That's assuming that your society does a good job of funnelling smart people into higher education. Most societies I've visited don't do that good, the USA does

That's assuming that your society does a good job of funnelling smart people into higher education. Most societies I've visited don't do that good, the USA does a worse job than most. There are plenty of smart people on construction sites. I've met many, on site. Many just didn't get to complete high school because of the school system of their country, because family issues etc. Many of the skilled workers actually enjoy what they do and regard sitting in front of a screen all day as a waste of a life. Anyone managing a crew or subcontracting _can't_ be dumb - it's a very challenging role If there are people standing around on a building site it is mostly not because of blockers or scheduling issues - there is generally a subcontractor who is financially very incentiveized to make sure stuff happens when it should with no blockers for his crew Overall your comment is really out of touch with reality, and a bit... dumb.