I took the screenshots of the WeChat “scan” icon and the YouTube “like” and “dislike” icons and an Egyptian hieroglyph for comparison.
The iconography of the “scan” looks like a gesture that people usually use to express measurements, to focus on observing something or to take a picture. And for the “like” thumbs-up, “dislike” thumbs-down are straightforward for people to get a sense of what they mean through the icons. Both they and Egyptian hieroglyphics were a visual language for all to understand, through the shapes of simple iconography. But the difference between them is that Egyptian hieroglyphics only expressed simple things and were all natural. The understanding of modern icons came through technological development and more information background. Especially the “scan” iconography, who would have known what it meant before the development of human technology.