Yeah, these are not good symbols, except the help mark. None of them have any meaning, they must simply be learned.

I recognize some of them, from seeing them in Japan, but I thought they meant some kind of taxi.

A symbolic ear would be better to designate deafness, a walking stick age.

> these are not good symbols. None of them have any meaning, they must simply be learned.

They are excellent symbols – for the society they arose in, which was at the other extreme end to the fragmentation, atomization, and attention span erosion we are experiencing today. In their case, choosing esthetics over learning curve totally made sense, because the learning curve was not a concern for them. Our society OTOH cannot afford such niceties.