The Bias of Language, the Bias of Pictures

The Bias of Language, the Bias of Pictures reminds me of our discussion regarding absolute truth, and the idea that we are unable to reach an absolute truth, and even if an individual could experience the truth they are limited by language to convey or share the truth. Postman's essay talks about how an event can occur but following the actual incident no two people will recall or remember the event that same, so when someone listens or relies on someone else to give them an account of what happened their memory won't ever be precisely correct giving the listener a false perception of the event. He also addresses that this problem is unavoidable and it is a responsibility of a viewer or listener to approach the documentation of events or news with knowledge that what they are saying isn't "absolute truth."
The point that stands out most from The Bias of Language, the Bias of Pictures is Postman's idea regarding the value of pictures vs. the value of words. He writes, "It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe so. But it is probably equally true that one word is worth a thousand pictures." Like he says, the beginning statement is much more commonly heard, and personally I always agreed with the little saying. But, after reading Postman's piece the idea that words can covey so much more because a little more realistic. His statement about how newscasts could be printed onto one sheet of paper, baffled me. News programs are an attempt to inform viewers about the world surrounding them and it obvious that that cannot be accomplished in one page of data and information.