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> Pictograms let you parse a lot of information at a glance, because you can pattern match a group of differing symbols much faster than you can a block of text which all looks uniform

No you can’t.

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I'd disagree but either way throw another factor in: non-native speakers and cross-language usability.

If your software is in some language and you are looking at docs or a videotutorial or something in another language, it's often hard to translate specific terms, Icons don't change language. They also help if you have to do something in another machine that uses a different language for some reason.

I concur that the icons aren't just decoration. I have sat down many times in a foreign country at a computer with localized settings and felt quite helpless to do even trivial things.

Look at the traffic signs. You have very limited time to read the sign. That's the reason they have distinct patterns and rarely (except in USA) rely on blocks of text.

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