“PowerPoint makes us stupid.”

That’s Gen. James N. Mattis, Joint Forces commander speaking at a North Carolina military conference, as reported by The New York Times.

Another leader, Brig. Gen. H.R. McMaster, went so far as to ban PowerPoint in his campaigns:

“It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” General McMaster said in an interview. “Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”

That the military can become mired in bureaucratic, inefficient systems isn’t exactly new news, of course. What is fascinating to consider are the alternatives to “Death by PowerPoint.”

How can we best and most efficiently pass along complex information?