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IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

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Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#51

Post by kingkilr »

alexgartrell wrote: post #48
redthrowaway wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They would also be aware of game theory, and may choose to use adblock but not tell anyone, or even actively campaign against it while using it themselves. I'm not suggesting smart people are unethical, but rather that ethicality and intelligence are fairly orthogonal, and that your proposed means seems to have more to do with the former than the latter. As to the speculation, you are of course right. I'm just puttin…

It's also potentially the case that intelligent people recognize that it's silly to be completely upset over ads and that few sides with really obnoxious ads have good content in the first place. Perhaps, to them, it's just not worth the trouble. But neither is trying to convince anyone on the internet that you're smart in the first place.

So we're all just projecting what we do onto the smart people here, right?

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#52

Post by andrewl-hn »

jigs_up wrote: post #37
balakk wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using Opera for about 11 years now. When I started, there was nothing that was better. Even with that huge advertisement widget. It still is extremely competitive, if not leading in most things. For casual browsing it is unmatched. It's not about one feature; it's the completeness of the whole browser. Things that you'd expect in Firefox/Chrome in extensions are built in here. It's still as fast as Chrome t…

I gave it shot for a while because I needed the Turbo feature. I liked using Opera, it was fast and the new chrome-like GUI is nice. However... as soon as my internet was back at full capacity I changed back to Chrome. You say you like it because of the completeness, but I found that it was missing quite a few small things which I cannot live without. Off the top off my head I can only remember two things - Tabs cann…

Tabs CAN be dragged - at least on Windows and Linux - not sure about Mac.

I also fell in love with tab stacking. It's just easier to group tabs into stacks in a single browser window than having separate windows. In later case I spend waaay too much time clicking wrong window.

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#53

Post by atlei »

katieben wrote: post #11

Who uses Opera and why?

I've been using Opera as my main browser for years, but also uses Chrome and Firefox.

Chrome; very fast, but crashes too often, and uses a LOT of memory (and messes up my Task Manager)

Firefox; lots of interesting add-ons, but slow and memory-hungry (and too often updated, with too many unstable updates)

Opera; very fast, very stable, best with regards to memory use. However, has problems with a few web sites (not compatible, maybe because they haven't tested "leading edge" technologies on Opera ?)

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#54

Post by Steko »

code_duck wrote: post #45
Steko wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be nice if they could control for household income as well, you'd see much of the differences disappear.

All browsers are provided free of charge and will run equally well on an average piece of hardware. Why do you think browser use is related to income?

First we know IQ is correlated with income.

We might guess Mac (hence Safari) users are correlated with income.

We might guess Opera users are correlated with income for several reasons.

We might guess Chrome users are correlated with income.

We might guess Firefox users are correlated with income.

We could guess the same of Lynx or any other niche browser more likely to be popular with well educated, higher income bracket people.

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#55

Post by ks »

jigs_up wrote: post #37
balakk wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using Opera for about 11 years now. When I started, there was nothing that was better. Even with that huge advertisement widget. It still is extremely competitive, if not leading in most things. For casual browsing it is unmatched. It's not about one feature; it's the completeness of the whole browser. Things that you'd expect in Firefox/Chrome in extensions are built in here. It's still as fast as Chrome t…

I gave it shot for a while because I needed the Turbo feature. I liked using Opera, it was fast and the new chrome-like GUI is nice. However... as soon as my internet was back at full capacity I changed back to Chrome. You say you like it because of the completeness, but I found that it was missing quite a few small things which I cannot live without. Off the top off my head I can only remember two things - Tabs cann…

> Text cannot be selected and dragged into the URL bar

You can right click the text and select "Go to web address". It's quicker in my opinion.

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#58

Post by code_duck »

Steko wrote: post #54
code_duck wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All browsers are provided free of charge and will run equally well on an average piece of hardware. Why do you think browser use is related to income?

First we know IQ is correlated with income. We might guess Mac (hence Safari) users are correlated with income. We might guess Opera users are correlated with income for several reasons. We might guess Chrome users are correlated with income. We might guess Firefox users are correlated with income. We could guess the same of Lynx or any other niche browser more likely to be popular with well educated, higher income b…

We might guess those things, I suppose. I was wondering why specifically.

Are you saying you think it is mainly related to education, and education is correlated to high income, this that's the link and not something else?

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#59

Post by rjd »

neilk wrote: post #14

Amusing, but it's kind of a truism. Changing your browser requires cognitive capacity. Those who change it the fastest have the highest cognitive capacity. Even without other explanations, that explains variations of version within a single browser, and to some extent Chrome and Firefox. The really surprising thing for me was Opera. You can't explain that with mere willingness to update or try something new.

TBH the I love the new Opera, its my browser of choice on Windows now. I still do most of my dev work in Firefox as its a swiss army knife, but opera otherwise.

On OSX, despite its memory leaks and crashing, the OS integrations of Safari can't be beat, the multi touch zooming, and the new lion features... I can put up with a crash or two a day.

And besides I like the feel of a high horse being at the to of that chart :P

Re: IQ scores in relation to web browser choice

#60

Post by neilk »

thricedotted wrote: post #28
neilk wrote: post #14

Amusing, but it's kind of a truism. Changing your browser requires cognitive capacity. Those who change it the fastest have the highest cognitive capacity. Even without other explanations, that explains variations of version within a single browser, and to some extent Chrome and Firefox. The really surprising thing for me was Opera. You can't explain that with mere willingness to update or try something new.

Here's the trend I see: all the browsers after IE pretty much go in order of market share. Safari isn't that special because it's the default on Macs, so even though its market share is only slightly above Opera's, the score there is dampened because there's still greater diversity in the people using it. But way fewer people are using Opera rather than Chrome or Firefox...I bet if you went back to the times Chrome/F…

Ah, now I see. It makes perfect sense. Think of it this way.

1. People who pioneer the use of alternative browsers always have high intelligence.

2. However, some browsers lack the ability to appeal to anyone beyond that initial market.

So know the graph is just saying things we already knew. Opera has a tiny fanclub, but the browser doesn't appeal to many people, or Opera fans are just bad at evangelizing to their friends. Meanwhile Chrome and Firefox have a much greater mainstream presence, and hence an attenuated average IQ.

So Opera's concentration among intelligent users isn't an indication of quality, but rather, some problem in their marketing approach.

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