The Level of Discourse Continues to Slide

Schwartz, J. (2003). The level of discourse continues to slide. In P. De Palma (Ed.), Computers in society, (pp. 164-165). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill.
Unit 6, Article 34

Review by Kim Doyle

In this article John Schwartz presents a critical perspective of the use of PowerPoint for presentations. Microsoft developed this technology 10 years ago and critics have complained ever since. Schwartz accuses it of being “deadening to the soul” (pg. 164). The use of PowerPoint is pervasive, even among young students who are using it for school reports.

A serious misuse of this software program cited by Schwartz in this article is that by NASA engineers when presenting a report on their investigation of the crash of the Columbia shuttle. Edward Tufte, a Yale University professor and expert on the presentation of visual information, published a critique of that presentation. He claimed a key slide containing information crucial to the shuttle’s malfunction was imbedded in the presentation toward the end. This would imply a lesser significance to this point than was actually true, as confirmed by an independent board that investigated the disaster. James McKenzie, an educational consultant, is quoted in this article as saying PowerPoint has actually damaged our culture.

Microsoft’s chief product manager, Dan Leach, expresses pride in the software package and says customers love it. He points out that the application is just a tool – a template for users to fill in the blanks. Others share his view and claim that the tool doesn’t control what users present or how it is used.

Schwartz claims that PowerPoint is here to stay and “not always for the worse” (pg. 165).

Reaction

This article caught my eye because despite the length of time PowerPoint has been around, I’m just learning how to use it – and I like it. I’m discovering it is far simpler to use than I thought and wish I had begun using it sooner. If I had, I would have better records of trainings and meetings I’ve conducted. I find myself often re-creating material that I shouldn’t have to because I haven’t kept things organized in such a way to access it when needed. I like what I can do with this program, and for the most part have not found presentations I’ve attended poorly done. I like being able to use handouts that are consistent with the slides and can make notes accordingly. It’s true that when presenters do little more than read the slides to an audience, one could take offense at this, if they even stay awake to do so. But again, this is a decision of the user. If someone is not effective at presenting, it probably won’t make much difference what tool they use to share information. It probably won’t be well done anyway. It’s shocking to hear that a team of NASA engineers would use such poor judgment as to present crucial information in the way they did. This is a gross mistake on their part. It’s not the fault of the application. I like PowerPoint and I agree with the author – I think it’s here to stay.