Posted on 08/01/2011 12:26:25 PM PDT by Red Badger
In a study that is likely to incite controversy, AptiQuant, a Vancouver, British Columbia based Psychometric Consulting company has released a report that it says shows users of Microsoft Internet Explorer have lower Intelligence Quotient’s (IQs) than do users of other internet browsers. The company is basing its claims on scores online users received when taking the online Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (IV) test.
The test results were collected from over 100,000 English speaking people from New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada and the United States, over a span of four weeks and the score results were compared with the browser used to reach the site offering the test, which were offered free to random users.
In its report, AptiQuant describes how those that took the test found it via search engine queries or ads placed on other sites, meaning that they were looking to take such a test, and those who indicated they were under 16 years of age were sent to another site and were therefore excluded. Once logged in users were asked their age and sex and were then given the IQ test pertinent to their group.
After the four week trial period, test scores were correlated with browsers and AptiQuant says that the results very clearly show (via graph) that people who scored higher on the test were moving away from Internet Explorer to other available browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Camino and Opera. In addition to labeling those who scored lower as less intelligent, the AptiQuant authors also suggest that such visitors were also likely more resistant to change, which they suggest would probably be the case with any other software on the market as well.
One interesting aspect of the report is in how scoring results are interpreted as either “higher” or “lower,” rather than as above or below average, a term more often seen in such types of study; the reason being that the former denotes a sense of judgment, while the latter does not. Thus, in their findings, the authors find some of its test-takers to be of higher or lower intelligence, than others, rather than finding some of the test-takers to be of higher or lower intelligence than average, which is a marked distinction.
An interesting twist to the story is that a group of loyal Internet Explorer users are apparently banding together to sue AptiQuant over its report and company CEO Leonard Howard has reportedly said that his company has received a lot of hate mail as well.
I must be too stoopid to unnestan modern, uhm, science.
I use my Blackberry to surf.
I guess their chart isn’t big enough to hold my IQ.
Uses way too much memory and crashes too much. Get Chrome.
i miss gopher
Me, I use whatever works for me at the time and place.
The people I know who have very high I.Q.s don’t even know how to use a personal computer. They don’t want to be bothered with all the silly BS that comes with one.
I’m superior, you’re inferior. Na naa na naa
Every time the test is made available (and can only be taken once,) I consistently score higher than the loudest crowers.
FALSE! Windows Update is now disconnected from the browser. The option is still there, but if you choose it, it will call a separate program. The Windows Update icon is found at start/programs
That’s racist!!!!111!! I doubt they accounted for socio-economic factors in interweb browser use. We all know these so-called “intelligence” tests are biased against certain people. Therefore we must conclude that if there is a disparity in race between users of browsers then there must be a corresponding disparity in the results of these “intelligenKKKe” tests.
Yeah, or it could be a cow out in a field (or horse, or goat, or sheep). :)
I’m not sure if there’s anything wrong with IE9. It seems fine to me. I don’t use it because I’m out of the habit, unless I have to access something that requires it. FF I have to use because it has Zotero, the citation manager add-in. Unfortunately, it has no add-ins for any other browser, which stinks. I think I’ll get rid of it.
Sounds to me like they’re trying to “inspire” people to take their online IQ test.
YOU MUST HAVE THE GIGANTIC MODEL...............Doesn't it short out when it gets wet?.................
LOL, I use Windoze and IE (well, Firefox some) and there’s a 99.865% chance that my IQ is higher than any random FReeper you can choose.
“Me: I’ve four browsers on my Mac.”
Couldn’t master the first one, huh?
OK, they are intelligent. But do they have common sense, or the ability to figure out simple tasks? I have known several intelligent PHD’s who couln’t find their way out of a wet paper bag.
IE and 144
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