Similarities between medical education and the armed forces

The top-emailed piece on NYT.com explains how MS PowerPoint, not Al Qaeda, may be the military's chief foe in the War in Afghanistan. Apparently, the pretty transitions and graphics only "create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control," according to Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps.

This is a lesson that medical students know all-too-well. Exhibits 1a and 1b: Compare the US Military's strategy in Afghanistan (1a) with metabolism (1b).

Also, personal experience has demonstrated that it is actually possible to sit through an entire attractively organized presentation on acute coronary syndromes without ever being taught that unstable angina means that a thrombus had formed. (This point may sound boring, but it's the main difference between stable and unstable angina when it comes to heart disease.)

But at the end of the day, all that this article does is confirm is that life remains about 70% presentation, 30% content. And PowerPoint 2007's templates are sure mesmerizing...