When communicating face-to-face, you typically have real time feedback. So you can afford to be more potentially ambiguous, because you monitor for misunderstandings, and clear them up as they arise.

If you want to go all mathematical, that's similar to just sticking a checksum on tcp packets and resending vs the lengths that CD-ROMs go to correct errors.

Or to bring another analogy, compare an interactive proof (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_proof_system) with a more conventional formal proof.

As an aside, people do admire intelligence in real life perhaps more so than physical strength, but a minimum of social acumen goes a long way.