{"id":51333,"date":"2015-07-30T10:39:34","date_gmt":"2015-07-30T14:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/?p=51333"},"modified":"2015-08-07T11:03:21","modified_gmt":"2015-08-07T15:03:21","slug":"that-useless-liberal-arts-degree-has-become-techs-hottest-ticket-anders-forbes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/2015\/07\/30\/that-useless-liberal-arts-degree-has-become-techs-hottest-ticket-anders-forbes\/","title":{"rendered":"That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket [Anders; Forbes]"},"content":{"rendered":"

That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket<\/strong><\/a> — from forbes.com by George Anders; with a shout out to Krista Spahr<\/a> for bringing this item to my attention<\/p>\n

Except:<\/em><\/p>\n

What kind of boss hires a thwarted actress for a business-to-business software startup? Stewart Butterfield, Slack\u2019s 42-year-old cofounder and CEO, whose estimated double-digit stake in the company could be worth $300 million or more. He\u2019s the proud holder of an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Canada\u2019s University of Victoria and a master\u2019s degree from Cambridge in philosophy and the history of science.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying philosophy taught me two things,\u201d says Butterfield, sitting in his office in San Francisco\u2019s South of Market district, a neighborhood almost entirely dedicated to the cult of coding. \u201cI learned how to write really clearly. I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings. And when I studied the history of science, I learned about the ways that everyone believes something is true\u2013like the old notion of some kind of ether in the air propagating gravitational forces\u2013until they realized that it wasn\u2019t true.\u201d
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\nAnd he\u2019s far from alone. Throughout the major U.S. tech hubs, whether Silicon Valley or Seattle, Boston or Austin, Tex., software companies are discovering that liberal arts thinking makes them stronger.<\/span> \u00a0Engineers may still command the biggest salaries, but at disruptive juggernauts such as Facebook and Uber, the war for talent has moved to nontechnical jobs, particularly sales and marketing. The more that audacious coders dream of changing the world, the more they need to fill their companies with social alchemists who can connect with customers\u2013and make progress seem pleasant.<\/p>\n

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\"forbescover2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Addendum on 8\/7\/15:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n