It was at a graph theory workshop. Full of big names from academia and industry on computing and discrete mathematics. Talking about small worlds and the impact of high-degree nodes on network connectivity.

And the Director of the Microsoft Research Theory Group…

Used an overhead projector and acetates for her slides. She wrote on them with markers as she went. It was glorious.

“I haven’t figured PowerPoint out yet” she said when we asked her about it.

Thirty years ago, PowerPoint vs Acetate was the jagged frontier.

Now it’s “handmade slides” vs “AI slides”.

There’s lots of gnashing of teeth at how poor AI-created slides are.

I’m feeling it too.

“SO much content, with so little to actually say.”

Yes. This. Often.

But not always.

We’re learning. Bit by bit. We’re improving. Day by day. One step at a time.

These days I doubt the Director of Research for Microsoft would use an OHP and acetate.

And while Vint Cerf’s comment that “Power corrupts. And PowerPoint corrupts absolutely!” definitely has a modern version involving ChatGPT and Claude…

Whenever we acquire any new skill, or adopt any new technology…

We have to be willing to be bad at it for a while, in order to get good at it.

PS: I expect many reading this post will have never seen an overhead projector, heard the gentle hum, or felt the warmth as you use a decaying red pen to underline something. You’ve missed out. Ask Gemini about it…