Foundry Group’s Brad Feld recently posted a video where individuals in Time Square were asked whether or not they knew the difference between a browser and a search engine. Lucky for search-giant (and now Chrome creator) Google - most did not. The video of the mistaken search engine had the blogosphere in an uproar as the tech-savvy marveled at what they believed to be the stupidity of the masses.

It reminded me of Rick Mercer’s “Talking to Americans” series in a which a CBC television personality interviews Americans and gets them to comment on fake Canadian factoids. As a Canadian myself, I know how much Canucks love this program. While many believe that Canada’s favorite pastime is hockey, it is in fact making fun of Americans. The stereotype (at least in Canada) is that Americans are less intelligent than their northern neighbors. However, it seems to me that intelligence has little to do with both the Canadian and the browser exercise. It’s more a reflection of the sad fact that most people outside of the realms of tech and Canada just don’t feel the need to care about either subject.