I came across a question on some website about Photography and there a question was asked :
When can a picture be worth a thousand words?
Well I know what the phrase means and the explanation but the when part makes it absurd. What do you think? What according to you could be a better answer?
You can ask the examiner to explain it to you if you're not sure. Communicating with the examiner about the question will never get you penalized if you are truly fluent.
You can begin by stating that "when" can have two meanings:
1) "How": then the picture will gain value by displaying something that is worth something for certain people, that is "rare" for them. Paparazzis know their job for example. They might focus on information that I consider worthless, but my opinion does not reflect what is thought by millions of tabloids readers. In that case, I got a bit off the mark, since it must be worth "a thousand words".
2) "Which time": as said above, a specific picture will be worth a thousand words only if media, their customers and their hierarchy think fit to speak about this image. Nontheless, something can be worthless today and be a treasure tomorrow. Which percentage of Western populations cared about topics such as the environment, before being "educated" by the media and the politics? Using the same reflection, a picture of beached whales could be totally irrelevant at the beginning of the 20th centuries, whereas they would be seen as an infamy, nowadays.
Lastly, it is possible to conclude that everything is "worth a thousand words", if all the good conditions are combined: a certain level of need and openness from the targeted public and the authors, as well as a proper manner to present the content. People died for causes that now are considered vain, but that were well presented and introduced.
Charmy wrote:You can ask the examiner to explain it to you if you're not sure. Communicating with the examiner about the question will never get you penalized if you are truly fluent.
Well Charmy, thanks for the advice. I know that. But I just wanted to discuss what are your opinions about this question as many of us can expect certain questions from speaking in the writing portion. One example I noted was in the Cambridge Practice test books about "Happiness" where they were asking to define happiness. I try to make sure I have good ideas about a particular topic to be able to speak as well as write well.
Damien P. wrote:You can begin by stating that "when" can have two meanings:
1) "How": then the picture will gain value by displaying something that is worth something for certain people, that is "rare" for them. Paparazzis know their job for example. They might focus on information that I consider worthless, but my opinion does not reflect what is thought by millions of tabloids readers. In that case, I got a bit off the mark, since it must be worth "a thousand words".
2) "Which time": as said above, a specific picture will be worth a thousand words only if media, their customers and their hierarchy think fit to speak about this image. Nontheless, something can be worthless today and be a treasure tomorrow. Which percentage of Western populations cared about topics such as the environment, before being "educated" by the media and the politics? Using the same reflection, a picture of beached whales could be totally irrelevant at the beginning of the 20th centuries, whereas they would be seen as an infamy, nowadays.
Lastly, it is possible to conclude that everything is "worth a thousand words", if all the good conditions are combined: a certain level of need and openness from the targeted public and the authors, as well as a proper manner to present the content. People died for causes that now are considered vain, but that were well presented and introduced.
Thanks Damien for your perfectly detailed response. It's really impressive.!
the beached whale picture is a good example of the saying : the picture can communicate much more than a thousand word explanation of how, why and where whales get beached, what we need to do etc. Likewise for a photo of a starving child, a polluted river, an innocent man being beaten by police etc etc.
