Psychometry, like any other form of psychic phenomena, is base on a principle of mental activity common to everyone. It is something we had in early childhood but have lost on the way to becoming the technical-minded grown up society that we all are to some degree. There is nothing new or unfamiliar in psychometry, only in the application of it in our daily lives. We usually see things before we say them. Mental images form in our minds and we then begin labeling them with words.
Words are symbols also.
Even someone blind since birth has a mental image in his or her head before they speak. When we go to school, we learn to put too much faith in language and words. Consequently, we have left the power of our vision by the wayside. Through disuse, we have lost our abilities to create. I believe that before this society can go forward, we must balance out our school system.