Blah blah blah What to do when words don't work

We all hate corporate-speak and impenetrable, needlessly complex language-but Roam's (Back of the Napkin) ire is at an altogether different level. He rails against the iniquities of "blah-blah-blah"-the hopped-up pompous language that leads to complexity (which kills our ability to think), misunderstanding (which kills our ability to lead), and boredom (which kills our ability to care). The solution, he proposes, is learning with images rather than words, which we do as children-and are then dissuaded from ever doing again, with the exception of standouts such as the Periodic Table of the Elements, the world's greatest organization chart. Through a series of charming line drawings starring a fox representing the linear, verbal mind and a hummingbird representing the synthesizing, visual mind, Roam presents his theories on how to present ideas and arguments such that they can be readily understood-which unfortunately, boils down to the rule to "use images instead of words" and not much else. It's tough to miss the irony of a book decrying the unnecessary complication of language spinning out a single idea through dozens of unnecessary illustrative examples. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.