h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just asking.



Oh all right, apparently there may be a link between browser choice and intelligence

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14370878

That's old news.

I've never even heard of camino, no wonder those users know more than the average user.

Nah, there's a link between browser choice and IQ, which is not the same thing as intelligence.

I use Firefox, because it's the default browser with Ubuntu, and I'm happy with it. At work, I use a lot of different browsers, because I'm building websites, so I need to check what works well in each browser. Safari is definitely the one which annoys me the most, but I try to use it sometimes anyway.

TRiG.

Well, I use Opera Mini on my Blackberry, and I flit between Chrome, Opera and Safari on the laptop.

Camino in the browser on Apple machines, I believe. Are we surprised that Apple users have a higher IQ?


Geggs

Safari virtually all the time, but occasionally Firefox if I experience problems, which can arise, occasionally on non-Mac friendly sites.

I think Barlesque uses mozarella. Or something just as

MMF

.

I'm on Opera. I just love it when fans of the other browsers go on about their latest features and I'm usually thinking 'yes, Opera has had that for years now'.

To get the most out of Opera you have to set it up properly and I think a lot of people just expect it to run to full potential from the moment it's downloaded and when it doesn't, they go back to IE or Firefox and dismiss Opera as not worth the bother. I've always said Opera isn't so much a browser as a system. Once you take the time to go through it properly, it's amazing what it can do.

If it has a downside at all, I'd say it's the Opera Turbo feature for speeding up slow connections which, when it's on automatic, doesn't always recognise when a network has speeded up again and won't disengage unless you manually turn it off. A minor bug, but a bit irritating if your connection is fluctuating above and below the point Opera considers activating the Turbo, since on a fast connection it has the opposite effect.

IE's usually worked for me. I switch to Godzilla for Google Chat, as IE seems far too slow (it can't keep up with my typing).

Does that mean I'm subnormal?

I used Opera but it has never worked properly since version 10.10. It keeps crashing, so I don't usually bother any more. (I have the latest version: 11.50). I've still customised it, it has a lot of great features, but I edit too much to want to risk losing all because Opera crashes.

The experiment to link IQ with browser choice is flawed. If the data is correct, then it only relates to those subjects who choose to take an online IQ test. The most intelligent people of all wouldn't waste time on such a test, so they are unrepresented.

oooh I knew it. I've used Opera for years, with Firefox as my 'second in command'.

Thickie here. I can't get my work mail on any other browser, so I have no choice other than to use IE.

Having said that, it works perfectly well - it takes me to places on the Internet, which is all I ask of it...

I have firefox as a back up, but haven't noticed any particular gain in intelligence when using it.

sprout

very good point, Quotes

also, i bet that version number has something to do with it too...

an early version Safari may not impart as much intelligence as a more recent IE

Chrome.

.. now the story has been exposed as a hoax, do all those 'clever' people now feel a little bit sheepish?

Firefox

as a psychology student i want to see their dataset. It is very true that if you know what you want the stats to say there is probably a way of making them say it.

What statistical analysis did they use, did they actually measure a significant P value of less than 0.05 or 1 in 20? Which test did they use?

I'm now VERY sceptical about so called research.

mini

IE at work because They make me.

Chrome at home on the same laptop.

Sometimes Firefox on the various netbooks and steam-powered desktop we've Ubuntufied.


Which backs the hoax story up. At work I only pretend to be less clever than I really am at home.




Incidentally...does anyone else find it amusing that Google give you the Ad Buster plug-in for Chrome that lets you block all the ads that pay for it?

I was going to say, Firefox among others; however, the OP displays the link to a hoax news "story".

Are most news hoaxes executed during the slow news days of summer?

If they actually did do a proper IQ test of different browser users it wouldn't surprise me if it really turned out to be the way the hoax report indicated. It's usually the more intelligent people who go down the route of customising their browsing experience etc., the rest just accept that what they are given by Microsoft when they buy their computer is the only option they have. You only have to look at how many people stick with the anti virus package that was on their computer from new (recommended by salesmen on commission and hogging your computer resources, the Anti Virus not the salesmen), and there are still people who think that having an anti virus program means they are protected - they don't realise you have to run the thing as well.

Bel, when you say Opera crashes, is it because the Turbo is on when it shouldn't be? That can cause the pages to hang. I don't get any crashing on 11.5 other than the already mentioned 'Turbo lag'.

I don't know, Radox. I've used a bit more again, and it didn't crash, but it is incredibly slow, no matter whether turbo is on or not. It once was the only way I could browse at all when my ISP had changed something which more or less prevented me from accessing BBC sites, but that was a long time ago. Now it is just slow in general.

It would be interesting to know the average intelligence of people using the Internet at all. Above or below 100 I wonder?