The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within, Second Edition

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Tufte Should Stick to What He Knows.......2007-08-22

I was first introduced to Tufte in Beautiful Evidence, which I stumbled upon in a B&N in Seattle on a business trip. I'm a software architect and developer; hence, I'm very familiar with the software world, particularly Microsoft technologies, which is where most of my development experience lies.

(I should say that I read this as part of the Beautiful Evidence book, which was good, but this part irritated me, so I'm glad it's separate here so I can review it separately.)

Certainly, Tufte has some good points about showing how PowerPoint can be limiting, and certainly PowerPoint has been abused. But that's no grounds to indict it as a useful tool, and in particular, 2007 gets a lot better in terms of empowering presenters to have more effective and visually interesting slides.

The point of PPT slides is simply to supplement a presentation by providing visual reinforcement of what is being said audibly. They shouldn't be used as a substitute for other means of communicating, which would include the possibility of a handout (interestingly enough, you can print out slides w/ space for notes to use as a handout, so it isn't an either-or option) or using some other software or even your hands to draw up and scan in visualizations that can't be done with PPT.

I think what bothered me more than anything was the ignorant indictment of the software industry as a whole. Tufte goes way out on a limb trying to extrapolate how we software creators must think based on the capabilities of PPT. There are plenty of other tools that provide other ways of visualizing information, and every year (or more often) we see advancements in tooling to help folks more effectively express data and ideas in digital format.

His rambling about the "hierarchical" structure of the corporate software world driving the development of software is simply ludicrous. More than any other industry, I'd say that software dev tends to be more open and more fluid in terms of both organization and methodology. We're a bunch of brainiacs, inventors, and artisans, and it comes naturally for us to try out new ideas and ways of doing even the most mundane of things.

So to sum up, as long as Tufte stays within his realm of expertise (which seems to be visualization of information/graphic design), he has a lot of quality ideas to offer. However, when he strays from that as he's done with his essay on PowerPoint, the value of his thoughts diminish exponentially. Stick with reading his other books that are in his area of expertise.

Tufte rails against PowerPoint (templates that is).......2007-06-26

This pdf is now part of the book Beautiful Evidence. Tufte goes after the bullet text methodology and templates that starve the audience for information. There is a lot that you may do with PowerPoint that can be effective forms of communication. Tufte shows what to avoid.

Funny and eye-opening, but very short.......2007-06-04

Very informative reading, and quite entertaining. For me, it's preaching to the converted, but it makes the point quite powerfully. The only downside is that it's a very thin pamphlet, not a real book. Get The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition for a larger and more satisfying dose.

Force feed this to your "management team".......2007-01-14

I have a friend whose ten-year-old daughter is required to give Powerpoint "reports" in class. Even before I read this pamphlet, the idea of the public schools positioning rhetoric as a Microsoft product struck me as revolting. After reading Tufte's brilliant and accurate dissection of how Powerpoint forces us into a kind of imitation of thinking, I am horrified.

I work on the fringe of the tech world, and I've had more than one boss demand that I reduce a coherent argument to bulletpoints "so it can be understood." Well, Powerpoint is to persuasion as comic books are to fiction -- the audience that demands it is simply entrenched in its own illiteracy. Tufte demonstrates persuasively that the Challenger disaster may have been caused -- yes, caused -- by the fact that the engineers discussed the project in the diction of "presentations." It's a large claim, and Tufte has the posthumous support of Richard Feynmann to back him up. Feynmann pointed to the facts that created the disaster; Tufte finds the core of bad thinking that let those facts control events.

If you use Powerpoint, you should read this pamphlet, also available as a chapter of Tufte's book, Beautiful Evidence. No tool should be allowed to control the nature of discourse the way Powerpoint does, and certainly no tool concieved, created, and used, with such willful lack of imagination and ignorance of the nature of communication.

Tufte has it right when it comes to the drawbacks of PowerPoint........2007-01-13

Edward Tufte gives a brief, excellent examination of how using Microsoft PowerPoint can easily lead to miscommunication and lazy thinking. The example of the infamous "Review of Test Data Indicates Conservatism for Tile Penetration" (Space Shuttle Columbia) slide alone makes this monograph worth purchasing.

