[onthedole]

Quite a sad view of humanity. I don't think people are stupid, I think they just don't care and shouldn't care about the browser. It's a tool used to get access to the information they need.

I am reading HN on chrome, but unless I go looking for what browser I use, I wouldn't know.

[shinratdr]

Decoupling the concept of "you don't intimately know what I have spent my entire life playing with" from "stupidity" seems to be really difficult for the tech crowd.

Always sad. People willing to discount countless hours of expertise and knowledge because a user doesn't know what the name of their browser is. As if that means anything.

For example, I really don't give a shit if my neurosurgeon is aware of what his browser is named. Nor would I dream of calling him stupid if he didn't. Chances are he knows leaps and bounds more about me on most topics, just not casual desktop computing.

Likewise, discounting someone entirely because they're uncomfortable with or uninterested in computers is one of the most ridiculous, ignorant, and self-absorbed things you can do.

[ithcy2]

This is about maturity and empathy, and it's certainly not exclusive to the tech crowd. [Insert half-baked pseudo-psychiatric idea about the link between tech people and empathy and Asperger's and so forth]

[001sky]

This is a useful consideration. It Appears to be an affliction of many (if not all "experts") of various stripes.

[drivebyacct2]

I'm immediately tempted to apply it to politics. I won't, or at least certainly not here, but it's interesting to think about.

[DanBC]

Stupid is a harsh word. But it's short and simple and easy to understand.

"Assume the user is stupid" isn't really being mean to users. It's just shorthand for "make everything as easy as possible. Sane defaults; great design; remove ambiguity; correct documentation; and so on."