The Contrarian. Chapter 6

"An image is worth more than a thousand words."

I decided to create a section called THE CONTRARIAN. Here I reflect on popular phrases and take the opposite side of their fundamental premise.

Even if there are relative truths to be found in them, I propose a contrarian view to the universal wisdom they claim.

“An image is worth more than a thousand words”

This is an AI generated image by ChatGPT when asked to create an art form that humans had not invented yet; one result was “emotional cartography”. Imagine a city map showing the collective emotional pulse of the people that live in. How many words in this image?

The Contrarian is back!

Today the contrarian comes with a short post to reflect on a phrase we've all heard: "An image is worth more than a thousand words."

It's a nice sentiment, and I won’t deny that we have all seen a picture able to capture so well (and beyond) an idea that it felt impossible to describe with a few words. Or those images that take our mind in multiple directions for interpretation, what would be the best words to use in such case?

How many thoughts can be triggered by this image? How many words are needed to describe this? and describe what? Is it just a baby playing in the kitchen sink?

is this his daily bath in the kitchen sink because water is very limited in the house to do it in the bathtub? do they even have a bathtub? is this a mansion with many bathtubs and big bathrooms but the kid loves to have his baths in the kitchen? or is it actually his weekly bath (no water to spare) hence the extra joy of the kid? is this kid taking a bath at all? is this kid seeing fresh natural water flow out of a faucet inside a house for the first time? or do the parents even know he is inside the kitchen sink right now and he is just being a kid? Is this moment capturing the whole joy of a family through the kid because for the first time in a long time this house has fresh water? or is it maybe a moment of major family sadness with the parents crying in hiding by the side while letting their son play with water in the sink because actually the water service will be cut the next day due to lack of payment? or is this kid so happy because after insisting for so long, this is the first time the parents let him play in the kitchen sink like this?

Even for each one of those possible situations, how many words would be needed to describe them, to share the back story, to tell us more about the kid and his family, to capture the full sentiment?

So of course, one image may need more than a thousand words to describe it. But, does that mean that a picture is worth more than a thousand words? (head to head, pound by pound, any metaphorical interpretation out). I don’t think so!

Maybe I’m so busy at work and with life that I missed the news! Do we have now an official exchange rate between words and pictures? Maybe in this Instagram world we live, the word has been so devalued that even the phrase I’m using may be outdated… and an image has become worth more than a million words!! Do we need to bring 100,000 words to buy a good picture in the Bazaar of ideas these days? Is there an official exchange rate in the market that updates daily? Why do we even need words anymore? Aren’t pictures, selfies, cartoons and emojis all we need to express ourselves?

Let's be honest, "an image is worth more than a thousand words" as an axiom, it’s completely false!

An artistic image can convey a million words as much as a poetic word can convey a thousand images. But are images per se worth more than words? absolutely not!

And the Contrarian has decided to plant a firm flag here today!

The Power of Words

A beautiful artistic picture or a well crafted cartoon can convey a lot of information at a single glance, but can they really capture the nuance, depth and complexity of well articulated words? Not even close.

In fact, I would argue that words are infinitely more powerful than images. Take me back to that Bazar and I will bargain a lot more images for just very few of my words.

Images can mobilize and inspire, even open a window into a new universe of perception, convey exquisitely the mood of a particular moment, make us think deeply, trigger emotions, even cry… but they can never take us on a real journey. And this is the fundamental difference!

Images can be perhaps the most powerful catalysts but words are the enablers. A thousand well placed words can educate, transform, touch hearts and minds, and move people to action.

This is by the way, not known as the “I Have a Dream” image, but as the “I Have a Dream” speech!

Think of some of the influential speeches in history; Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream", Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches", Lincoln’s “Gettysburg address”, or Kennedy’s “We Choose to go the Moon” speech.

There are no collections of images that could have capture the fullness of the narratives needed to engage and inspire humanity to mobilize.

Take for example the 1962 iconic speech by J.F.K about the space program and the words needed to challenge to a whole Nation to do (literally at the moment) “the impossible.”

“We meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. (…) We shall send to the moon 240,000 miles away, a giant rocket, more than 300 feet tall on an untried mission to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to Earth. But why some say the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why 35 years ago fly the Atlantic? We choose to go to the moon. We chose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone. And therefore, as we set sail, we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure that man has ever gone.”

Let's not forget the power of storytelling, topic we will not even touch upon today. Stories have been used for centuries to pass down wisdom, teach important lessons, and connect people across cultures and generations. A single story can have a profound impact on our lives, shaping the way we see the world and inspiring us to do and be better.

So why do we persist in this idea that images can even be more important than words?

The truth is that in a world where attention spans are shrinking and superficiality reigns supreme, we need words more than ever. We need thoughtful, nuanced, and insightful ideas that challenge us to think deeply and critically about the world around us.

Words are powerful because they are the body and the soul of how ideas are born into this world.

The Contrarian doubles down:

“A Word is worth more than a thousand Images”

Think about it – words have the power to conjure up entire worlds in our minds. They can create vivid mental images, evoke powerful emotions, and transport us to places we've never been before. Words can inspire us, motivate us, and move us to tears.

Words are also incredibly versatile. They can be used to educate, to entertain, to persuade, and to inform. The same words can be used to describe the mundane details of everyday life, to express vulnerable emotions or to explore the deepest mysteries of the human experience.

Think of words capable of conveying multiple images and interpretations.

Love for example, the many different images you would need to convey all the possible meanings and nuances of this emotion. It can be romantic, platonic, familial, or even spiritual. It can be passionate or gentle, all-consuming or fleeting. The images that come to mind when we think of love can range from a warm embrace to a beautiful sunset to a simple act of kindness.

And Freedom? This word can evoke images of open fields, flying birds and ocean waves; but also inspires us to thinking about political and social freedom, from slavery to the freedoms to speak out or to practice one's religion. Images to express freedom can be refreshing, exhilarating or intimidating.

I think we should all try hard to scroll less and read more.

“My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel. It is, before all, to make you see.”

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

P.S. Before I go, here you have “The Treat,” where I share some of the music that made me company while writing … Enjoy as you bid farewell to this post

“Lead yourself, Learn to live. Lead others, Learn to Build.”

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