3 ms·

Words also inform context (bi-directional), symbols derive their meaning entirely from context.

• yiyus 8y ago
  They may give some more context, but you usually need to know the domain up to some point anyway. For example: a = &b; may just be a weird bunch of symbols if you don't know C. But my point is that, anyway, for someone who doesn't have any idea about what a pointer is: a is pointer_to b; is not going to make it obvious, and it is going to make a simple program with a linked list a nightmare to read for those who know. I am aware it is also very easy to show an example where symbols are much less helpful than words. Some good ones were given in this thread. I am just suggesting to keep an open mind because I have the feeling symbols can actually make some programs more readable, although finding the right balance is not an easy task.