"How many of us have been frustrated at seeing too many presentations where PowerPoint or other visual aids obscure rather than enhance the point?" asks Peter Norvig, Google's Director of Search Quality. "After one too many bad presentations at a meeting in January 2000, I decided to see if I could do something about it. . . . I imagined what Abe Lincoln might have done if he had used PowerPoint rather than the power of oratory at Gettysburg." Norvig used the "Autocontent Wizard" in PowerPoint to help him create a presentation of the text of the Gettysburg address. He posted the spoof presentation on his Website (www.norvig.com/Gettysburg). It is frequently referred to by Edward Tufte and other PowerPoint critics as evidence of how the software has contributed to the dumbing-down of presentations. What additional arguments for and against PowerPoint can you find through online research? Which arguments do you find most compelling? Why? Write an essay in which you provide an analysis of the debate, citing at least two arguments for and against the effectiveness of PowerPoint.

While Norvig's Gettysburg presentation is amusing, it's hard to see how it counts as evidence of PowerPoint's pernicious influence. How does Norvig's argument address the "dumbing-down" of other topics—the news, for example, through print, television, and Internet. What do critics think, for instance, of the "crawl" at the bottom of televised news screens or bulleted lists in text boxes next to the newscaster's face? You might also evaluate news websites for how effectively they use visuals. Write your response.

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