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There is a presentation by Edward Tufte claiming that PowerPoint caused, in part, the shuttle disaster. Hang on... The claim is that PP's economy of words mean

There is a presentation by Edward Tufte claiming that PowerPoint caused, in part, the shuttle disaster. Hang on... The claim is that PP's economy of words meant that the presentations to each level of management got more and more dismissive of the danger, the higher up the chain they went. Euphemisms got more and more bland, until the top people thought "screw it, we're launching." Note that I'm not endorsing that theory, since I haven't seen the slide decks that got used. It's disputed here: https://eagereyes.org/criticism/tufte-and-the-truth-about-the-challenger https://eagereyes.org/criticism/tufte-and-the-truth-about-th... I find that dismissal to be completely missing the point. Tufte wasn't arguing physics, he was arguing that PP euphemisms caused top execs to minimize the danger.

philipkglass 4y ago
There is a presentation by Edward Tufte claiming that PowerPoint caused, in part, the shuttle disaster. I can imagine him blaming a presentation style, but PowerPoint? The Challenger exploded in 1986: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disas... PowerPoint didn't exist until 1987: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint
- qbasic_forever 4y ago
  Powerpoint is such an enormous force it has collapsed in on itself into a blackhole that tunneled through space and time. Powerpoint is slowly leaking into the past and destroying our history before our very eyes.
  - gscott 4y ago
    I have some PowerPoint templates to sell to you for the low price of $100.00
- Jtsummers 4y ago
  https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1&topic=Ask+E%2eT%2e https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=... Tufte decrying PowerPoint in relation to a shuttle disaster was about about the Columbia, not the Challenger.

philipkglass 4y ago

There is a presentation by Edward Tufte claiming that PowerPoint caused, in part, the shuttle disaster. I can imagine him blaming a presentation style, but PowerPoint? The Challenger exploded in 1986: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disas... PowerPoint didn't exist until 1987: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint

qbasic_forever 4y ago
Powerpoint is such an enormous force it has collapsed in on itself into a blackhole that tunneled through space and time. Powerpoint is slowly leaking into the past and destroying our history before our very eyes.
- gscott 4y ago
  I have some PowerPoint templates to sell to you for the low price of $100.00
Jtsummers 4y ago
https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1&topic=Ask+E%2eT%2e https://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=... Tufte decrying PowerPoint in relation to a shuttle disaster was about about the Columbia, not the Challenger.