OT: Mackrel$lup Helped Blow Up the Space Shuttle!

[Tuckerfan]

If this is true, it's another reason for me to hate power point. http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php...=5&o=0&fpart=1

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">NASA, the board argued, had become too reliant on presenting complex information via PowerPoint, instead of by means of traditional ink-and-paper technical reports. When NASA engineers assessed possible wing damage during the mission, they presented the findings in a confusing PowerPoint slide -- so crammed with nested bullet points and irregular short forms that it was nearly impossible to untangle. ''It is easy to understand how a senior manager might read this PowerPoint slide and not realize that it addresses a life-threatening situation,'' the board sternly noted.</font>

[lynnl]

A painful illustration of the distinction between 'data' and 'information'. At every turn nowadays we're inundated with the former, which mainly serves to obscure the latter.

[BC21OSH]

Powerpoint is merely an electronic pencil and paper or blackboard. How the user chooses to present the information is his/her choice and in the case of the recipient; if they didn't understand it, they should have asked for an explanation. I sounds to me like someone is searching for excuses.

Bernard

[nheng]

My first inclination is to offer assistance in bashing micro$crap but I have to agree with Bernard. Powerpoint is just a tool. Its suitability for a task needs to be determined by the user and its success in the application judged by the audience.

I would hope that if Nasa engineering staff is using Powerpoint that its utility, stability and reliability have been assessed beforehand ... based on the application. Budget presentations are one thing but mission critical data is something else.
Den

[tenfingers]

I agree that Powerpoint shouldn’t be blamed. The problem is that it is being used to replace the written report as the means to communicate technical information. In the past, the writer’s entire line of thinking along with supporting data was clearly laid out in a written report (well, alright maybe not always so clear). Of course, very few bothered to read it: easier to skip over to the conclusions section at the end. Nevertheless, the writer spent a lot of time going over the details and at least the boss and a few other people would read it carefully. With the Powerpoint mentality, we’re left with just the conclusions and none of the details. And since details are given such little attention, the writers themselves spend less time with them and instead work on the colors, animation and other frills. Also, many details are spoken during the presentation but not written out on the slides. We’re left with only partial written documentation and our memory of what was added verbally. Maybe the Powerpoint presentation is good for the “Executive Summary,” but it shouldn’t replace the written report. I guess this has hit a sore spot with me because I am a big fan of the old 60’s era NASA reports and I hate to see them replaced with this fluff.

End of Rant.

10F

[spope14]

Personally I hate power point. it tends to "gloss" over important points of presentations with glitz and what people call "technology".

However, if one does not understand something, especially well trained people whom are paid to do such things as ...say...bring home people from space... power point is not to blame.

I personally hate Power point as stated. I hate sitting through "bulletted" and little "sparkly" presentations in the dark. I hate it even MORE WHEN AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER I AM GIVEN THE HANDOUTS WITH ALL THE SLIDES IN ADVANCE!!!!!

In my new position, I have asked that power point presentations be limited.

Here is a teaching method I use, taught to me actually by the Plumbers Apprentice instructor. NEVER hand out reading materials, handouts, or do power point when doing a lecture. Use your voice, the black / white board, and have the students take notes. Handing out items in advance gives a distraction as 75% of the students read the material. Hand out items afterwards, and list highlights and reinforcement within them, or do power point only as a summarative.

[Tuckerfan]

While I agree that the program itself isn't to blame, I think that the mindset which has grown up around it (that M$'s own advertising has helped fuel) is. I've worked for several different companies where nothing could get done until the powerpoint presentation was ready. Nevermind that it would have been faster, cheaper, and easier to simply tell people the information that you wanted them to know (we humans have spent a couple of thousand years or more just communicating with one another using our voices and managed to accomplish things like building pyramids without powerpoint, surely we can alert people to the fact that HR is changing their hours without it as well).

Me thinks that the folks at NASA have forgotten the scene in Apollo 13 where they discuss getting the crew back using only a blackboard (the light bulb in the overhead projector having blown out).

[ibewgypsie]

The bulb in the overhead projector has blowed out!! AND WORKING ANY GOVERMENT JOB, it takes two weeks and a pile of paperwork to get nuts and bolts. Let alone a projector bulb. When it does come in, it is a bulb for a 1947 hudson. Too many people in the loop.

Who is to blame? well the people climbing into the space shuttle knew the risks, just like the guy who goes to sea in a leaky boat with motor problems, just like I do when I throw my leg across my harley.

David

[pgmrdan]

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[This message has been edited by pgmrdan (edited 03-08-2004).]

[nheng]

I needed a critical Powerpoint presentation from another location and was told it was too large to email. After waiting a few days for a CD to arrive and finding it was only a 6 page presentation, I proceeded to find out why. A small, quarter page graphic per page ... no problem. One image was especially sharp and no matter how large I stretched it (well beyond the sheet), it remained sharp. I dragged it into Paintshop and discovered that it was 28 Megabytes ! Told the other end to keep images small and was told that you can't get a marketing manager to listen to things like that ! I'm sure this kind of crap eats up business productivity big time in the good ole USA.
Den