I feel so validated by reading this book. For years, I thought it was just me that I could not get past the superficial way data was portrayed on Powerpoint (PP). I could not find any way to aptly analyze data presented in that format. This book helped me to see that it wasn't me, but the style of the data presentation which is so limited by PP. Tufte states that, "PP templates for statistical graphs and data tables are hopeless." He goes on to explain that PP, since it is proprietary, has no incentive for meaningful change, especially since it is essentially a monopoly.
He uses the example of NASA's reliance on Boeing's examination of the Challenger disaster using PP rather than technical papers, which unfortunately underscored the danger of the situation encountered by the Challenger team.
The information in this book will drastically change my practice of using and being a recipient of PP presentation from this time onward. ( )

If you are ever going to hold a presentation with slideshow software (like PP or Keynote), you must read this essay!
Its the best analysis of what this kind of software acutally do with the massage ever written. ( )

This was a much more engaging read than I expected it to be. It's not just a cranky old academic complaining about style. He really rips PowerPoint apart. The in-depth analysis of the NASA incident is especially damning. PowerPoints were used in place of technical reports when they were assessing the damage to the Space Shuttle Columbia's wing. Although the evidence did not truly suggest the shuttle would be fine, the takeaway from reading the PowerPoints was that everything would be OK. Instead the shuttle overheated and blew up upon reentry.

This was especially interesting for me, having just recently finished "Understanding Media" by Marshall McLuhan. I could sense McLuhan's ideas underneath Tufte's text. Tufte argues that PowerPoint is a marketer's tool for sales pitches, which are not intended to deliver true information. They exist to manipulate the audience. And that is what has become of our scientific, academic and professional meetings. We do not deliver evidence with PowerPoint, we deliver a sales pitch. The result is poor decision making. I'd love to hear both authors thoughts about Twitter (if McLuhan was still alive). This has certainly changed my perception of PowerPoint. ( )

Very very funny ( )

Wow, Tufte is really pissed off at PowerPoint. I agree with his assessment that powerpoint is the wrong tool for conveying technical analysis. And I can see where PowerPoint leads you into traps, but I still think PowerPoint can be utilized by a competent speaker, and those are all the points he didn't try to make.

aside: I like how when he is talking about the average powerpoint slide only having 12 numbers per table, he lists a table comparing powerpoint to other mediums, and the table only has 12 numbers.