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AptiQuant Browser/IQ Study Was Likely a Hoax

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the or-maybe-it-just-fooled-the-dumb-people dept.

A steady stream of people have submitted notes this morning saying that the story we (and the entire internet, and even NPR's Marketplace) mentioned recently talking about browser platform correlating with IQ looks like a hoax. Of course, if you read the Slashdot discussion, you probably would have known this already, but now everyone knows. The company responsible for the survey, AptiQuant, looks to not be real.

26 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. I knew immediately by airconswitch · · Score: 5, Funny

    After all, I use Opera.

  2. So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I swear, Homer Simpson is right, you can find a study to prove anything. He conducted a study to prove that.

  3. The real story... by Coisiche · · Score: 2

    AptiQuant CEO: "Shit we've offended all the IE users and there's uncountable legions of those bottom feeders. You, minion! Spin something!".

    1. Re:The real story... by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      He must be an internet explorer user then. An opera user would have merely put up a website where those offended could complain, but then make the site incompatible with IE, and suggest they download opera or firefox. THEN when they do, they'll become smart enough to realize the study was right, and won't complain.

  4. Ad Clicks! by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 2

    No one has yet mentioned the "post the hoax and earn revenue then post the retraction and earn more revenue" angle.

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  5. Intelligence decrease by Dan+East · · Score: 2

    Well that sucks. I swear my intelligence increased the instant I switched to IE with Chrome Frame and Camino. Damn placebo effect.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  6. Journalism by boristdog · · Score: 2

    So someone could have been a real journalist last week with a small amount of Google skills. Got it.

  7. It speaks volumes that we all believed it by sandytaru · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The "results" seemed to fit all our pre-established notions of IE users in general - they don't know any better, because they are stupider than the rest of us. Now I would like to see someone do a legit study using this methodology and see what the actual results are. My confirmation bias says they'll actually be pretty close to the fake results.

    --
    Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    1. Re:It speaks volumes that we all believed it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I use IE. I'm one of the smartest IT people in my circles

      There's no-one else in that basement, is there?

  8. Re:So what. by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 2

    Well... some of that may be true, but as anyone that has worked out there knows high paying job != intelligence. In most places it's actually a reverse correlation.

  9. You know what? by neokushan · · Score: 2

    Well played, whoever did this. Sure, a lot of /.ers are no doubt going to play the "I suspected it was fraudulent from the second I heard of it!" card, but they essentially trolled the entire internet and caught out enough big news agencies (from slashdot to the BBC) to make their efforts worthwhile.
    I just wonder why, though? Was it as simple as trolling the internet, or was there some other purpose to it? Can anyone think of a legitimate reason for this, other than a cheap laugh?

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    +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    1. Re:You know what? by Baloroth · · Score: 2

      Whoever it was, they put a lot of work into it. If you visit there webpage, you can see "articles", contact info (all generic email addresses. Telling, but not proof in any way) and bios for the personal working there (all faked, apparently). It would be difficult on first blush to tell that it was a fake. Even the name is well chosen (Aptitude Quantification). Maybe it was some kind of college psychology project? A masters thesis, even. Enough work went into it that I suspect there was something beyond "for teh lulz!" here.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    2. Re:You know what? by v4gr4nt · · Score: 2

      "I just wonder why, though?"
      .
      Maybe all the inbound links from news websites would increase the page rank for the [2 week old] aptiquant.com page, then the link to the [5 week old] atcheap.com site at the bottom of the page would transfer some of that PR over.

    3. Re:You know what? by v4gr4nt · · Score: 2

      Also both domains are registered with dynadot and are hosted on adjacent IP addresses

  10. Ssssh! by Zocalo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't spoil it now! I'm fully expecting a significant drop in IE6 users in the next round of the various stats put out each month because of this. Anything that gets users off that nightmare and onto something newer, even just a more recent version of IE, is a good thing in my book!

