Yes, the dots can be an accurate representation of what they represent. (kind of puts them in their place when you say it like that eh?)

And I think it's important to differentiate between two types of the inexperienced. On the one hand, someone who has never played any music before and cannot read music. And on the other, someone who has played a different genre of music and can already read music.

With the former, I think the dots can help in aiding the memory of a tune that is being learned aurally. But if the source is the dots, they can hinder the aural memory of a tune.

With the latter, what the dots represent to them is not what they represent to someone more experienced in the tradition. The example I gave above is very important. Common time. 4/4, to a classically trained musician means something very very different to someone who is used to playing reels. A classically trained musician who is inexperienced with reels attempting to play them off the page will play them wrong. All wrong. Much better to force them to listen in order to learn a tune.