[schoen]

That's a terrific way of putting it! Maybe we can say that IPA reminds of the challenges that are still out there for us in terms of distinctions that we overlook and sounds that we can't produce.

For example, I haven't learned to distinguish /pʰ/ and /p/ or /bʰ/ and /b/, as Hindi does, but thanks to IPA, I know that that issue exists and maybe I can learn it some day. Also, I haven't learned to say the consonant at the beginning of a Chinese friend's name (I think it's [ʈ͡ʂʰ]), and IPA helps remind me that [ts] and [tʃ] are just approximations to it.

[lambdadmitry]

Exactly! Moreover, even if I didn't learn the exact sound you are talking about, I can sort-of approximate it in my head. To be able to "transmit" sound in text is a proper super-power I would say, not too far from what Arrival pictured :)