Is thinking in words is more advanced in brain operation than thinking in pictures is? look at what we call primitive. Cave drawings, pictographs, egyptian symbols. And we call a civilized communication is a book or something, something with words and not pictures. Childrens books have pictures, where adult books have only words. So the fact that we as a species think in pictures is possibly telling us that we are still in fact a very primitive species. Perhaps there is a species that is more intellectually developed than we are.
Interpretation. What is it with words? Less meaningful. Our individual interpretations of things are the most profound and expressive things we have. All we have is interpretation of our situation and whatever is involved in it. All we have is awareness. Symbols are the most powerful forms of expression.
Ummmm.....we, as a species, don't always think in pictures....or at least I don't...... and of course using the incredibly abstract symbolic systems required for language is a more complex task than directly thinking about objects... and the Egyptians weren't really just communicating in pictures. As with many Asiatic languages, the symbols for nouns sometimes vaguely corresponded to the actual image that was being alluded to, but obviously neither the Egyptians or any of the Asians were/are just writing in nouns... *backs out of thread confusedly*
It doesn't mean anything, other then a change in communication. The reason you believe pictographs and cave drawings are "primitive" is because they've been around for so long. Think about it like this, in hypothetical terms you and the geico caveman are living together under a giant rock.. all you're life you've worried about your basic survival instincts - food, water, shelter, and the like. You don't have time to come up with an elaborate system of communication, so you use basic grunts, facial expression, body language, and of course picture drawing. As man evolves, basic survival instincts become a thing of folklore.. so man spends time developing a way to communicate (not sure if this is exactly how it went down, but it makes sense eh?) and it's become so complex we have single words meaning completely different ideas and thoughts, and its become this confusing language called english... a developed series of grunts and noises to communicate. "Turn here?" "Right." *turns right* "NO dude, the other way, I was meaning RIGHT to confirm your question" "My fault." Eh, my two cents.
Einstein thought in images/non-verbally 25% of people can't think in images, i think in images and words