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Read other letters about this article
Unless you wanted a discussion about 9/11 :)
Pictures are a terrible way to convey information. People have a tendency to think they are infallible, when nothing could be further from the truth. We've known for a long, long time that by altering or removing the context of a picture we can make something appear to be what we want, because our brains are hard wired to identify everything we see as fast as possible. You don't have to have a picture of a thing, you just have to have a picture of something that most people will identify as that thing.
People don't see what they want to see, they see what they expect to see because that's the fastest possible connection they can make. It's a survival trait. Comes in pretty handy when that large shape flying out of the underbrush is a saber toothed tiger, but it can be problematic when looking at 3/4 of a second of a jetliner in flight. Works with auditory stimulus as well.
So sadly, even leaving out the issues around digital enhancement and modification of pictures and sound, words really are the best way to convey information, because we have to think about them. Doesn't stop people from trying to make them say what they wanted them to say, but at least they have to work at it a little.
