Power of Words

Characters

Express meaning. Somehow, we trained our brains to interpret and imagine complex scenarios by seeing letters and characters. We associate symbols with language and ideas. Typed words and spoken speech are forms of communication, but how powerful is language? 

Art from 5 cm per second.

Text. 

We see them all the time. This is text. We mostly read texts to gather information. This event happened. This is the consequence. This is what they think will happen. We read books for intellectual exploration. We transcribe words into a story in our mind, and we enhance the story with our emotions. Legal contracts and official documents are written in words. Words are written symbols for spoken languages. Spoken languages communicate ideas. Words communicate ideas. 

But is it dry? 

Imagine reading a history textbook. It is hard to get into it if you are not super interested in history. Now imagine watching Schindler's List, and seeing history through a series of images with sound. That is way more powerful and way more interesting. It seems like images, videos, and forms of visual communication trump written communication. Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

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Words are more accessible. 

While visuals are good, they are often hard to access. Recording videos takes hardware, technology, and time. Viewing videos takes internet access. Words are easier to access. Texts are easier to transfer online and require less advanced technology. Texts are easily printed into physical form, paper, and we can interact with them. We can't print a movie. We can view it on a computer, but a computer is expensive. Paper is less expensive. 

Moreover, texts are more permanent than technology based communication. Videos are encoded in various ways, and new technology may be incompatible with older technology. Texts, however, have been around for centuries, and while they have evolved, we will always have access to them. The technology to decode text is within our brain.

Art from 5cm per second.

Romantic.

While written language is accessible, it is also a form of art. Our world is relative: if everything's the same, no matter how exciting that thing is, it will become boring. If you watch movies all the time, your bar for enjoyment from movies will rise as everything becomes cliche and boring.

Variations bring excitement into our lives. Pictures and videos are powerful, but words can also be powerful. And sometimes, when visuals cannot do their job, words can fill in the gap. There are sentiments associated with written words that can't be replaced. Icons of hearts just don't seem as powerful as "I love you."