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Browser Usage and Intelligence: Opera is the smart choice

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This comes as no surprise to us Opera users:

AptiQuant said:
Vancouver, BC. July 28 2011

A Vancouver based Psychometric Consulting company, AptiQuant, has released a report on a trial it conducted to measure the effects of cognitive ability on the choice of web browser. AptiQuant offered free online IQ tests to over a 100,000 people and then plotted the average IQ scores based on the browser on which the test was taken. And the results are really not that surprising. With just a look at the graphs in the report, it comes out pretty clear that Internet Explorer users scored lower than average on the IQ tests. Chrome, Firefox and Safari users had just a teeny bit higher than average IQ scores. And users of Camino, Opera and IE with Chrome Frame had exceptionally higher IQ levels. [...]

The full report can be downloaded at: http://www.aptiquant.com/IQ-Browser-AptiQuant-2011.pdf


The fact that users of Internet Explorer are dumber than average is even less news for everybody else, and in an attempt to prove the point, a group of them is threatening to sue AptiQuant.

:D
 
What's scarier? I'm sure a number of browser users were at work, where they may be forced to use older browsers such as IE 8, or 6 (like me!) because of strict security software disallowing installing anything else.
 
Of course the entire experiment would be skewed by the highest percentile of intelligent people who realise online IQ tests are a meaningless indicator of intelligence, and refrained from partaking...
 
Of course the entire experiment would be skewed by the highest percentile of intelligent people who realise online IQ tests are a meaningless indicator of intelligence, and refrained from partaking...


So within the group comprised of the dumbest people, the dumbest of those are IE users? :eek:
 
So within the group comprised of the dumbest people, the dumbest of those are IE users? :eek:


That would appear to be the indication. However it's theoretically possible (though admittedly unlikely) that the majority of IE users are in the "too smart to do this test" group.
 
Meanwhile the fact still remains that Opera is the dumbest of the browsers...
 
Sadly, I finally had to give up on my Opera, kept crashing and not working with sites. Chrome was not much better, it was fast but failed a lot. Firefox works great.
Conclusion
The study showed a substantial relationship between an individual’s cognitive ability and their choice of web browser. From the test results, it is a clear indication that individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist a change/upgrade of their browsers. This hypothesis can be extended to any software in general, however more research is needed for that, which is a potential future work as an extension to this report.
It is common knowledge, that Internet Explorer Versions to 6.0 to 8.0 are highly incompatible with modern web standards. In order to make websites work properly on these browsers, web developers have to spend a lot of unnecessary effort. This results in an extra financial strain on web projects, and has over the last decade cost millions of man-hours to IT companies. Now that we have a statistical pattern on the continuous usage of incompatible browsers, better steps can be taken to eradicate this nuisance.
This is mostly self serving nonsense that equates computer use with intelligence.

People don't always "choose" their web browser. Unless there is a reason, many people use what comes with the operating system.

As to the so called data conclusions -

Microsoft does not support IE9 on pre-Vista systems, this skews the IE data, because unlike the other browsers, someone would need to replace their XP computer to use it.

Opera is more likely to be used by academics, and ah, hacker types.

The reality is, large companies tend to use very large programs that are slow to change and can require specific browser versions which dictate what can be used. It is not uncommon to be required to use IE7 for example, and not have the software approved for other browsers. Also, Windows XP is still extremely pervasive in industry.

Why not conclude that IE users were taking the test from their place of employment, while other browser users were taking the test from home or school? Oh, because that would not fit their conclusion...
 
Good Job I use Opera then lol:), the only problem I have with it these days is that it seems to keep crashing, don't know if Win7 has anything to do with it
 
Out of curiosity, why? I thought FF had the better development and debug tools.

lol, ah just a nostalgic joke. Opera was the first web browser I ever used, a favorite of a medical guy I worked with in the early 90's (can that be right?). I don't even think www was around yet, we just visited edu sites then. I'm amazed it is still around. Firefox is my favorite. :).

If I want to browse with something nobody will bother hacking, Opera...
 
I've found this floating around the internetz, but can't find the name of the artist. Anyone know? Cute anyways.

picture.php


;)
 
Good Job I use Opera then lol:), the only problem I have with it these days is that it seems to keep crashing, don't know if Win7 has anything to do with it

I think it is that quality control is not as good as it used to be as they are having to try to keep to the accelerated development cycle that Chrome introduced users to. And they are finding it ever harder to offer something that the young turks don't have that sets it apart and gives it a competitive edge. It's a shame as I am a long time Opera user*, I even used to pay for it - yes you young whipper-snappers there was a time when you had to pay for the best.












*So of course the research is correct!
 
Of course the entire experiment would be skewed by the highest percentile of intelligent people who realise online IQ tests are a meaningless indicator of intelligence, and refrained from partaking...

Every "online IQ test" I have seen has turned out to be a scam for harvesting email addresses for spammers. When you complete the test, it asks you for an email address to send the results to. If the test were honestly constructed, giving your email address would reset the score to zero.
 
Every "online IQ test" I have seen has turned out to be a scam for harvesting email addresses for spammers. When you complete the test, it asks you for an email address to send the results to. If the test were honestly constructed, giving your email address would reset the score to zero.

... supporting the stance, that us smarter people would have never taken the test in the first place.
 
FYI they used a standard IQ test, so the percentiles (the meat of the report is in the graph on page 5 of 6 of the pdf linked in the OP) aren't relative to the group who made the test in this special environment, but to the standardization of that test (Wechsler).
 

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