[csours]

I did industrial tech support in an automobile assembly plant. I would get calls to fix something, and I would tell them why it was someone else's responsibility, or I would try to explain something.

When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points. Suddenly the things I said made sense. I think most of this effect can be attributed to the fact that I cared enough to show up, and that it's easier to communicate in person. That's most of it, but I'm also a large-ish white male (6 feet tall, 250 pounds at that time) and that physical presence does seem to have an effect on some people.

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It's easy to think that I'm making a moral statement one way or another by what I've said here, but you don't have to think that.

[actually_a_dog]

You're right about the physical presence thing. I had this conversation with a friend of mine who's a short-ish woman in her early 70s. She's always had big, intimidating-looking dogs, and likes to joke that she "only meets nice people" because of it. :) I mentioned (joked, really) that the way I say safe on the streets is through a combination of maintaining situational awareness, and being a 6' tall white guy.

I'm sure there are social effects I don't perceive because I've been tall since I was a teenager. For instance, it's hard to believe that the average Fortune 500 CEO is 6' tall just by coincidence. Height also seems to predict overall financial success in an interesting way: https://news.utexas.edu/2009/12/15/research-shows-height-may...

[sshine]

> When I went out to plant floor, it was like my perceived IQ went up by 20 points.

I thought you were going to conclude that factory workers are dumb, so you appeared relatively smarter.

(Before anyone gets upset, I have grandparents who were factory workers; I admire hard work.)

[csours]

There were some really smart people out there working on the assembly line - accountants and other professionals. A lot of people had a second job or owned another business. The job itself is pretty mind-numbing, but if you're on a good team you can have a good time.