Moneyball and Trouble with the Curve make for superb counterpoint. Both portray human and business values in confrontation, demanding choice. And both attain a character that might be called "spiritual." But the disguised behaviors and conflicted subtext of Curve are far more important. Having read Michael Lewis’ Moneyball sometime ago, I found the movie thoughtful and entertaining, not least because I admire Michael Lewis’ insights into our American culture. Surprisingly, however, it was “Trouble with the Curve” that caught me unawares and piqued my thinking.
Curve is
predictable, but creatively plotted to test an important hypothesis: brainware makes the essential and important
connections, not software. At
first, because Eastwood and I are of the same generation, I had to ask whether my
liking was generational bias. Setting that aside, I found myself ruminating
over the reviewers’ comments: “cornball,” “manipulative,” “contrived,” “bland”
and “preposterous.” I’d worry about my reputation in writing this interpretive review, except none of the critics recognized the significantly
(phenomenally?) important subtext of Curve.
Gus (Clint Eastwood), a retiring baseball scout losing his eyesight and out of touch with the power of the digital, is front and center. Eastwood is his gruff, snarky, self. His boss and friend, Pete (John Goodman), asks his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to join him on the trip to make sure he’s okay—all against Gus’ desires. The conflict faced by Gus is that created by young technocrats relying solely on software (the converse of Moneyball) for their scouting. Together Gus, who is technologically illiterate, and Mickey scout a top new prospect in North Carolina. Mickey soon recognizes her father’s failing vision which has been hidden from his bosses. Along the way Gus reconnects with Johnny (Justin Timberlake), who has a friendly history with Gus. Finally, what's delicious about Gus is that he won't be had. Technology bad, scout good, curveball sweet. You can figure out the plot from there.
Human, not digital
processors
But without revealing too much, the movie’s underlying theme
is that human intelligence trumps technology. Indeed, data's only value depends upon the managers' ability to formulate questions and interpret results. With the constant jabber about companies from Facebook to Cisco, you’d think that most believe tools more important than human expertise. Dell’s Jim Stikeleather muses about the issue,
reminding us that when we fail to understand that human expertise is more
important than the tool, the “tool will be used incorrectly and generate
nonsense (logical, properly processed
nonsense, but nonsense nevertheless).”
The risks in failing to think about Data as part of human-driven discovery and management processes are infinite. It was over-automated data tools that had Target’s marketers sending baby coupons to a teen-ager who hadn’t yet told her parents she was pregnant, and software that caused the Flash Crash in 2010 resulting in a Dow Jones Industrial plunge of nearly 1,000 points.
But Curve reminds us that our front lobes need the constant presence of two truths: more data doesn't mean more intelligence, and data’s value relies on human, evaluative intelligence. Understanding how to use the data we already have is what’s going to matter most.
See especially: Jim Stikeleather, Big Data's Human Component, HBR blog, 9.17.2012.
Flickr photo: theseanster93