I don’t know anyone in tech who has a liberal arts degree, and I graduated 25 years ago. The authors wife probably doesn’t actually develop the tech, rather management.
Some universities deal with this demand by offering a "Certificate" or something equivalent in tech for students so that they can learn the fundamentals even though they're from a liberal arts (or other background, but have a degree). Even going back like 50 years, my father studied liberal arts but was offered an opportunity to do an advanced degree in computer science, provided he completed core courses (in additions to the ones he'd already done).
I suppose my point is that this may not be as rare as it seems, and is increasingly common as a BA becomes a dime a dozen (although not intrinsically valueless) and the growth in tech jobs continues (for now).