Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage
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"Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage" was a hoax study allegedly released by a Canadian company called AptiQuant Psychometric Consulting Co. on July 26, 2011, that claimed to have correlated the IQs of 100,000 internet users with which web browsers they used. Its claims that users of
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
's
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Windows line of operating systems ( ...
had lower IQs than users of other browsers was widely covered in the media, and its revelation as a hoax was widely cited as an example of the weaknesses of the media. The speed with which the story was reported was also alleged by some to be indicative of anti-Microsoft bias. The hoax was arranged by Tarandeep Gill, a web developer from
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
.Paul Sawers
"The ‘Internet Explorer IQ’ hoaxer talks to The Next Web".
''The Next Web'', March 8, 2011. He claimed it was to raise awareness of the outdated nature of earlier versions of Internet Explorer that still have significant market share. It came amid a wave of other negative coverage of earlier versions of Internet Explorer.


Reported results

The study was presented as measuring how IQ affects choices to adopt new technologies.


Conception

Gill says he got the idea for the hoax about a month prior to its release when working on his website. "IE6 compatibility was being a pain in the ass," he told ''
ReadWriteWeb ReadWrite (originally ReadWriteWeb or RWW) is a Web technology blog launched in 2003. RW covers Web 2.0 and Web technology in general, and provides industry news, reviews, and analysis. Founded by Richard MacManus, Technorati ranked ReadWriteWe ...
''.


Release

The report was covered by many news outlets. Initially the discrepancy was explained by that the advanced computer users with high IQs were savvy enough to choose other browsers. When the report was first covered by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
some readers were skeptical of its authenticity and quickly noted that the domain for the company had only been set up a month prior and that pictures of the company's staff were from the French company Central Test. Central Test began investigating the issue and said it was considering
legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
against whoever had used the photos. It was initially suspected that the whole thing was a plot to spread malware; however, the PDF was examined and none was found. As the hoax was uncovered additional problems with the report were raised, the results were noted as improbable and the task of collecting 100,000 users very difficult. The address given on the website was looked up using
Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expan ...
and it turned out to be just a parking lot. While the story was being covered Gill posed as Leonard Howard, the fabricated owner of AptiQuant, to the media. He also wrote a blog on the AptiQuant website about how they were being sued by Internet Explorer users and that it had been receiving hate mail. Internet Explorer users acted defensively. Some news outlets criticized the methodology of the study, although without realizing it was a hoax. It was even described as "
Junk science The expression junk science is used to describe scientific data, research, or analysis considered by the person using the phrase to be spurious or fraudulent. The concept is often invoked in political and legal contexts where facts and scientifi ...
at its worst". Some defended the study; for example, ''
The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information te ...
'' wrote, "The methodology of the study appears sound."


Aftermath

The hoax coverage was said by some to be a victory for
citizen journalism Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...
, as it was readers who first uncovered that it was a hoax. ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'' wrote that "Too often, business analysts and statistics and insider rumors carry a similar currency in journalism. They often add just a thin sheen of detail and a slightly stronger claim to verification. Really, guys, it’s just a color PDF."


List of news sources fooled by hoax

* Dino Grandoni, ''
The Atlantic Wire ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' (July 29). * ''
Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busin ...
'' (August 2). * Ysolt Usigan, CBS News (August 1). * Chris Matyszczyk, '' CNET'' (July 29). * Doug Gross, ''
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'' (July 29). * Mark Huffman, ''
ConsumerAffairs.com ConsumerAffairs is an American customer review and consumer news platform that provides information for purchasing decisions around major life changes or milestones. The company's business-facing division provides SaaS that allows brands to man ...
'' (August 1). * '' CTV Television Network'' (July 30). * Tim Worstall, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' (July 29). *
Adrian Chen Adrian Chen (; born November 23, 1984) is an American blogger, and former staff writer at ''The New Yorker''. Chen joined Gawker in November 2009 as a night shift editor, graduating from an internship position at ''Slate'', and has written extensi ...
, '' Gawker'' (August 1). * Jason O. Gilbert, ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' (August 1). * ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' (July 30). * ''
Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' (July 31). * Robert X. Cringely, ''
InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
'' (August 1). * Lawrence Latif, ''
The Inquirer ''The Inquirer'' (stylized as TheINQUIRER) was a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from ''The Register'' (of which he was one of the founding members) in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch ...
'' (July 29). * '' International Business Times'' (July 29). * Kevin Fogarty, '' IT World'' (August 1). * ''
KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV ma ...
'' (July 29). * Caroline Crouch. ''
KNXV-TV KNXV-TV (channel 15) is a television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside CW affiliate KASW (channel 61). Both stations share studios on 44th Street on the city' ...
'' (August 2). * '' Mashable'' (July 29). * '' Muy Interesante'' (August 2). * Dan Amira, ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'' (July 29). * Kevin Spak, ''
Newser Newser is an American news aggregation website. It was founded in 2007 by journalist/media pundit Michael Wolff and businessman Patrick Spain, the former CEO of HighBeam Research and Hoover's. Newser's president and editor-in-chief is Kate Sea ...
'' (July 29). * Eyder Peralta. ''
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
'' (August 2).Eyder Peralta
"Study Suggests Internet Explorer Users Are, Um, Kind Of Slow".
''
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
'', February 8, 2011. * David Murphy, '' PC Magazine'' (July 30). * Rik Myslewski, ''
The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information te ...
'' (July 29).Rik Myslewski
"It's official: IE users are dumb as a bag of hammers".
''
The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information te ...
'', July 29, 2010. * Matt Rosoff, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' (July 28). * Nick Eaton, ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...
'' (July 29). * Jonathan Walczak, ''
Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...
'' (July 29). * ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' (August 1). *
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
(July 30). * Douglas Perry, ''
Tom's Hardware ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...
'' (August 2). * Sarah Deen, ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' (August 1).Sarah Deen
"Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox users ‘smarter’ than Internet Explorer users".
'' Metro (British newspaper)'', January 8, 2011.


References


External links


The study
{{Internet Explorer Internet hoaxes 2011 hoaxes Internet Explorer Intelligence