AptiQuanta
By Helen A.S. Popkin
Way back in March — roughly 73.8 years in Internet time — Microsoft asked you to stop using Internet Explorer 6. But you were all, "No! Now pass me my All Bran. And pipe down! 'The Mentalist' is coming on."a
In an effort to get international usage of the 10-year-old Web browser down to just 1 percent, Microsoft launched a countdown campaign with website featuring an international map with percentage of use in various countries, links to Join the Cause, Educate Others and Tell Your Friends. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)a
Alas, you were too busy updating your "JAG" fan fiction on Geocities and adding glitter gifs to your MySpace profile to try out content filters such as Shaved Bieber for Firefox, or make power pop quartet OK Go spell words via Google’s Play With Chrome project.a
via quickmeme.coma
So if you're still among the approximately 10.7 percent of the world on IE6 — notoriously buggy and incompatible with pretty much everything except malware — here's some science bound to make you embrace change. IE6 users have an average IQ score barely over 80, according to a recent study by Vancouver-based psychometric consulting company, AptiQuant.a
Psychometrics "is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes and personality traits, and educational measurement." Of course you know that, at least if your browser of choice is Firefox or Chrome (user IQ average around 110), Opera or Camino (user IQs average more than 120), or are familiar with a website called Wikipedia.a
To get those numbers, AptiQuant polled 101,326 people ages 16 and up from predominately English-speaking countries, including the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Subjects took an intelligence test on the AptiQuant website, which recorded their browser, operating system and geographic location via their IP address. (You can read more about the study's methodology here.)a
What if you use four different browsers? IE, Chrome, FF and Opera! Huh? What then? Super genius? Study doesn't say ... though you should probably get outside once in a while. At least get a standing desk. Just saying.a
Meanwhile, as you're crafting your IE jokes (i.e. shooting fish in a barrel), you'll want to note that IE users overall were significantly smarter in 2006. That doesn't mean those same IE users are losing brain power. (IE8 currently tops market share at 30.7 percent). It seems that while pretty much everybody hates change (when's the last time you saw Steve Jobs not wearing a black mock turtleneck?), those with higher IQs more readily embrace it. ("It," in this case, being Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.)a
"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," the study concludes. "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."a
More on the annoying way we live now:a
Adorable animals make the meme, Hipmunk almost proves Google+ promises heads' up before it dumps your fake account Monkey playing with iPhone heralds end of Man's reign
Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook. Also, Google+.a
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