[pengaru]

> you may want to read Tufte's analysis on the role PowerPoint (aka writing everything in the form of bulleted lists) played in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster [0].

Nit: PowerPoint didn't even exist when Challenger exploded (o-ring failure), you must be referring to Columbia (heat-shield failure).

[gowld]

From the link:

> Richard Feynman had also experienced the bullet-outline format style of NASA in his service on the commission that investigated the first shuttle accident, the Challenger in 1986. Feynman wrote:

>> Then we learned about "bullets"—little black circles in front of phrases that were supposed to summarize things. There was one after another of these little goddamn bullets in our briefing books and on slides.

but Columbia is discussed in much more depth.

And to be clear, re lists/bullets, Tufte's complaint was about 4+ levels of nested bullets:

> At the same time, lower-level NASA engineers were writing about the possible danger to the Columbia in several hundred e-mails (with the Boeing reports in PP format sometimes attached). The text of 90% of these e-mails simply used paragraphs and sentences; 10% used bullet lists with 2 or 3 levels. That is, the engineers were able to reason about the issues without employing the multi-level hierarchical outlines of the original PP pitches.

[arminiusreturns]

So much of my career's low points have been due to this engineers unable to convey information to management for various reasons issue. When you add too many layers of managment it becomes a Sisyphean task almost. If anyone has any tips we all could probably use them.

[kingkawn]

Bad presentations are eternal

[loloquwowndueo]

Harvard Graphics Forever

[tveyben]

Ha - i used that, both v2 and v3 IIRC ;-) Nice to be reminded about that product ;-)