Which machine is the mind?

The present chapter investigates the conceptualization of the Mind as a Machine in English. I argue that this formulation is vague and not informative: the source domain of Machine is vast and there are numerous types of Machines that have changed following major technological developments. Duly, the terms (and models) used to describe the Mind have evolved consequently. Thus, this chapter explores the linguistic realizations of some of the most recent subcases of the Mind as a Machine: Electric Devices, Computers; and it verifies the possible extension to Internet and Smartphones. The linguistic items considered in this research were retrieved through introspection and focus-groups with experts. Secondly, I validated and examined their meaning in online corpora and through lexicographic research. Results show the intricacy and pervasiveness of the metaphor the mind is a machine, and advocate for accuracy and carefulness in the choice of words used to talk about the mind.