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Study Compares IQ With Browser Choice

Posted by samzenpus on from the using-a-stupid-blocker dept.

rennerik writes "A recent study of 100,000 people taking IQ tests compared the scores with which browser the person uses on a regular basis. On average, Internet Explorer users fared the worst, with IE6 users at the bottom of the pile and IE8 users performing slightly better. Firefox, Chrome and Safari fell in the middle with little difference between them. IE with Chrome Frame and Camino landed on top, along with Opera, whose users scored the highest"

16 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. All of those studies are the same by Sun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The smaller the sample group, the more intelligent the average in it, in all recent "technology vs. intelligence" studies. Can we just deduct that the less intelligent flow with the crowd, the more intelligent actually pick what's best for them, and call it quits?

    Shachar

    1. Re:All of those studies are the same by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      No. If it makes me feel superior to IE users, the story must run.

    2. Re:All of those studies are the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Smarter by ego, not by definiton.

    3. Re:All of those studies are the same by Jurily · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > We're geeks: we're smarter than average (in terms of IQ at least) basically by definition.

      Bullshit. We've just invested significant time and effort into understanding computers. Does that make us smarter than people getting really good at other areas of their life?

    4. Re:All of those studies are the same by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Insightful

      no, but it does put us in a group which develops a good understanding of something. So while we might not necessarily be smarter than the medical group or the junk bond group, we're definitely smarter than the average joe that doesn't have a good understanding of anything.

  2. Flawed study. by will_die · · Score: 5, Funny

    They break up the different versions of IE, if you combine all the IE versions then the IQ levels exceed the others.

    1. Re:Flawed study. by Teun · · Score: 4, Interesting

      According to your grasp of Lies, Statistics and more Lies you are either running IE6 or Opera.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
    2. Re:Flawed study. by hedwards · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was a joke, but he's an Opera user so he wouldn't expect you to understand it.

  3. Re:Just downloaded... by will_die · · Score: 4, Insightful

    or you brought down the average for the Opera group.

  4. Conclusion by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 5, Funny

    Internet Explorer makes you stupid.

    This is how statistics work, right?

    (Typed in Internet Explorer)

    1. Re:Conclusion by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 5, Funny

      No you idiot. Correlation does not imply causation.

      (Posted with Firefox)

    2. Re:Conclusion by mikkelm · · Score: 5, Funny

      Haha, plebs.

      (Authored in Opera.)

  5. Does it run Linux? by Teun · · Score: 4, Funny
    My first thought was, yeah sure, of course those running Linux compatible browsers are smarter!

    But then I realised of all IE browsers it's IE6 that runs on Linux...

    :)

    --
    "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  6. Methods in report are impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    As a professor of psychology who has used intelligence tests in research, have given them clinically, and have taught students to use them, I just wanted to say to be very skeptical of this report.

    The report is very sketchy.

    It claims, for example, to have given the WAIS-IV online, the WAIS-IV being probably the most commonly administered intelligence test in existence.

    The problem with this claim is that the WAIS-IV can only really be given in person, by a trained examiner. There are subtests on the WAIS-IV that would be impossible to actually give online. I.e., not only would it be a bad idea to not given them online, without a trained examiner, it would be physically impossible.

    It's possible the firm claiming this study gave tests similar to the WAIS-IV, or gave portions of the WAIS-IV, but it is actually not possible to do what they actually claim in the report. They also don't give enough details to actually know what they really did, either, so you can't know.

    I actually think the results they report are what I would expect, if I were forced to make a prediction, but the whole thing has a cloud cast over it by the fact they're claiming methods that are impossible (and actually perhaps illegal, given that the WAIS-IV is copyrighted and strictly controlled).

    Keep in mind this report is being released by a for-profit company trying to benefit from publicity, using methods that are sketchy at best. Take it with a huge grain of salt, if at all.

  7. The perfect troll. by westlake · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This is a PR stunt by a company that wants to sell personality testing to your boss.

    Visitors arrived either through organic searches or through advertisements on other sites, and Aptiquant made a note of which browser each test taker was using.

    This is add-driven self-selected polling. Manipulative and fraudulent.

    The chats do not distinquish between the browser at home and the browser at work. That matters a lot when you looking at Internet Explorer.

  8. Re:Corrected for income? by Noughmad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Poor people use older stuff because thats all they can afford.

    If only those web browsers wouldn't be so dawn expensive....

    --
    PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.