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If a picture's worth 1000 words, then why can't I eat you?

Posted 2007-05-14 Tags: None

We have often heard the old saw, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Is that really true? Here are a few points to consider.

We see at about 22 - 24 fps. Each individual frame that we see can be considered to be a picture. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then we're taking in 22,000 to 24,000 words per second.

From this, a moving picture is worth about 22 to 24 thousand words per second. A full length motion picture or movie is worth between 132 and 144 million words.

To put that into perspective, "Moby Dick" had about 208,000 words. "Atlas Shrugged" is about 645,000 words.

So, "Atlas Shrugged" would be worth about 10 minutes worth of a movie, using this formula.

I think that's a little bogus. Let's look at it this way:

"Moby Dick" would be a pretty decent 2.5 hour movie (150 minutes). (Editor's Note - I realize that there are a few Moby Dick movies - 22, 77, 116 and 180 minute versions. If I was making it, I would aim for 2.5 hours. That's what I meant. Plus, if I picked a different time, then it wouldn't prove my point!) That's about 1385 words per minute, or approximately 23 words per second. Funny thing - didn't we say that a moving picture has 22 to 24 frames per second?

So, apparently, a picture is worth one word.

QED
(Editor's Note: QED is an acronym that one puts at the end of a math problem. It stands for Pancho Villa saying, "Questeeon Ees Done." I considered posting this in a new category called "Lunacy" or possibly "Frivolity.")

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