They're equivalent in a limited context.
   That, to me, is the point of metaphors: the limiting of context
   comes with it for free.
   A computer mouse is equivalent to a real mouse in the sense that
   it has a similar shape to a mouse and, prior to wireless mice,
   had a form of a tail.

   They are equivalent in a limited sense. I see equivalent as
   running from very weak to strong, in the same manner that
   metaphors run from very weak to strong. I'm simply extending the
   strong into the realm of very strong, which would be
   mathematics. It's not that much of a stretch.

   Thank you for the points. I'm keeping a tally someplace. I'm
   doing well, but I have a ways to go, hence why I bring up my
   ideas while they're still in the formative stages - in order to
   get the necessary challenges to my thinking to help me
   correct/modify them, as we're doing now.

   Believe me when I say, I appreciate the challenge.