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint.: An article from: Technical Communication

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The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint.: An article from: Technical Communication
Peggy Cathcart
Manufacturer: Society for Technical Communication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Technical Communication, published by Society for Technical Communication on November 1, 2004. The length of the article is 710 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint.
Author: Peggy Cathcart
Publication: Technical Communication (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2004
Publisher: Society for Technical Communication
Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Page: 559(2)

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The cognitive style of PowerPoint: slides are not all evil.(APPLIED THEORY): An article from: Technical Communication

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The cognitive style of PowerPoint: slides are not all evil.(APPLIED THEORY): An article from: Technical Communication
Jean-luc Doumont
Manufacturer: Society for Technical Communication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

ASIN: B00096ZKDM
Release Date: 2005-07-13

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Technical Communication, published by Society for Technical Communication on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 5157 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The cognitive style of PowerPoint: slides are not all evil.(APPLIED THEORY)
Author: Jean-luc Doumont
Publication: Technical Communication (Refereed)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Society for Technical Communication
Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Page: 64(7)

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Book Description

This history and analysis examines fifteen great inflations--from Ancient Rome to the French Revolution to post-World War I Germany to modern-day Brazil--to provide an understanding of the causes of inflation. A unique feature of the book is the evidence presented that a moderate degree of inflation is usually accompanied by increased economic activity. Contrary to the views of many, moderate inflation appears to be welcomed by most people and assists in returning incumbent political leaders to power. In addition, the money illusion, the belief that money has constant value over time, is shown by the author to be grievously in error. Presenting views which are at odds with much of mainstream economics, Paarlberg concludes that inflation is caused by an excess of money, and since the creation of money is a government monopoly,governments are responsible for inflation. Additionally, various macroeconomic theories are unable to account for gyrations of production and prices. The best explanation for these matters, therefore, is to be found in institutional economics, which takes into regard whatever forces exist rather than focusing on a select few while purporting to hold others constant. This thoughtful work will be of interest to scholars, students, and laypersons in economics and economic history.

Customer Reviews:

How your money is going to be inflated.......2007-08-06

This is a great book! I been looking for a book that would give me insight on how inflation is started and how it ends, as well as arguments for and against the gold standard, etc. I've read bits and pieces of this book's wisdow in a number of other books and articles, but this pulls it all together. From this book I got true insights on why inflation is basically unavoidable in any country: given time something is going to happen (usually war) or someone is going to come along to convince a population's leaders to debase the money supply - no matter what money standard you are on. Rome had a type of gold standard, the US had a gold standard, etc. People make the standard, people can change the standard.

I know this sounds overly simple, but inflation is too much money pursuing too few goods/services. And the early effects of inflation are the forbidden fruit that few politicians can bear. (Note: Makes you wonder why the Fed did away with the M3 measure for the money supply.) If you want to understand inflation, I can think of no better way than to review 15 examples. Thanks Paarlberg!

I have read this book again and again for ten years........2004-01-22

Allow me to pay respect and compliment to Mr. Don Paarlberg here. Mr. Don Paarlberg has an insightful understanding of human nature and their behavior that his examination and explanations of inflation history grab my intention very time I read this book. They make a lot of senses and transform my knowledge of economics into a penetrating understanding of human behavior and reactions to certain events. Mr. Don Paarlberg elevates my perspective toward macro-economics to a higher level, that of a human behavioral one, and certainly broadens my eyesight with regard to how human nature and human behavior did not change over the past two thousand years or so in terms of what people would do in reaction to price drivers. Lastly, I appreciate Mr. Don Paarlberg's exquisite, precise, and concise way of writing, something much less seen nowadays. Thank you, Mr. Don Paarlberg.

The buffer stock employment model and the NAIRU: the path to full employment. (Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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The buffer stock employment model and the NAIRU: the path to full employment. (Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
William F. Mitchell
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009898TM
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 3857 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Eliminating unemployment is a complex process, as any effort to achieve full employment would trigger inflation. The Buffer Stock Employment (BSE) model is proposed as a strategy of achieving full employment that guarantees price stability. A cost analysis of the performance of the BSE in the UK, US and Australia shows that BSE causes a low dent on the gross domestic product. Moreover, an increase in unemployment is attributed to low budget deficits, thereby making the problem a macroeconomic concern.

