I just reread the essay, and I saw that Tufte answers one of my questions in the conclusion. He says that Powerpoint should be used for low-resolution videos and pictures that can't be reproduced in handouts. Okay. I agree with that.
I have a new question. Tufte criticizes Powerpoint for forcing people to simplify whatever they're trying to say. What's wrong with simplification? "Simplifying" and "dumbing down" are not synonyms. Maybe this just shows that I'm stupid, but I think it's a good idea to use simple wording to express ideas. If you simplify your ideas well (without generalizing), you'll be able to express your ideas more clearly. People can spend more time thinking about your ideas, rather than trying to figure out what you're trying to say.
(although, I shouldn't be talking... I ramble on and on when I don't really have anything to say.)
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Cognative Style of Powerpoint (Kimberly)
Was it just me or is Tufte saying Powerpoint is Communist?
1. Is the responsibilty of the loss of information soley on the system Powerpoint or is the responsibily on the presenter (user) lack of being able to use it?
2. I understand the importance of documents and the written word and how it can translate information better than PP; however, aren't the purpose of presentations to provide the concised version of the information on the written documnet? Isn't the system Powerpoint just one of tool to help get the point across?
I agree that Powerpoint can't be the only source in which an information is given ( like in the case of the NASA presentation) but I don't see why it should be discarded in presenting "serious matters".
1. Is the responsibilty of the loss of information soley on the system Powerpoint or is the responsibily on the presenter (user) lack of being able to use it?
2. I understand the importance of documents and the written word and how it can translate information better than PP; however, aren't the purpose of presentations to provide the concised version of the information on the written documnet? Isn't the system Powerpoint just one of tool to help get the point across?
I agree that Powerpoint can't be the only source in which an information is given ( like in the case of the NASA presentation) but I don't see why it should be discarded in presenting "serious matters".
Tufte: The Cognative Style of Powerpoint
1) I'm curious as to why NASA used powerpoints during the Columbia Shuttle disaster. It seems counter to what a major scientific research organization would do. The problem here is with assumptions about what powerpoint was intended for. The idea of a powerpoint being sent in through email as a form of documentation defeats the purpose of any kind of a presentation intended to go along with it. What was NASA thinking?
2) Tufte's criticism of powerpoint in schools seemed harsh. As a recent high school graduate I feel that from my high school experience I was not taught that powerpoint and papers were comparable. Rather that they were merely a tool to be used with a strong presentation in order to convey a much more expansive issue, which in most cases should be documented anyway. Why does Tufte criticize powerpoint so much? It can be detrimental if used in the wrong situation, for example NASA, but used properly it can be an invaluable tool used to convey ideas to a large group cleanly an efficiently.
2) Tufte's criticism of powerpoint in schools seemed harsh. As a recent high school graduate I feel that from my high school experience I was not taught that powerpoint and papers were comparable. Rather that they were merely a tool to be used with a strong presentation in order to convey a much more expansive issue, which in most cases should be documented anyway. Why does Tufte criticize powerpoint so much? It can be detrimental if used in the wrong situation, for example NASA, but used properly it can be an invaluable tool used to convey ideas to a large group cleanly an efficiently.
Tufte's Powerpoint Essay
When I first learned how to use Powerpoint (I was in middle school), I was taught that a Powerpoint presentation should not stand alone. Presenters should be able to talk about the subject they're presenting without relying on Powerpoint. Most of what Tufte criticizes relates to overly generalized statements and misinterpreted statistics. What would happen if Powerpoint presentations didn't have any words at all, so that the Powerpoint only existed to serve as a visual aid for whatever the presenter was talking about? Would this solve the problems that Tufte talks about?
Also, I understand that Tufte says that the image quality goes down a lot in Powerpoints. I was confused. Is he talking about how people use Clipart instead of actual photographs? Or is he saying that the resolution of photographs is too low to be useful?
One more question. Artists and other non-mainstream people tend to have an anti-Microsoft bias. How much does this influence Tufte's point of view? If Powerpoint was developed by Apple, do you think that Tufte would hold the same point of view? (not that I know absolutely nothing about Tufte other than the fact that he wrote this essay. For all I know, he could work for Microsoft.)
Also, I understand that Tufte says that the image quality goes down a lot in Powerpoints. I was confused. Is he talking about how people use Clipart instead of actual photographs? Or is he saying that the resolution of photographs is too low to be useful?
One more question. Artists and other non-mainstream people tend to have an anti-Microsoft bias. How much does this influence Tufte's point of view? If Powerpoint was developed by Apple, do you think that Tufte would hold the same point of view? (not that I know absolutely nothing about Tufte other than the fact that he wrote this essay. For all I know, he could work for Microsoft.)
I disagree.
i pretty much learned nothing in this, lol. regarding powerpoint and any essay in general, information is always broken down, even if your writing an essay, because you edit it out and change it and you still can't get everything on your mind across. i think the idea should not be how to present better, but how to organize your thoughts more. if you can talk about whatever you have to present fluently it doesent really matter what kind of method you use to get your point across.
book about power point
i have no idea why the columbia space deaster was because of power point?
with power point you show alot of people simple broken down information, but wont this leave them lacking information and details of what is happening?
with power point you show alot of people simple broken down information, but wont this leave them lacking information and details of what is happening?
The Cognative Style of Powerpoint
There was not a lot that i didn't understand about this reading - except for the fact that the whole time, i thought that the objective of the book was to describe how much more effective powerpoints were, whew - but my two questions are:
1. What was the pitch style that they were describing on page 11 durring the topic of the unnessary outline?
2.They lost me on p 16-17: "Identifying specific agents of action may also eventually assist forensic accountants and prosecutors in targetting those responsiblr for excessively accelerated recognition of revenue." -they lost me right here i have no clue what that sentance says or means... i think its just too verbose maybe, iono.
1. What was the pitch style that they were describing on page 11 durring the topic of the unnessary outline?
2.They lost me on p 16-17: "Identifying specific agents of action may also eventually assist forensic accountants and prosecutors in targetting those responsiblr for excessively accelerated recognition of revenue." -they lost me right here i have no clue what that sentance says or means... i think its just too verbose maybe, iono.
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