I’ve been meaning to read this for years, and thanks to a “no new books until you read all your old ones” ultimatum, I’m finally doing it! I already know a lot of this stuff, but it’s still an enjoyable read – he pads his analyses pretty heavily with anecdotes about individuals involved in the systems he’s describing (which I like, at least in this case), and although his tone is critical, it isn’t righteously judgmental (which I also like).
Here are a couple things I didn’t know:
- McDonalds is one of the world’s leading purchasers of satellite photography. They have sophisticated software that uses the photos (along with demographic information and sales statistics from nearby stores) to predict future urban sprawl and traffic congestion, and thereby select future locations of new restaurants.
- Fast food restaurants claim tax credits worth up to 2k/employee that are designed to compensate companies that hire and train impoverished and unskilled workers. However, they also spend tons of money and effort creating “zero-training workplaces” where the work procedures are as standardized as possible so employees don’t actually require any training. (Apparently ‘deskilling’ is the relevant creepy managerial jargon here.)
