Is this the best think tank ever or what?

Question

I mean we are basicaly all just giving yahoo answers a ton of questions and answers to problems that if someone could have the ability to understand and use would make for a great problem solver.

Answer 1

Its certainly a democracy-type thing, isn't it....

It has occurred to me that it may not make sense to spend time writing up some careful, long, answer for a person who has a serious question; but there is always that thing that if you try to come up with a really well thought-out answer there is the chance that it might actually be helpful in some way.

I can see how it has a whole lot of potential as a "think tank", although I think it may still need some tweeking for it to be put to better use. I'll admit to laughing as some of the wisecrack answers, but I've found that as long as I have nothing better to do I have actually created my own idea of how it can be used:

Sometimes I'll see some question that really is so ignorant it doesn't deserve an answer. Earlier I saw one about women that was ridiculous. I find it kind of fun, though, to write up a whole big answer to such a question and to imagine how in some small way it may contribute to someone somewhere (even if its not the question-writer but someone who's eye was caught by that question) may realize there's something they didn't quite understand about (in this case) women.

The idea that by speaking up when we see something that is really ignorant (and I don't mean to sound arrogant or conceited, but some ignorance is just clearly not debatable simply because there is evidence to prove an ignorant argument wrong) is attractive; because if everyone who hears ignorance speaks up against it or points out how it may be wrong, there is just that tiny chance that eventually ignorance in our culture will be defeated.

If a teenager writes a question because he doesn't understand why his parents do something there's the chance to point out why those parents may do something, and maybe that teenager won't be as angry at his parents as he was when he wrote his angry question out into cyberspace because he doesn't know who else to ask.

As with most things in life, this Answers thing can be a meaningless waste of time, a source of jokes, or something more useful and at times directly meaningful for someone. This site gives anyone and everyone a chance to put what may be some very good ideas "out there", so - yeah - its got a lot of potential as a problem-solver.

I sometimes just think its such a waste of time, but then so is watching a couple of hours of television. At least here there is that tiny possibility that something constructive will come out of the efforts of those who find a challenge in trying to think up a good answer and writing it.

Answer 2

I kind of think of it as a Dear Abby forum but you get many opinions from so many people. It's great.