We learn mostly through our eyes, and the approximate contributions of our sensory organs are given below:

- 1% through taste

- 2% through touch

- 4% through smell

- 10% through hearing

- 83% through sight

This reveals that learning through sight so much overshadows learning through any and all other senses that no adjustment for error or incidents of exception could lessen the impact of sight on the process of learning. So it is vision that is the main avenue of perception, the eyes carry the burden of learning.

How much do we retain? The figure on the left shows the retention rate of read material. The term "reinforcement" in the second figure refers to a relearning of original learning in which the student spent additional time. The result is that the student's rate of retention was raised to about 50%. But if the conceptual reinforcement was accomplished by the addition of visuals rather than by the repetition of reading, the retention rate of 50% could very well be more than coincidental. We do not think in words; our mind thinks in pictures. To communicate facts, figures, and ideas, visual presentation is more effective.