[QUESTION] Anyone attend Tufte courses?

[Ned Bedinger]

Rob Hudson wrote:
> Has anyone from the list attended the Tufte one-day seminar on
> Presenting Data and Information
> (http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/courses)? I am considering attending
> but want to make sure that I will benefit as a non-graphic artist.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Not myself, but a co-worker attended a Edward Tufte presentation 20 
years ago and was enthralled by ET's perspective, especially his 
devotion to giving the audience real value.

For instance, during the presentation, he passed around an ancient book, 
letting everyone examine and feel first-hand the power and presence of a 
published artifact from the time when a book was a small step for man, a 
giant leap for mankind. The ancient book was a token of his inspiration, 
and my co-worker, who is no stranger to exposure to leading thinkers and 
teachers (and I don't mean just me ;-), was floored by this gesture of 
openness, sincerity, and sharing in pursuit of education and 
understanding. Such volumes are treasures, and most of us will never see 
or open one, but Edward provided that experience to roomful of people 
like us. What a trip.

I think that particular edition of an ET presentation was probably 
representative of his standards and intention to deliver clear, palpably 
demonstrative insight into his inspiration as a technical communications 
analyst, and into the authentic foundations of the information age, 
which can continue to inspire us, undiminshed, today.

You'd have to interview others who have seen ET in person, if you want 
to verify this impression, but the report I got of his auditorium 
presentation was that he blew away the cobwebs and bullsh**t that make 
contemporary work in the technical vein so difficult to care about, let 
alone execute today. ET's lecture to an auditiorium registered strongly, 
on a personal level, with the attendees. People knew that they had spent 
the time in the presence of a great teacher, and had seen a classic 
instance of the harmonious meeting of information and intellect.

ET lectures are kind of expensive, but where else can you get that kind 
of value? He doesn't post here, AFAIK. But anyway, the lecture I'm 
reporting on, second hand, was 20 years ago. Maybe someone else will 
report on his current lecture tour.

Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com