Yes and no.
We are human and can only begin the process of discovery by iteration between all the creatures (i.e., points of reference) we know without closing our minds and destroying our imaginations.
A person trying to explain a giraffe to someone who has no knowledge of giraffes might say "it's like a horse, but still very different" without killing the joy of discovery. Using "horse" as a starting point establishes a new, if very loose, frame of reference on an old familiar one.
If you described a giraffe as only "like nothing you have ever seen" you haven't ignited an imagination either.
McKenna’s point was that words are a very limiting form of communication.
Pictures (without words) can give a lot more subtle detail.
Then when you add the human tendency to have an “agenda” or a “narrative” it turns out that a lot of communication is strongly misleading or biased.
His “agenda” was to think about new forms of communication where you see what was really on a person’s mind and see through any agendas or narratives.