Well, it looks like the PowerPoint slide shown here might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for for the military. The author of the slide was attempting to show the interactions and complexity of the American military strategy in Afghanistan. Obviously PowerPoint was the wrong tool for this job. When General McChrystal saw the slide he remarked, “When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war.”
Based on a New York Times article posted April 26, 2010, the use of PowerPoint to deliver complicated presentations is embedded into the military culture. Junior officers spend so much time preparing PowerPoint presentations that they are often called PowerPoint Rangers.
Many military leaders are starting to push back on the concept of delivering complex military information PowerPoint-style. Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, actually banned PowerPoint presentations when he led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005. McMaster was recently quoted saying “It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control.”
Just like in the military, automotive educators need to be careful about trying to deliver complex automotive information via PowerPoint.
Click here, to view the full NY Times article.
