029: Scott Hartley: The Future Needs Philosophers (Author of The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why The Liberal Arts will Rule the Digital World)

029-scott-hartley-the-future-needs-philosophers-author-of-the-fuzzy-and-the-techie-why-the-liberal-arts-will-rule-the-digital-world

“For fuzzy creatives everywhere, this book [The Fuzzy and the Techie] is both a tonic and a manifesto. As we enter the age of artificial intelligence, we will need more and more of the human kind, nurtured not by the sciences but by the humanities.”

Anne-Marie Slaughter

Scott Hartley is venture capitalist and author. In 2016 he was a finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey & Company’s Bracken Bower Prize for the best business book proposal by an author under 35. He has served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House, a Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV), and a Venture Partner at Metamorphic Ventures. Prior to venture capital, Scott worked at Google, Facebook, and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He has been a contributing author at MIT Press, and has written for the Financial Times, Forbes, Inc., Foreign Policy, and the Boston Review. He holds three degrees from Stanford and Columbia, has finished six marathon and Ironman 70.3 triathlons. He is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has visited over 70 countries. You can learn more about Scott’s work at fuzzytechie.com and hartleyglobal.com. (from hartleyglobal.com)

In our conversation we touch on Scott’s interest in Stoicism, how many leaders of the tech world have backgrounds in philosophy, how the liberal arts prepares one for the many ethical questions facing innovation today and how his father in his late 60s designed an app for the iPhone without any prior technical training. I’m going to do a giveaway for a copy of Scott’s book, The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why The Liberal Arts will Rule the Digital World. If you want to enter the giveaway for a chance to get Scott’s book, all you have to do is rate and review Contemplify on iTunes and then email me at hello@contemplify.com with your biggest takeaway from this conversation. As always, thanks for listening!

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EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Books by Scott Hartley

Resources Mentioned

People

  • Ryan Holiday
  • Reid Hoffman
  • Peter Thiel
  • B.F. Skinner
  • Sherry Turkle
  • Socrates
  • Plato
  • C.P. Snow
  • Sheryl Sandberg
  • Susan Wojcicki
  • Alex Carp
  • Ben Silverman
  • Stewart Butterfield
  • Tristan Harris
  • Steve Jobs
  • Gabo Arora
  • Aristotle
  • Josh Cohen
  • Danny Roderick
  • Jeff Sachs
  • Elaine Pritchett
  • Joseph Frank
  • Fyodor Dostoevsky

Drinks Pairings

  • Old Fashioned

Highlights

2m When you hear the word “contemplative”, how does that moniker relate to you?

5m If you were going to teach a class on the formation of Scott Hartley, what would be the 3 mandatory readings or works for your syllabus?

8m Your book is titled, The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why The Liberal Arts will Rule the Digital World. Before we dive in, can you define for us ‘fuzzy’ and ‘techie’?

12m30s In the final chapter of the book, you highlight Charles Percy Snow and his 1959 essay “The Two Cultures”. You are standing on his shoulders with your work. Like his essay, your book has optimistic outcomes for the partnership of fuzzys and techies. What are ways a person can become fluent in both cultures, do you think it matters?

18m15s Can you speak to the skillsets that liberal arts uniquely gives a person?

23m15s One of my favorite stories in the book is of your father creating his own app. Do you mind sharing his story, because it truly epitomizes the positive note of the democratization of the building blocks of technology?

33m One aspect of your book I found particularly intriguing was on ethical dilemmas, whether it be big data, autonomous cars, artificial intelligence and so on. In our country which appears so polarized at the moment, do you imagine a that a common set of ethics can be agreed upon while in the throes of technological innovation?

41m30s You devote a chapter to how the partnership of the fuzzy and techie can build a better world. Can you share your thoughts on how to best pace the utilization of technology for the greater good? 

47m37s Your book is chock full of examples of those will a liberal arts background who have made a significant impact in the tech world. Who have been your significant mentors or teachers along your path to seeing a happy marriage between the fuzzy and the techie?

52m38s If a senior in high school who was eagerly anticipating a path in computer science, what advice would give her?

56m20 What drink of choice goes best with this conversation?

 

Photo credit: Death To Stock Photo