One of my favorite Dilbert cartoons (Aug 16, 2000) deals with the dark consequences of PowerPoint:
According to a recent NY Times story, PowerPoint poisoning has begun cutting a deadly swath through the US military, leveling the top brass one bullet (point) at a time: “We Have Met the Enemy and He is PowerPoint” (April 26, 2010). I suspect our generals barely knew what hit them.
The article points out that PowerPoint’s deadly venom actually strikes in two directions at once, killing off all mental activity in the listeners, while simultaneously sacrificing the lives of the soldiers who are forced to give up hours creating mind-numbing presentations.
Fortunately, not all appears to be lost. The military has discovered a set of acceptable victims for their latest weapon system:
Senior officers say the program does come in handy when the goal is not imparting information, as in briefings for reporters.
The news media sessions often last 25 minutes, with 5 minutes left at
the end for questions from anyone still awake. Those types of PowerPoint
presentations, Dr. Hammes said, are known as “hypnotizing chickens.”
This is beautiful. One Israeli general has issued an edict that his subordinates cannot present to him via PowerPoint. I am forced to use it at meetings and for science it is good. We used to use Vugraphs for the same purpose.
I shall put a link to your blog in mine.
Best,
Arkee