Starbucks & IQ

A reader writes:

On the other end of the employment spectrum, I think Starbucks winds up with, for a fast-food-type job, a relatively intelligent bunch. I suspect this is based on the ability to parse drink orders quickly and accurately. Being able to hold "iced decaf caramel latte with soy milk and two raw sugars" in your head long enough to write it on the cup looks like a moderately g-loaded task, and it's central to working there. And my personal observation (as a coffee addict) is that most Starbuck employees come off as reasonably bright and competent. Much more so than, say, the employees at the local grocery stores or fast food restaurants.

I don't know if this is good or bad, long term. I and people I know go to Starbucks or Borders a lot more often than we go to bars or fast food restaurants. I can imagine this being just one more area where smarter people just stop rubbing elbows with anyone with an IQ lower than 100, and thus forget about their existence.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer