Why is the most authoritative answer to a question often not selected as the best answer by the asker?

Question

Why does some random guy who clearly never studied chemistry get the best answer for a chemistry question for which there was a simple, clear, chemical answer by a professional chemist. It wasn't even right.

Answer 1

One possibility: the asker might be cheating. Someone asking multiple questions in the Earth Sciences category (using at least two other assumed IDs) has been answering his own questions and selecting all his own answers as best answers, even when they're clearly not the best answer.

Answer 2

Yeah, I hate it when stuff like that happens. I try to be pretty discriminating about the questions I answer to avoid the disappointment of losing out to a point gamer, or to some, well, loser.

It doesn't always work though. In this case:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiwSIazJw2I84A2qLNUDLFjsy6IX?qid=20070618135519AAyLeUI&show=7#profile-info-d5cdb03bf67b1664044ae87ce0a05b83aa
I tried to give a well written answer that would be comprehensible to an asker of almost any educational background, and then some other guy showed up and basically said that my answer was correct, rephrased what I had written and added a few extra details and some info irrelevant to the question that was asked, and then got best answer from the asker ... most frustrating, given that I felt that the winner's answer would have been incomprehensible to the asker without first reading the answer I had put up.

In another answer recently, I ticked off the asker, so she chose as best an answer that seemed to say 'I won't answer your question because it is bad.'

Oh well. What can you do?

Answer 3

I have wondered that myself; case in point: awhile back someone asked a question (allegedly a homework problem) about the composition of water, received several correct answers (including mine), then proceeded to select an erroneous answer! I could not believe it at the time, but have since reached the conclusion that, assuming that the questioner has no clue as to the actual answer, that person would thus have no idea as to which answer to select! Ignorance begets ignorance, I propose!

Answer 4

You will find that many times people who ask the question pick the answer that they want. Not the correct answer to the question. One of the real tricks to being successful it to take the advice of professionals. Whats the point of asking someones professional opinion when you refuse to make use of the right answer. Hey, it happens all to often!

Answer 5

I think because the person can understand a more poorly written answer and doesn't want to take the time to figure out the correct answer. Cause its probably the answer they saw in the book and just dont wanna take the time to understand.

And sometimes people write essays and get all technical when it is a simple answer.