How do GW answers like this get chosen?

Question

This question was asked a couple of days ago, and the answer is just fiction (the answerer) states the atmosphere of Mars is the same as the Earth at 13000ft this is just total rubbish and this just adds to the GW misinfomation.

For the record the capitol of Tibet is at 12100ft there are no prizes for guessing who the answer was.

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArBldXoZQeuctuNej3casDrg5gt.;_ylv=3?qid=20080527152723AAP3XL8&show=7#profile-info-U60KCkdcaa

Answer 1

Even worse - that exact same question was asked twice and that exact same completely wrong answer was chosen as best twice.  That sort of garbage frustrates me sometimes:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

The problem is that a lot of people just don't know any better.  They're presented with facts on the one side and unsupported BS on the other side.  They can't tell the difference, but they want the BS to be true, so they choose to believe the BS.

The global warming denial movement functions purely on ignorance and dishonesty, as is made abundantly clear by their 'top answerer'.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Fortunately most people are smart enough to see through it, so the deniers are in the minority.

Answer 2

Many Questions can have detailed correct  replies ,

giving lots of information,

yet

The guy who says -----------,yeah man these liberal hippies are crazy ,gets the best answer,

These people are not here to learn,

neither are they searching for truths .

all they want is some one to agree with them.

wishful thinking plays a great role as well.

If only we could be sure and believe that God is in charge ,

And -------------------------knows what he is doing ,

In control at the helm.

how wonderful that would be ,

Answer 3

It was simply better than the rest of the answers.  That's how "best" answers get chosen, duh.

Answer 4

gee the answer to yoru question is in the answer

"Best Answer - Chosen by Asker"

chosen by asker... part of dealing with yahoo questions.. the asker can ask a question and then pick the answer he likes best.. sometimes this results in questions being used as propaganda to advance their own voice...

Answer 5

LOL, the "questioner" is a proud follower of Rush Limbaugh. I guess we know where he gets his scientific "facts".

The "questioner" selected an answer that he probably knew was wrong, but he wasn't willing to let anyone with the right answer get points.  So he selected the "best" answer himself.

Answer 6

I've stopped asking questions of my own since so many of the questions on here are ridiculous anyway, so why bother asking thought provoking questions that get pushed off the front page by stupid ones. I don't answer questions about Mars, because I don't want to research it. The only thing I'm shocked by this is someone no matter who it is has the idea Mars has a similiar atmosphere as Earth in any way shape or form. If it did, it would have an enviroment that would support life.

The only thing I think would be really cool is if we could build a space lab on it's surface, so we can send astronauts up there to study it in depth. Some cool questions for a discussion on Mars would be: What would you like explorer astronauts to find on Mars surface? What if they found remnants of ancient civilizations on Mars? How would that make you feel?

The other thing everyone should understand is it's human nature to chose the answer that best fits our on belief and idea on a given topic. I noticed that everyone who answered above me has done the same thing. You all claim your picking the "Best" answer, but I have seen better answers then the ones you've picked on all of your questions from people who answered your questions. But because they are from people who don't believe in things the way you do you won't chose their answer.

Answer 7

The activity serves up more Yahoo ads, and therefore drives Yahoo revenue.

Yahoo could care less if the information on Yahoo Answers is garbage.  In fact it's strongly in their interest if false premises can be promoted, so the issue can be debated in several more questions, raising even more revenue for Yahoo.

Complain to the specific advertisers about how their corporate image is being damaged by Yahoo's presentation of their valuable corporate brand next to damaging misinformation.  Money talks.

Answer 8

It goes both ways.  Doom sayers do the same thing.  Many times the best answer people choose is their Internet pal.

Answer 9

Irrationality, once unleashed, knows no bounds.

Answer 10

This is the second time melodramatic humdrum has been reverberated by the alarmist over the same thing. Get a real life, or start the medication. Get over it move on, it's something both sides have issues with.

Who cares about Mars or extraterrestrial conditions, whens the last time you visited it?

Answer 11

most often, one can look at the tenor of the question, and determine whether it's a real question, or a troll.

generally, when it's a troll, i skip it.

frequently, i also look at the score.

if it's below 100, it's frequently because someone signed up the id, maybe because his last one got deleted, and he's trolling again.

when there's an honest question in my mind, i try to answer.

maybe 1/2 the time, after i've looked, it's not a troll.

there was an interesting talk on the PBS forum program today, that i only heard part of, unfortunately.

it was about  how people know they're right,  even when they are not.

that effect is fairly prevalent around here.

Answer 12

As someone said on a prior question, debating GW deniers is like shooting fish in a barrel, but these fish have no idea when they've been shot.

Answer 13

You, and everyone else so far, seem to have completely missed the point of the answer.

What Dr.J was trying to say(as I understand), was about the DENSITY of the atmosphere, not that the composition of that atmosphere was the same.

Higher elevations have lower density of air molecules.

This is why so many people have failed to successfully climb great mountains like Mt. Everest.

His comment about CO2 not being a so-called 'Greenhouse Gas' is extremely valid.

I would appreciate any information about any proper scientific proof that CO2 is anything other than the life giving force that it is.

I do not want any links to anything other than scientific tests.

There are none that I can find!

People who are trying to compare Venus or Mars to Earth are not comparing 'Apples to Apples' however.

Also, many people will state that Venus is a hotter planet than Mercury.

Both planets reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

I could go on, but I think it would be a complete waste of my time.

Edit:

I take your point.

I did not bother to check the data at the time of answering the question, all I remembered was that Mars' atmosphere was far less dense than Earth's.

Jello was incorrect with the density of the Martian atmosphere when he stated it to be 60% instead of 1%, and I would like to thank you for bringing that back to my attention.

If the Martian atmosphere was 60% his analogy relating to elevation would have been correct.

I do not know where he got the information, but like anything else on the internet, you can find anything, but much of it is plain garbage!

Thanks again for pointing out my oversight.

Answer 14

It looks like Dr. Jello picked his own answer using one of his aliases.

Answer 15

People with buck teeth perpetrate such ideas!

Answer 16

There were several good answers to that question, Ken, Dana and others had correct facts and good arguments. The questioner mentioned liberal trolls being after him so he may have issues or just not like liberals.

The fact that Mars' atmosphere is so CO2-rich must make some think it should be hot like Venus, but the issue is more complex than CO2-forced warming. I suppose Dr. Jello was having an off day and didn't feel like checking his facts but few would agree with his claim that CO2 cannot and does not cause warming. The question is how much warming and over what time period and there are so many complicating factors and things we haven't taken into consideration that no climate model is accurate. Yet.