analogies are used in life, in education, to help those with no understanding develop one, if sometimes in only a rudimentary way... a basic understanding is better than none at all
in this respect, analogies are useful, but if one starts to dive into detail, analogies can fall apart, fall short in its explanatory power - but once again, a discussion of these shortfalls can be quite beneficial if one seeks a detailed, specific, complete understanding of a subject/concept
in that respect this thread is a good one