Citation Details
Title: The buffer stock employment model and the NAIRU: the path to full employment. (Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment)
Author: William F. Mitchell
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: v32 Issue: n2 Page: p547(9)

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Can the Fed target inflation? Toward an institutionalist approach.: An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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Can the Fed target inflation? Toward an institutionalist approach.: An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Scott T. Fullwiler , and Geoffrey Allen
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3730 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Can the Fed target inflation? Toward an institutionalist approach.
Author: Scott T. Fullwiler
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 41 Issue: 2 Page: 485(10)

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Central bank austerity policy, zero-inflation targets, and productivity growth in Canada.: An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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Central bank austerity policy, zero-inflation targets, and productivity growth in Canada.: An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Mario Seccareccia , and Marc Lavoie
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on June 1, 1996. The length of the article is 4318 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Central bank austerity policy, zero-inflation targets, and productivity growth in Canada.
Author: Mario Seccareccia
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1996
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: v30 Issue: n2 Page: p533(12)

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Conditions for Economic Recovery a Post Keynesian Analysis

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Conditions for Economic Recovery a Post Keynesian Analysis
John Cornwall
Manufacturer: M E Sharpe Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0873322649

Globalization and new comparative economic history.(Research Summaries) : An article from: NBER Reporter

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Globalization and new comparative economic history.(Research Summaries) : An article from: NBER Reporter
Alan M. Taylor
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from NBER Reporter, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2005. The length of the article is 3671 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Globalization and new comparative economic history.(Research Summaries)
Author: Alan M. Taylor
Publication: NBER Reporter (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: 18(4)

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Inflation and currency depreciation in Germany. 1920-1923: a dynamic model of prices and the exchange rate.: An article from: Journal of Money, Credit & Banking

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Inflation and currency depreciation in Germany. 1920-1923: a dynamic model of prices and the exchange rate.: An article from: Journal of Money, Credit & Banking
Giuseppe Tullio
Manufacturer: Ohio State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Money, Credit & Banking, published by Ohio State University Press on May 1, 1995. The length of the article is 6206 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: This paper presents a dynamic model of the German hyperinflation, explaining prices, the exchange rate and the money supply. In the model estimated simultaneously, the nominal exchange rate is allowed to diverge from Purchasing Power Parity in the short run, the monetary approach to exchange rate determination and the quantity theory of money are assumed to be valid in the long run, the dynamic adjustment of prices and the exchange rate to monetary disturbances is made explicit, and currency substitution between domestic and foreign currency is introduced explicitly. The problems of the autocorrelation of the residuals of the money demand function found in previous studies is resolved, the fit of inflation and exchange rate changes is very satisfactory, and the speed of adjustment of the exchange rate to monetary disturbances is found to be much higher than for prices. (Printed by permission of the publisher.)

Citation Details
Title: Inflation and currency depreciation in Germany. 1920-1923: a dynamic model of prices and the exchange rate.
Author: Giuseppe Tullio
Publication: Journal of Money, Credit & Banking (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1995
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Volume: v27 Issue: n2 Page: p350(13)

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Monetary Economics.(Brief Article): An article from: NBER Reporter

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Monetary Economics.(Brief Article): An article from: NBER Reporter

Manufacturer: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from NBER Reporter, published by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. on December 22, 2000. The length of the article is 955 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Monetary Economics.(Brief Article)
Publication: NBER Reporter (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2000
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
Page: 37

Article Type: Brief Article

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The real war on inflation has not begun: A discussion and analysis of all the purported causes of this period (1937 to present) of inflation and the long-range solution to it

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The real war on inflation has not begun: A discussion and analysis of all the purported causes of this period (1937 to present) of inflation and the long-range solution to it
Robert S Morrison
Manufacturer: Western Reserve Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0912400269

The realities of modern hyperinflation: despite falling inflation rates worldwide, hyperinflation could happen again.: An article from: Finance & Development

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The realities of modern hyperinflation: despite falling inflation rates worldwide, hyperinflation could happen again.: An article from: Finance & Development
Carmen M. Reinhart , and Miguel A. Savastano
Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Finance & Development, published by International Monetary Fund on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 2418 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The realities of modern hyperinflation: despite falling inflation rates worldwide, hyperinflation could happen again.
Author: Carmen M. Reinhart
Publication: Finance & Development (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Volume: 40 Issue: 2 Page: 20(4)

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Student Guide and Workbook for Use With Mankiw Macroeconomics
Mankin
Manufacturer: Worth Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Macroeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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