How do you spot a nonconformist? Check their Internet browser

I must commend Grant for his thoughtful analysis of the complex association between browser choice, conformity, and career success. He begins with an elegant proof establishing that a one-to-one mapping exists between those who elect to install web-browsing software, instead of using the default, and the nonconformist personality trait. Next he observes that the study's astute selection of subjects, call center employees, gives us confidence that the results can be generalized to many, and indeed all, professions. Lastly, Grant creates a coherent picture of the study and its implications by clearly identifying nonconformity as the causal factor in the subjects' improved performance as call center workers.

Admirably, Grant breaks from the mainstream by avoiding the temptation to abuse p-values to support the association. In fact, he succeeds in establishing a direct causal relationship between browser choice, nonconformity, and career success without relying upon any statistical analysis whatsoever. In an age when we are all too weary of the misuses and abuses of statistics, it is refreshing to read an interpretation which so convincingly supports its thesis with a single figure. There can be little doubt going forward that nonconformity is a key ingredient for career success, and that this trait is strongly indicated by browser preference.

If running a non-default browser is a sign of career success, then running a non-default operating system must be a sign of even greater success.

Of course running a non-default version of an operating system should probably increase success rates even more, then there's the windows manager and text editor you use, to include in the calculation.

My back of a beer mat calculations indicate I should be sending reuseable rockets into space at about this time in my career.

Checks bank balance

Shit.

The clear non-comformist thing to do would be to write your own web browser. As with everything else in life, people uses consumption to establish identity - through choice of food, music, movies..and yes, even web browsers. But this is all facade, like the person who looks like a rock star, walks like a rock star, listen to music of rock stars, but himself has never touched an instrument.

Instead, it's much more effective to judge people from their output. What kind of works do they produce? Do the have unique ways of solving problems? Do their works inspire you to think in new patterns? Maybe then you can spot the non-conformist.

The idea that someone working in a call center is able to download their own browser is laughable. Where are these call centers where the high-turnover-staff are able to install whatever software they want? I wouldn't be at all surprised if some call center operatives were forced to use IE6 and I wouldn't be surprised if some call centers effectively forbid their staff from using the internet for anything beyond checking customer information on their intranet.

"Google's Chrome browser shortcut, Google Inc.'s new Web browser" - is this caption really from an article written in 2016?

Eh, this is just crap. I know many people who use IE just because they do not care about the browser. They use it occasionally to look something up and then move on and do the work they need to do. Also, staying in longer doesn't mean anything either. I leave at 4 pm and I still do more work than >80% of my coworkers.

It may be that there is a correlation between productivity and browser choice, but I doubt that the causation is as simple as posited in TFA.

Edit: it seems that the article says staying in a particular job longer and not staying in office longer during the day.

Well I guess I should add "Firefox user since 2004" to my resume then :)