Martin Bretzin #9

The power of words. When we examined the difference between power in words between oral words and literate words, many people seemed to ignore important arguments. We discussed that the power of oral words are coupled with a sound, smell, touch and dynamic movements that elicit sight senses, all which manipulate energy in a room to evoke a response in either others or an individual. Class argued that oral words contain more power than written words. Some based this argument by saying oral words have power and written words do not. This was most likely thought as oral words have an immediate observable effect on their audiences, whether the audience is the speaker or people that can observe him or her. I got a little frustrated with this, as it ignores entirely, the affect that books have on their audiences. If written communication isn't meant to have any effect on its readers, why would anyone ever read anything for entertainment? Isn't a main characteristic of entertainment its ability to evoke a response in the reader? Written words do have power. They are very different from that of spoken words, in concept, and their ability to socially connect individuals, but they must contain a level of power.