[R] The Perils of PowerPoint

[Marc Schwartz]

LOL Ted!  That's a great quote for fortune()!

On Sat, 2005-09-03 at 01:06 +0100, Ted Harding wrote:
> On 02-Sep-05 Sean O'Riordain wrote:
> > I can't lay my hands n it at the moment - its around here somewhere,
> > but in "Numerical Methods That Work" by Forman Acton, the author
> > points out that "the result of computation should be insight, not
> > numbers"....
> > 
> > ps. an excellent book if you haven't seen it.
> > https://enterprise.maa.org/ecomtpro/Timssnet/products/TNT_products.cfm
> > 
> > cheers,
> > Sean
> 
> No doubt you're correct -- but I associate it with Richard Hamming
> (title page of "Numerical Methods for Scientists and Engineers" as
> I recall -- yes, for me too "it's around here somewhere" -- another
> really excellent book) where he words it:
> 
>   "The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers."
> 
> to which he adds:
> 
>   "The purpose of computing numbers is not yet in sight."
> 
> By the way, the Washington Post/Minneapolis Star Tribune article is
> somewhat reminiscent of a short (15 min) broadcast on BBC Radio 4
> back on October 18 2004 15:45-16:00 called
> 
>   "Microsoft Powerpoint and the Decline of Civilisation"
> 
> which explores similar themes and also frequently quotes Tufte.
> Unfortunately it lapsed for ever from "Listen Again" after the
> statutory week, so I can't point you to a replay. (However, I
> have carefully preserved the cassette recording I made).
> 
> We are not, of course, going Off Topic here. If, in R, you can not
> indefinitely extend a tangent, then it's time to extend R.
> 
> (Oh dear, I feel a fortune coming on ... )
> 
> Best wishes to all,
> Ted.
> 
> > On 02/09/05, Achim Zeileis <Achim.Zeileis at wu-wien.ac.at> wrote:
> >> On Fri, 2 Sep 2005 12:27:45 -0500 davidr at rhotrading.com wrote:
> >> 
> >> >
> >> > > -----Original Message-----
> >> > > From: ... Robert Baer
> >> > > Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 11:30 AM
> >> > ....
> >> > > ....  It is wrong to blame ANY tool for our own shortcomings!
> >> >
> >> > Surely a fortune!
> >> 
> >> thx, added to the devel-version of fortunes.
> >> 
> >> But allow me one remark: Although the above is certainly true, there
> >> are
> >> computational tools that help us better to realize or avoid our own
> >> shortcomings whereas others will make it harder to arrive at the right
> >> conclusions.
> >> I agree that PowerPoint cannot be blamed for the crash of the space
> >> shuttle, but I also see the point that the way presentations are
> >> generated in PowerPoint (or graphics in Excel) can easily tempt people
> >> into producing presentations/graphics that conceal what is important.
> >> This is certainly not an excuse, but I think some criticism (even
> >> if phrased a bit provocatively) should be allowed.
> >> 
> >> just my EUR 0.02.
> >> Z
> >> 
> >> > David L. Reiner
> >> >
> >> > ______________________________________________
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> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk>
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> Date: 03-Sep-05                                       Time: 01:00:24
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