👒A hook for your hat, a word for your wonder
Words are important because words give structure and structure frames thinking.
Not just for internet memes,
…but also the way we think about things. Words frame ideas as one thing, and not another. Words contrast ideas.
The 99PI series did a beautiful episode on perfume. One guest said:
“I was at a party and a woman came in and was hugging everyone and a number of people told me that she smelled really good. I said that she was wearing this particular brand, and it’s from this many years ago. The reason she smells cozy and snug is because it has this many ionones in it, and she smells like orris which is the aged root of the Florentine iris flower and it feels like a hug because it’s powdery. And everyone is looking at me and I’m like, ‘I’m not smelling more than you are, I just have the words to tell you.’”
Having a word to describe an idea is like having a hook to hold your hat. Without the word (or the hook), the idea (or the hat) falls into an unorganized pile.
Words are not the thing but words give us a chance to toss the thing around, get a sense of it, play with it, and use it.