Before I actually get into my thoughts on the article, “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint” by Elisabeth Bumiller, I just wanted to say that I loved the quote from the officer who was speaking about his view on PowerPoint. He says, “Some of the world’s problems are not bullet-izable.” This is particular funny to me since, for example, a pacifist could same the same quote but could be discussing his/her point on the military.
Moving on, I guess I should not be surprised that the military uses PowerPoint so extensively that it defeats the “purpose” of PowerPoint. I’m sure the designers of PowerPoint had a clear function in mind when creating the program. If they thought for one second that PowerPoint would not be an effective form of communication, then it would hopefully have altered their design. However, once the product is in the user’s hands, it is up to the user to determine how they are going to use the product. I believe a good designer can minimize the extent to which their product can be “misused,” however; millions of products are produced daily. Only in hindsight can the designer clearly see all the new problems he/she has created by trying to solve one problem.
This article also lead me to think about all the menial tasks we do in our life time. PowerPoint is just one small example of the multiple products that aim to “help us,” when really it is just hindering our performance. When the officers discuss the “agony” of sitting through a PowerPoint lecture, I cannot help but to think of all the lectures I have attended myself. I could not tell you many things that I retained from these lectures, partly due to the way the lecture was presented, (PowerPoint or other electronic media) but also partly due to the fact that I don’t think most people learn very much by being talked at for 2+ hrs.
The idea that PowerPoint is being used to brief people, such as the President, is shocking. People are actually making decisions that effect the world based on information that is thrown at them through a 30 slide PowerPoint presentation. That is like asking someone to make a life changing decision without having all the facts.
Essentially, what it comes down to, is the principle that we are trying to communicate by using a tool that has proven to hinder communication. We know there is a problem, yet we insist on using it since it is what is familiar to us. Like Buckminster Fuller said – just because a piano floats doesn’t mean it makes a good raft (or something along those lines).
-Lily (smellslikepine)
