Do you use Internet Explorer? Then you're stupid! Apparently.

Don't get cross with me if you're an Internet Explorer user - I'm just reporting the facts.

A survey looking at the connection between your intelligence (via an IQ test) and the internet browser you use has revealed that people who use Internet Explorer are significantly less intelligent than those who use Chrome or Firefox. The research, published on the Aptiquant website, has been reported in the UK press (Daily Mail) and across many web-based news services.

There is only one small problem with the research - it's all made up. There was no study and Aptiquant, the company behind the study, doesn't exist. If ever a news story highlights the dangers of taking research at face value then this is it. The single person behind the hoax is called Tarandeep Gill and I would suggest you read his explanation of how he did it.

Don't be surprised if I use this story again in group training sessions in the future. It's a brilliant example of what happens when you don't examine the small print of a source. Being critical/sceptical is a skill not a shortcoming and I'd encourage you to challenge me on my sources and data every time I see you.

In fact how do you even know I'm telling you the truth right now...?

What would happen if the Web was turned off?

I've been brooding about the future again.

The Internet is now the longest continually running machine ever built. It's been going since 1991 without a break, although I suppose it's only been considered a big thing for about 10 years. So the question I'm asking is - what would happen if The Web was turned off for any reason?

I'm not trying to freak you out or anything (well, maybe a little bit) but I've been reading stuff recently about cyber-attacks, machines which only talk to other machines,   and how weird things are generally.

I'll explain what I mean. The picture opposite is of a beach in  Cornwall. Don't bother trying to find the exact location on a map because it isn't marked. This is the place where a giant undersea cable 'lands' in the UK from  the US. In the cable, which is buried beneath the surface, is at least some data from the Web which you (yes, YOU) will have accessed. The amount of data running through this cable is beyond my comprehension. Trust me, it's a lot.

If someone really wanted to take the whole Web down you'd need to attack it on many, many fronts but what's interesting is that Web experts are starting to have these conversations at all. It's set up to be what's known as a 'help healing ring' (one bit gets hurt and another bit takes over) but nobody really knows how self healing it is yet.

So my question is this - how reliant on the Web are you and how would it affect you if Google wasn't there tomorrow morning?

I spend all day using technology I don't understand.

I was talking to a friend of mine recently about the Wonders of the Universe programmes that have been on the BBC recently and he was saying you can watch them, enjoy them, feel inspired by them and then remember absolutely no relevant details about them whatsoever 24 hours later.

I confessed the same thing happens to me.

This then lead to a larger confession of all the other things we're surrounded by on a daily basis and don't fully understand.

The list included radio waves, electricity, video game technology, text messaging services and TV; things I use pretty much every day.

So my somewhat rambling point is this: being unsure of how databases, The Web, e-books and all the rest of the stuff that is fired at you through a computer screen works, isn't a barrier to using it effectively.

Ultimately, what you need is the end product - information/data you can use for your reading and assignments.
So for the self-confessed technophobes amongst you don't worry about the details and try to enjoy the benefits of more information being at your fingertips than at any point in human history.

And even though I have no idea how it all works, I certainly consider that a wonder of my universe.