but someone's got to do it

Books, films, songs, arts, words, sounds, smells, pictures, gestures, expressions, actions and inactions: they're pretty much all we have to go on to attempt to work out what anyone else is thinking. Having just recently seen Once I'm inclined to put songs at the top of the list just for their ability to reach straight into the brain and activate an emotion. Books have the edge on detail rather than just mood but they always run the risk of missing slightly just because you read them in your own internal voice rather than the voice the author wrote in. Films can be extremely powerful but all the examples which come quickest to mind have their impact aided by music.

Putting a book or film or song or whatever out into the world to tell other people what you're thinking is one thing but getting the feedback which lets you know whether or not the right impression has been given is another. The feedback also has to get past the issuer's brain and mouth or writing-hand and might lose a little something in the translation.

Then again, who is really seeking perfect accord? Just knowing that someone is watching or listening might be enough.