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Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#41

Post by jokermatt999 »

olefoo wrote: post #26

Even ignoring the obvious problems with the study as described, it was likely to be a hoax just based on how pat the conclusion was and how it fed into the prejudices of those of us who must deal with IE6 on a daily basis. It does make for an interesting study as a weaponised meme though; and it's exposure as a hoax is not likely to hobble it's effectiveness in spreading the idea that people who use IE are drooling i…

Confirmation bias is a tough thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias#Persistence_o...

I know about confirmation bias, so I should consciously look closer at things that confirm my prejudices, but it's not easy to remember. In this case, was actually wary of the conclusions (unless I'm misremembering, which is a whole other issue), but I think that's largely because it was such an obvious example.

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#42

Post by jokermatt999 »

thestranger wrote: post #24

I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this, but here goes... I think there may be some truth to this rumor. I do a lot of advertising on TrafficVance which is basically pop-up advertising on computers with adware. One thing I noticed regarding the traffic I received to my landing pages was that a disproportionately high number of my visitors were using Internet Explorer. The percentages were so disproportionate…

I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this, but here goes...

Please don't bring this phrase to Hacker News. The only time to complain about downvotes is when you're sure you've been unjustly downvoted.

I think it's completely reasonable to expect alternate browser users to be more technologically literate than IE users though. Unless their alternate browser was installed by someone else, installing one is a choice that requires enough technical knowledge to find, install, and use another browser. I'd assume these people would be more knowledgeable than most about adware because it would make sense for those skills to be correlated.

On a completely unrelated note from this story, how do you justify supporting adware? I assume this is why you thought you'd be downvoted.

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#43

Post by [deleted] »

walexander wrote: post #35
jsherry wrote: post #22

Journalism lives and dies by SEO. And if they take their time to carefully check their sources on every story before posting it, then they'll find themselves on the 6th page of Google b/c everybody has already beaten them to the punch. Speed and verification of sources are in total conflict with each other - it's a tough business.

Well, I also heard the report on NPR yesterday during the news highlights. This was big news for more than just the PPC crowd. Sadly, I don't think the retraction will be more than a blip.

[deleted]

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#44

Post by thestranger »

jokermatt999 wrote: post #42
thestranger wrote: post #24

I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this, but here goes... I think there may be some truth to this rumor. I do a lot of advertising on TrafficVance which is basically pop-up advertising on computers with adware. One thing I noticed regarding the traffic I received to my landing pages was that a disproportionately high number of my visitors were using Internet Explorer. The percentages were so disproportionate…

I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this, but here goes... Please don't bring this phrase to Hacker News. The only time to complain about downvotes is when you're sure you've been unjustly downvoted. I think it's completely reasonable to expect alternate browser users to be more technologically literate than IE users though. Unless their alternate browser was installed by someone else, installing one is a cho…

I like money.

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#46

Post by seles »

ryandvm wrote: post #3

So the good news is that the use of Internet Explorer is not strongly correlated with IQ. The bad news is that falling for hoaxes is...

No, just because it was a hoax doesn't mean it isn't true anyway.

You could make a hoax webpage with bogus information about how the earth is not flat. Doing so would not make the earth flat.

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#47

Post by rbanffy »

simplycomplex wrote: post #19

If it was true, then IE could be the most user friendly browser because even users with lower IQ could use that.

You base your statement on the premise lower IQ people use IE correctly. Considering the volume of malware that infects Windows boxes through IE, I'd assume the opposite.

Re: Update: Internet Explorer IQ story was bogus

#50

Post by protagonist_h »

ZoFreX wrote: post #8

Even if it wasn't a hoax, it's still fairly meaningless. It doesn't seem unlikely that more intelligent users would be more likely to look for other options rather than using the OS-provided default. For the sake of illustration lets simplify: Users with an IQ over 100 look for alternatives, below 100 and they do not. Even if 80% of the higher IQ users ultimately choose Internet Explorer (which would indicate that it…

That makes me wonder what the role of traditional media like BBC and CNN now. They try to differentiate themselves from "New Media" as a source of verified information. However as this incident shows, they are not any better in that department.
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