    --
    UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
  11. Not real?!! by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

    Say it ain't so Ms. Zuckerburg. They have a web page with a Facebook link. They've got to be real. Right?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  12. Re:So what. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2

    The study said that the average IQ for IE users was 80. If they'd said 95, then it might have been plausible, but 80 means functionally illiterate and basically unable to function in society. Same at the other end. Opera users with an average of 120? Opera's market share is pretty small, but it's still larger than the bit of the bell curve with an average of 120.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  13. Already did this study a long time ago by suso · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Back in 1997/1998 when I ran a fan website. For a period of time I had shamefully turned away IE users for a time because of a website incompatibility from the site and received angry e-mails. Then, about 6 months later, I turned away Netscape users with the same reasoning. What I found is that the e-mail from IE users tended to be much shorter and use simpler words with more mistakes in grammar. Its one of things that I did, but alas never published. I still have all the e-mails though. My thoughts about it at the time were that people who choose to use IE at the time don't really think about their choices much and just go with what is given to them.

    1. Re:Already did this study a long time ago by obergfellja · · Score: 2

      My thoughts about it at the time were that people who choose to use IE at the time don't really think about their choices much and just go with what is given to them.

      If you have paid attention to the past 10 years of browsers wars (from when FF 1.0 hit the market on) and the lawsuits in the 90's against the very company which gave Internet Explorer (as we all know is M$FT), you will see this trend to hold up true. People (buyers) tend to not invest in new things when "Experts" pre-package a set of tools together when the buyers just buy and not look deep into maximizing their purchases. The majority of the buyers just don't care. They hope someone else will think for them on set concept. This goes not just for computers, but also for the medical field, food industry, or anything else where it is "too complected" for set people to really give a care. It is a shame, but Society prides on people being an expert in one set thing and not care about the rest of the world outside of expecting others to know everything about it all. (ie: expecting a sales clerk @ your local Walmart or equivalent doesn't know enough to decide for you on the purchases you make @ set store, they are overworked and under paid to care).

      Those who take the time to investigate in such products (ie: Netscape, FF, Chrome, Safari, etc), they are more likely to display a well informed and well organized letter of complaint towards the lack of development towards their browser over others. When I develop websites and web tools for the company I work for, I do all the functionality testing in my browser of choice (non IE version whatever) and than worry about ascetics in IE due to the fact that the majority of my users use IE. It is the IT departments request that everyone uses IE, especially for working with the tools IT gives everyone. If you are a business catering to the audience at large (populous), it makes sense to worry about all browsers or posting on your site that you design for set browser(s), but if you are internal coder, you or your department can set the standard at what will be accessed and used (like my department in my company).

      If anyone has points, Mod up this parent comment by suso.

  14. A follow-up study showed... by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Internet Explorer users, on average, fell for the hoax the most, with IE6 users most likely to believe it was real and IE8 users being somewhat less gullible. Firefox, Chrome and Safari users fared somewhat better as they tended to not believe it as much as the IE users. IE with Chrome Frame and Camino users almost never believed the hoax, while Opera users immediately new it not to be true.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  15. Re:Appearances by Coolhand2120 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is great, but what they conceal is essential.

  16. In other news... by Xest · · Score: 2

    Modern journalists really do have a sub-100 IQ, because their widespread publishing without question of this story proved it.

    1. Re:In other news... by MaxBooger · · Score: 2

      So, I guess they all use IE 6.

  17. Re:So what. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

    but 80 means functionally illiterate and basically unable to function in society.

    You just described most of my coworkers. We use IE at work....

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  18. Re:Does anyone really give a shit? by Aryden · · Score: 2

    urchin... not erchant

    IE spellchecker not working right?

  19. Re:Appearances by Your.Master · · Score: 2

    If you see somebody in a bikini and can't tell what sex organs they have, you might have a problem.

    Besides, if you saw somebody you thought was attractive in a bikini, what would finding out she had dude parts do to change things? Do you fear that you have a secret bisexual alternate personality? I'm pretty sure the things that make me straight come way before that point.