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Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by stcredzero on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @12:10PM (#19380077)
As noted in the article, apparently Google is presenting the top four search engines used in a given country

Good. 4 is a good number. It's on the low end of the number range people think of as "enough choice."

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by class4behavior on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @01:25PM (#19381082)
4 is the new 3
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by all2 on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @01:44PM (#19381331)
4 has been the 3 of China for 4000 years.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by TremendousJudge on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @01:47PM (#19381371)
care to explain?
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by all2 on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @02:23PM (#19381789)
Uhh, I'll do my best.

At its simplest, in the West we have a thing for threes. Three bits of God, three little pigs, three branches of government (in the USA at least), "things come in threes", three books/movies in a series (a trilogy), stories that have a "beginning/middle/end".

Bottom line, the West tends toward organizing and thinking of things in threes. Some might even be superstitious about threes (perhaps a Pythagorean influence).

In China the number 4 plays a similar role. I don't know much about 'numerology' in China, save to say that recently the number 4 (which apparently sounds like 'death' in Chinese) has been considered bad luck. Here's a better explanation than I could give: https://www.quora.com/In-Chinese-culture-why-is-the-number-4...

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by greglindahl on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @03:44PM (#19382869)
4 seasons, the 4 corners of the world, the 4 cardinal directions, the 4 bodily humors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism), you can find a ton of 4's in the West.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by OldFatCactus on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @03:19PM (#19382531)
In China the number 8 means wealth or fortune. It's not a coincidence that Brooklyn Chinatown is on 8th Ave. Their 'numerology' is interesting
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by stcredzero on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @04:49PM (#19383598)
My company just skipped the number 13 in a software version number.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by FabHK on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @05:58PM (#19384315)
In Hong Kong, "Chinese" buildings skip floor 4, 14, ..., while "Western" buildings skip floor 13. More recent culturally inclusive buildings skip floors 4, 13, 14, ... The most prestigious floors are 8 and 88.

To add a complication, Chinese tends to use the US convention (with the ground floor being floor 1), while the English convention is the British one (with the ground floor being floor 0).

By happy coincidence, then, the 13th floor is also 十四樓, ie the 14th floor, so you only need to skip one floor, rather than two. That explains why HK skyscrapers are so high.

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by philliphaydon on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @09:38PM (#19385800)
8 sounds like
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by failsafe on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:23PM (#19394924)
3 is important in decision making because it makes it easier to form a consensus. If I disagree with your idea, you have another entity to act as an arbiter.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by blowski on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @03:17PM (#19382501)
Did the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in four parts do well in China?
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by jclulow on Thursday March 14, 2019 @02:23AM (#19386899)
The increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy was, finally, in five parts; see Mostly Harmless.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by all2 on Saturday March 16, 2019 @01:28PM (#19408978)
Soon it will be 6 parts. For some reason they (whoever they are) have decided another book is a good idea.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by amelius on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @02:33PM (#19381902)
Reminds me of the song "Three is a magic number".
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by codazoda on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @06:36PM (#19384660)
It was an odd thing to me but Chrome would not list DuckDuckGo until after you had visited DuckDuckGo.com manually. Once on DDG it became an option. That's been around for a while, as I've had DDG as my Chrome default for a couple years. I presume it's now an option even if you've never visited.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by brentadamson on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @06:54PM (#19384800)
I believe that's because of opensearch and not necessarily a Chrome thing.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by sneak on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @01:33PM (#19381187)
It’s 3 more choices than most in the US get for broadband providers.
Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by genericone on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @03:53PM (#19382979)
Similarly, how many different options are available for similar classes of items found at Costco?

Say, frozen chicken, napkins, instant noodles, paper cups, etc. In some cases there is only 1 option offered, sometimes 2, rarely are there ever more than 4 options offered at Costco for a single type of item. When you trust that you are being offered the best choice or a top choice, well, we know what happens at Costco. People buy pallets in that warehouse.

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by paulddraper on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @09:29PM (#19385752)
Yes, but (1) Costco has nowhere near a monopoly on grocery, clothing, and electronics and (2) not even Costco customers do 100% of their grocery, clothing, and electronics shopping at Costco.

Costco is the "I'm feeling lucky" button.

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by stcredzero on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @04:48PM (#19383594)
Similarly, how many different options are available for similar classes of items found at Costco?

Effectively, Costco shoppers are people who already have chosen, "the cheapest fairly good quality option."

Re:Google has added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for... by kristallizer1 on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @04:20PM (#19383327)
Costco doesn't have a near-monopoly on grocery shopping.