"Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning"
About this Quote
Treating description as a skill, not a talent, Marilyn vos Savant slips a quiet provocation into what sounds like benign advice: if you can translate the visual world into precise language, you can translate your own thinking into something other people can actually use. The key phrase is "convey your meaning" - not "capture reality". She is arguing against the seductive idea that seeing is believing. Seeing is easy; meaning is the part we smuggle in.
The line also carries a consumer warning about modern life: images arrive pre-processed. A street scene on Instagram comes with a filter, a soundtrack, an implied moral. Vos Savant is pushing back toward authorship. When you describe a street in words, you must choose what counts: the storefront sign that tells you whose neighborhood it is, the light that makes the place feel safe or exposed, the pace of bodies moving. Those choices reveal your biases and priorities, which is exactly why the exercise matters. It turns perception into an argument.
Contextually, this fits vos Savant's broader brand of intelligence-as-discipline: clarity, careful distinctions, the refusal to let vagueness pass as insight. Describing "anything visual" is a proxy for describing anything complex. If you can make a street corner legible on the page, you can make a problem legible in your head. In a culture that increasingly communicates through images and vibes, she's advocating for the old power move: specificity.
The line also carries a consumer warning about modern life: images arrive pre-processed. A street scene on Instagram comes with a filter, a soundtrack, an implied moral. Vos Savant is pushing back toward authorship. When you describe a street in words, you must choose what counts: the storefront sign that tells you whose neighborhood it is, the light that makes the place feel safe or exposed, the pace of bodies moving. Those choices reveal your biases and priorities, which is exactly why the exercise matters. It turns perception into an argument.
Contextually, this fits vos Savant's broader brand of intelligence-as-discipline: clarity, careful distinctions, the refusal to let vagueness pass as insight. Describing "anything visual" is a proxy for describing anything complex. If you can make a street corner legible on the page, you can make a problem legible in your head. In a culture that increasingly communicates through images and vibes, she's advocating for the old power move: specificity.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Marilyn
Add to List
