On proofs without words …a thousand words?

A “proof without words” sounds like a contradiction in terms! How can you prove something if you are not permitted the use of any words? In spite of the seeming absurdity of the idea, the notion of a proof without words — generally shortened to PWW — has acquired great popularity in mathematics in recent decades, and every now and then we come across new, elegant PWWs for old, familiar propositions. In this short article the seemingly contradictory nature of a PWW is discussed, and some examples of PWWs are presented