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That “Basic” Girl at Starbucks Might Be Tracking Nuclear Missiles, or How Fundamental Attribution Error Harms Us
Coffee, nuclear missile research and human bias.
It’s 9 a.m. on a Saturday. I’m waiting for my iced coffee inside Starbucks, where I’ve spent the last two hours writing. The barista is preparing my coffee while I stand beside the “order pick-up” section, staring at my phone screen. All of a sudden, I hear a voice.
“Do you like this colour?”
I raise my head and see the barista looking at me. I realize they were addressing me.
“Sorry?” — I mumble, unsure what they meant.
“The coffee, — replies the guy, shaking the transparent coffee cup. — Do you like the colour? Is it pretty enough?”
For a second there, I thought he was joking. What does it mean whether the colour is pretty enough? It’s coffee. It’s brown with white marble when mixed with milk. I don’t think anyone is worried about the colour being pretty.
“Ugh… Sure. That’s perfect,” I reply sheepishly, unsure if they meant it seriously.
The barista smiles and hands me the cup. I thank them and get back to my table, a little distracted. This interaction did not affect my workflow, but it made me…
