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The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World Hardcover – April 25, 2017

by Scott Hartley (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 187 ratings
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Financial Times Business Book of the Month
Finalist for the 2016 Financial Times/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize

A leading venture capitalist offers surprising revelations on who is going to be driving innovation in the years to come

Scott Hartley first heard the terms fuzzy and techie while studying political science at Stanford University. If you majored in the humanities or social sciences, you were a fuzzy. If you majored in the computer sciences, you were a techie. This informal division has quietly found its way into a default assumption that has misled the business world for decades: that it's the techies who drive innovation.

But in this brilliantly contrarian book, Hartley reveals the counterintuitive reality of business today: it's actually the fuzzies - not the techies - who are playing the key roles in developing the most creative and successful new business ideas. They are often the ones who understand the life issues that need solving and offer the best approaches for doing so. It is they who are bringing context to code, and ethics to algorithms.They also bring the management and communication skills, the soft skills that are so vital to spurring growth.

Hartley looks inside some of today's most dynamic new companies, reveals breakthrough fuzzy-techie collaborations, and explores how such collaborations are at the center of innovation in business, education, and government, and why liberal arts are still relevant in our techie world.
 
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. Publication date
    April 25, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.08 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0544944771
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0544944770
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
187 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and interesting. They appreciate the insightful examples and consider it a must-read for entrepreneurs and academics. The book provides a unique perspective on the VC industry and highlights the importance of human interactions in the new age of automation.

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ReadabilityInsightBook valueHuman content
28 customers mention "Readability"26 positive2 negative

Customers find the book interesting and enjoyable. They appreciate the author's thoughtful writing and the blend of hard data and entertaining stories. The book is well-written and satisfying for tech enthusiasts.

"...Overall, a clear, fun, insightful read. Enjoyed it very much. Educators, students, parents, policy makers, and entrepreneurs will want to read it." Read more

"...in the workplace as we create more meaningful, cooperative, and fun environments where more people feel valued and important in these collective,..." Read more

"...Accordingly, Hartley has written a thoughtful book about the pros and cons of a world increasingly dominated by technology...." Read more

"...it gets 3 stars instead of 2 is that, fundamentally, the author's argument is correct...." Read more

23 customers mention "Insight"21 positive2 negative

Customers find the book informative and thought-provoking. They appreciate the examples and stories about the tech world. The book offers new possibilities for liberal arts and humanities in the 21st century. It is an important read for people just getting started in their careers.

"...data and entertaining stories, that allows for a convincing argument in an entertaining way...." Read more

"I loved this book from start to finish. Hartley's book touches on modern examples of how the fuzzy and the techie must both be employed to solve..." Read more

"...In essence, this is a really nice, important think piece stuffed full of redundancy and sawdust into book-size." Read more

"...This book is an important read for people just getting started in their career as well as others who are interested in the technology industry in..." Read more

5 customers mention "Book value"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a must-read for entrepreneurs and academics. They say it's important and timely, providing an insightful perspective on the VC industry with game-changing companies backing it. The author's views are innovative and refreshing.

"...This optimism is backed by profitable, game-changing companies (most of whom you have never heard about), who are literally creating the future...." Read more

"...This is an important book that will help shape the debate over the importance of "fuzzy" leaders in VC...." Read more

"...industry for over a decade I found the author's book and points of views very innovative and refreshing...." Read more

"What a read! A timely book given the future of work. Scott is an incredibly gifted writer. I couldn't put the book down." Read more

4 customers mention "Human content"3 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the book's human content. They find it a valuable source of meaningful people, ideas, stories, and events. The book reminds readers that humans are not secondary in the new age of automation.

"...feel that “the tech world” is out of their reach and compiles a wealth of meaningful people, ideas, stories, and statistics for those concerned that..." Read more

"...He constantly references organizations, people, and events that bring evidence to his claims...." Read more

"...The author has no depth in his industry or sufficient expertise that falls outside of anecdotes which he circles back to and builds his argument..." Read more

"...Scott’s book reminds us that humans are not secondary in the new age of automation and technology...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • BP
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read book for any entrepreneur or academic
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book could lead to new paradigm shifts in how we think about technology--and its role in education. Hartley’s clear writing reminds us that even during this era of major tech transformation, we still need the human spirit to guide technology. Only through liberal arts-educated students can we make the best use of technology through the "soft skills" which Hartley explains through visits to the schools the tech execs themselves send their kids. Tech and education need to blend. One sees this in Hartley's example of innovative blended learning--likely secondary education's future--where students go further than lecture-based teaching models. I can see interest in leading education technology companies like AltSchool and Knowledge Platform rising because of this book.

    Overall, a clear, fun, insightful read. Enjoyed it very much. Educators, students, parents, policy makers, and entrepreneurs will want to read it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Steven JR
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for any of the worried and/or skeptical techies (or fuzzies!) out there about the impact of automation
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017
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    As a techie who has obsessed, worried, and generally just been quite skeptical over the chance non-techies have in surviving the potential automation explosion that could soon come, I found myself relieved to FINALLY find such a convincing argument that the future may be bright after all for both "fuzzies" and techies alike. Prior to reading this, I had come across the Oxford study (that is also discussed in the book) which estimated some 47% of jobs would be automated in the next one to two decades. This study initially rang true to my intuition, as I had been involved in programming several products which were responsible for automating away many manual, repetitive jobs. Having done these jobs, I really couldn't see any end in sight to the potential automation wave that could really create a dire future for any non-techies.

