RE: The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

See also:

1. wired.com "PowerPoint is Evil" article:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html. Unfortunately, the
article is short. In his seminar "Presenting Data and Information" and in
his booklet "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint," Tufte expresses his
thoughts
on PowerPoint more in depth.

2. Review on Tufte's "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint":
http://contactsheet.org/articles/2003/08/28/the_cognitive_style_of_powerpoin
t.html

I personally feel slides - HTML or PowerPoint - are most of the time an
inefficient and limited way to present information. I've only done them when
I've had to and felt very boxed in by the format - ex. only so much info can
go on one slide whether or not the concept needs more room to be effectively
expressed in one place. 

Regards,
Blossom

P.S. As Harvey notes, his books are excellent, and they are included in the
price of his excellent seminar.


-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org]On
Behalf Of Harvey Bingham
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 7:54 AM
To: WAI-EO
Subject: The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

An excellent putdown of PowerPoint slideshows, by Edward R. Tufte,

     www.edwardtufte.com

summarized as "Powerpoint Phluff."

Ed Tufte is a trenchant critiquer of how information is presented. His books
are excellent -- worth much serious study. Do you remember his "chart junk?"

"Powerpoint has a distinctive, definite, well-enforced, and widely-practiced
cognitive style that is contrary to serious thinking."

See for a prime PP putdown; Peter Norvig's:  "The Gettysburg Address" in PP

     www.norvig.com

Some essons carry over to the W3C slide-maker.

Regards/Harvey

Received on Thursday, 15 July 2004 15:16:02 UTC