vehicles for processes, functions, relationships, and it is these which are being transferred to the original problem and tried out to see if they fit or what ideas they set off. The natural  development  of  an analogy is quite unrelated  to  the actual problem and  so  it provides a source of discontinuity. The problem is forced (or encouraged) to develop along a line different from its natural development.

The use of an analogy to get a problem moving is quite a different thing from arguing by analogy. No  matter  how  good  the  fit,  the  development  of  an  analogy  can  prove  nothing  about  the development of the problem situation. As usual in lateral thinking, the way one arrives at a new idea can never by itself justify that idea. The idea must stand in its own right.

How does one choose an analogy? There is a danger that if the analogy is too natural and too good a  fit,  then  its  development  will  simply  carry  the  problem  along  a  path  it  might  have  followed anyway. On the other hand, if the analogy is too outrageous it might be so difficult to translate it back in to the terms of the problem that no development at all occurs. The fishing analogy chosen earlier was probably too close an analogy, so the ideas turned up by its use were rather routine. Other analogies might have been buying a new suit, looking for antiques, stamp collecting, frying an egg. All these analogies except the last one involve a search procedure for something that has to fit in to some specific setting. Though very different in nature, the egg-frying analogy could set off ideas about job appeal (different taste in fried eggs, sunny-side up, et cetera), about timing, about sticking to the present job (sticking to the pan), and transfer devices (egg slices).