Text is using a series of efficient pictures to communicate. I liken it to radix-based numbers. I could write 1,749 tallies on a piece of paper, or I could writ

Text is using a series of efficient pictures to communicate. I liken it to radix-based numbers. I could write 1,749 tallies on a piece of paper, or I could write the base-10 number. I have to learn decimal numbers: my intended audience needs to learn decimal numbers. But the resulting efficacy is a thousandfold. I think of letters and words like digits, but for communicating broader concepts. So when we lack the symbols or combinations to express something, we need a unique picture to do so. Pictures are worth a thousand words, but only when a thousand words won’t suffice.