    But, Hartley presents many studies in the book which contradict these findings - the most prominent of which I found to be the Mckinsey study -
    which states the number is probably closer to about 5%. More importantly, though, throughout the book he gives several explanatory models explaining WHY many jobs will survive automation, as well as why many "fuzzy" jobs will need to be created and even why these fuzzy jobs will be complex, high skilled and high value jobs. These models further *qualitatively* distinguish what jobs are ripe for automation, and what jobs (or potential jobs) are best served by "fuzzy" skills. The core concept that governs these models is complexity. By looking at a given job, these models highlight both the *magnitude* of complexity, as well as the *type* of complexity. For example, Hartley uses the Cynefin framework to distinguish between tasks that are simple, complicated, complex, chaotic, or disordered. Each of these categories are governed by the structure of the cause and effect relationships which dictate the required action of the person (or job/role) in effectively carrying out a required task. I found models like this to give me an incredibly simple and useful way for organizing and making sense of this topic, where previously I could feel myself floundering to pull together the essential governing laws of the debate.

    Besides this, the book is filled with a really nice blend of hard data and entertaining stories, that allows for a convincing argument in an entertaining way. I had one or two disagreements, where I thought the role of a "fuzzie" was slightly over-exaggerated - or at the very least was likely to be more valuable supplementally rather than critically. But, on the whole, I found myself mostly nodding in agreement with my own experience, where I have personally found many of the tech claims - especially those involving machine learning, AI, neural nets, etc - to be highly over-exaggerated, as well as the many times in my own work-life experience I have seen just how invaluable fuzzies can be in the right domains. The one benefit I did not expect to get from this book was just how much it could help me to not only appreciate more what "fuzzies" do in the current workplace, but also how to help and support their future in the workplace as we create more meaningful, cooperative, and fun environments where more people feel valued and important in these collective, creative engagements (that we so boringly call jobs) as we humans march forward into the totally unknown and exciting future that lays ahead of us
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Daniel Flatley
    4.0 out of 5 stars A guide for bringing two seemingly disparate disciplines together
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Looking over Scott Hartley's resume, you could be forgiven for thinking he's a techie. Stanford, Google, Facebook and venture capital all have prominent places in his biography. But Hartley is an admitted "fuzzy" -- a former liberal arts major who is seeking to close the often artificial gap between the two disciplines.

    Accordingly, Hartley has written a thoughtful book about the pros and cons of a world increasingly dominated by technology. There is something for everyone here -- an exploration of the effect of big data on discrimination, the pros and cons of virtual reality and the new frontier of cyber security.

    Hartley has done an admirable job of weaving the stories of real people into his exploration of fairly abstract concepts such as artificial intelligence and, as a result, the book provides an engaging read. This is perhaps Hartley's greatest strength -- his ability to get people to open up about their experiences and use them to illustrate the advantages of a more holistic approach to technological innovation.

    Most people, myself included, are probably used to the narrative that innovation is driven primarily by computer scientists who are solely focused on the problems embedded deep in lines of code. Hartley argues that technological innovation has always been driven by fuzzies and techies alike -- that it is the marriage of these two disciplines that has often yielded the most fruitful results.

    We seem to be approaching an inflection point at which we can no longer afford to keep these two worlds apart. Hartley's book may serve as a guide for how to bring them together.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Quebec Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking for techies and fuzzies alike
    Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    To be clear - I was already sold on the idea that it is absolutely necessary for "techies" (those from STEM) disciplines and "fuzzies" (those from humanities and the social sciences) to work together in full partnership to deal with the most pressing problems facing humanity and to create new opportunities for tech to be mobilized for the betterment of the human condition. This book makes that case. While seemingly addressed to people with a humanities background, I think that this is essential reading for those in the STEM fields as well. We all have a lot to learn from each other and it is time to break down these contrived barriers between the disciplines that hamper our ability to develop and deploy technologies for the benefit of all. I highly recommend this book - perhaps most to those youth who are still pursuing their studies. Take advantage of the many disciplines that are at your doorstep while in college/university. I also recommend this to educators and government officials who reinforce mistaken perceptions about the value of an education in the humanities and social sciences.
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  • Michael Quinn
    5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly nuanced perspective
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2021
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    In today's polarized world of left vs right, us vs them, Hartley coherently lays out a nuanced argument for partnership between fuzzies and techies to advance society forward. As a purpose-driven entrepreneur with engineering, social science and business degreess, a found this to be a refreshing take. It's well written and researched with engaging stories. Highly recommended!
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  • Anurav jain
    5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with stories of fuzzies
    Reviewed in India on June 3, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The book is filled with excellent stories of fuzzies making a huge impact in tech world
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  • Lluvia A.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great literature
    Reviewed in Mexico on February 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Encantada con encontrar este libro en México. Good English to read
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  • Paulo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Quebra pré conceitos
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 13, 2019
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    Muito bom
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