A recent study links intelligence test results with browser usage - and the results don't look very good for the users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, especially the older versions. The study, titled "Inteligent Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage" by canadian company AptiQuant compaired the test scores of a 101.326 individuals older than the age of 16 based on the browser they are using.
The results are fascinating. Users of Internet Explorer 6 have an average IQ score barely more than 80; Firefox and Chrome users fare much better, with an average IQ scores of around 110, while Opera and Camino users have an average IQ score more than 120. It's also interesting to note that the average score of IE6 users were significantly higher in 2006, and that the IQ scores get better with newer versions of IE.
Internet Explorer 6 has for long been a thorn in the side of developers who hated it for it's non-compliance with web standards, while users struggled with it's many security flaws. This new study will probably induce more mockery an the ancient (but sometimes found on older computers) browser and its users, but is probably not telling us that much about the browser itself - it's more about unwilingness to upgrade to a new version of any software.
The study concludes that "individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist to change/upgrade of their browsers". It's only logical that users with a higher IQ are more likely to experiment, choose a different software version or variant (notice that users of IE with Chrome frame score very high on IQ tests) or listen to upgrade suggestions and security advice.
In March, Microsoft started a campaign to get users to stop using Internet Explorer 6. But did it take into the fact that many IE6 users tend to have lower average IQ scores? Maybe that's the key to get rid of the world's most hated browser.
You can read more here: http://mashable.com/2011/07/29/internet-explorer-iq/
Cosmin | Pixelfind
