The world’s only superpower is growing increasingly concerned about a different power … specifically, PowerPoint.
What was originally a useful tool for presenting information has become something that “makes us stupid,” according to Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps.
The subject originally became a target of scrutiny when the slide to the left, intended to “summarize” the War on Terror, was roundly mocked when displayed in Kabul last summer.
“When we understand that slide, we’ll have won the war,” General Stanley McChrystal quipped.
Brigadier General H. R. McMaster actually went so far as to ban PowerPoint presentations from anyone under his command in 2005. He believes that the typical bullet point format of the slides eliminates the need to understand the complexities of the real world.
“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” General McMaster said in a telephone interview afterward. “Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”