Icons, symbols, labels... etc.

I was on my laptop looking at all the desktop icons and I thought to myself how when I look at each picture or symbol, or whatever, it has a deeper meaning to me.  For example, I see a blue lowercase "e" with a gold circle around it and I know that if I click on that icon, I will open up the Internet Explorer application.  I see a music note on top of a CD and I know that that icon opens up into iTunes.  It fascinates me how society has been trained to identify with pictures or symbols or icons to remember things.  Why wouldn't the laptop just have a list of words stating each program, instead of the icons?  My personal opinion is that it is more efficient.  Design has been used by society to make work or anything more efficient.  For example, it is much quicker for me to look for a blue letter "e" than to look for the words "Internet Explorer" that is jumbled in with a bunch of other words.  These icons that society identifies with are to make life simpler.  These icons can be empowering, like the symbols on flags, or they can be unique so that people notice them and remember them better than other ones.     

(Internet Explorer logo thanks to:  http://dennisdeacon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/internet-explorer-logo.jpg)