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LETTERS: Rosetta Manaszewicz Theme issue for patients: A picture tells a thousand words BMJ 2003; 327: 448 [Full text]

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Hear, hear, for colour and swirls

karen j houghton   (28 August 2003)

Only words picture depth, of meaning and of vision

Pepi Granat, MD, South Miami, FL 33143   (29 August 2003)

Hear, hear, for colour and swirls 28 August 2003
karen j houghton, gp principal st martins surgery, 378 wells rd, bristol, BS7 8JW Send response to journal: Re: Hear, hear, for colour and swirls	I agree, and disagree, with Rosetta Masczewicz, regarding the different treatment of health professionals and 'the public' when it comes to medical literature. But I don't think the public should be forced to read the dull, dry, colour and picture-free material to which I am subjected. No, give me headers, colours and 'delicate swirls' that might actually make me want to read on. I surely cannot be alone in the belief that how something looks matters - from long legs to six-packs to pointilism to metallic paints - we, as a species, are visually driven. And I, as a doctor and a human being, am certainly NOT driven by acres of type in neat columns, with no colour and no pictures. Why does something have to be dull to be taken 'seriously'? I awaited the last re-design of the BMJ with interest (as did my partner, a non-medical, but interested, graphic designer). So what changed? Let's hear it for those pictures I say - and save us all the thousand words! Competing interests:   None declared
Only words picture depth, of meaning and of vision 29 August 2003
Pepi Granat, MD, Private Practice & Univ of Miami School of Medicine, Dept of Family Medicine and Community Health 7800 Red Road Ste 202, South Miami, FL 33143 Send response to journal: Re: Only words picture depth, of meaning and of vision	A visual impression is a cursory clue to a special reality. It is words which paint the in-depth, nuanced significance of what is seen, and often, not seen. I noticed long ago that I went for the caption, not the cartoon. Others go for the picture first, text second. We humans are not as necessarily visual as some claim -- some of us are more aural and verbal by nature, eschewing television, preferring radio and reading. All approaches have their advocates.. PG Competing interests:   No competing interests