some assumptions I would agree with
people that spend more on a question expect a higher quality answer
so, a researcher that has a high rating, but only answers $2.00
questions, is not necessarily good.

here is an example of a good answer:
 The ?X? concept was inspired, in part, by early 20th-century engineer
Charles Proteus Steinmetz, who took an ingenious approach to repairing
a problematic generator at General Electric Company. After several
days of study, he left a large ?X? on the generator casing, and a note
instructing GE?s engineers to cut open the casing at that spot and
remove the excess wire. The engineers did as Steinmetz advised and the
problem was solved. When he billed the company $1,000?an exorbitant
fee at the time?GE?s bean counters requested a detailed invoice to
justify the charge. The bill came back with only two items??Marking X
on the side of generator: $1. Knowing where to mark X: $999.?

a good answer solves the problem(the real problem, not the questioners
assumed problem) within the shortest time(for the questioner) and with
the smallest effort(by the questioner).


so, if the quesiton is "who wrote x"
a great answer, if it exists, would be "John Doe"


Of course some questions are complex, mostly because there is
insufficient information in the question, and may require
clarification before answering(hint).

I am searching for a high quality thinker; a very rare person indeed.

My "Top Ten GARs" list, in alphabetical order:

bobbie7-ga
crabcakes-ga
czh-ga
juggler-ga
larre-ga
leli-ga
markj-ga
mathtalk-ga
pafalafa-ga
scriptor-ga

This is just off the top of my head; there are many truly excellent
Google Answers Researchers, and the absence of any particular name
from this list may be ascribed to a mental lapse on my part.

pink,

My real name is aaaapafalafa-ga   ;-)

I wish I could change my user name to DessertQueen. That's what I
meant to be when I signed up. I didn't realize I couldn't change after
I originally subscribed with one of my boring initials names.

~ czh ~

i'm sorry....i MUST disagree with pink...she missed the very best....herself!!
Pinkfreud is the best....
i've meandered around here (mostly unnoticed) for a long time & i find
her answers not only to be totally accurate, but her answers have
heart...you can tell she truly cares and wants nothing more than to
make the "client" happy.

Thanx pink for making me laugh a lot & at times tear up. 
Bless you!

Pink was kind enough to list all you guys, but (a) no one has thanked
her, and (b) no one has offered a competing list that has pinkfreud at
number one.  As you know, I am a frequent commenter and I read many,
many answers.  While all of you are good, pinkfreud's answers are
consistently thorough, well-written, and correct--all signs of a
"high-quality thinker."

So, kev3141, although I am not a Researcher, please add pinkfreud to
the list of best GAR's.

IPFan

Thank you pinkfreud-ga. I've been looking at bobbie7-ga posts; and so
far, they do look exceptionally good.

I can sure agree with all those.  And Pink's opening comment demonstrates another 
trait of the best GARs: tact, disarming the call for "who's the best",
that could result in a naming competition, to mutual appreciation for
all the best.  :-)

I must say Pinkfreud-ga is at the top of my list and I can second the
nomination of all of the others on the list.  A few other researchers
worth looking at are:

Tutuzdad-ga
Websearcher-ga
Omnivorous-ga
Kriswrite-ga
JackBurton-ga
Sublime1-ga
Hummer-ga
Serenata-ga

And there are many more.  I love questions like this!

Bowler-ga

There are many Researchers who consistently amazed me with great
Answers, and so while pinkfreud-ga is prolific, thoughtful, and
diligent in one bright package, she impresses me most by cracking me
up on a regular basis.  [My laptop has the coffee stains to prove it!]

Hat's off to She Who Must be Read to be Believed!

--mt

I'm going to vote for me, even if no one else will (sniff, whimper).  ;-)

After all, political candidates get to vote for themselves.  Why can't we?

But if I must choose another Researcher, I'll add to the general acclaim for Pink.

Hmmmmmmmmm....interesting question. Personally, I don't think there is
a way to tell who is really the "best" GAR.

However, if I were to try to do it "scientifically" (BIG
quotes)....I'd use a objective formula like:

(# of questions answered / (5.00 - Average Rating)) * sqrt(Median
price of all questions answered)

Since it would be very difficult to compile all the question prices
for any one researcher, we could take the median of the first 11
questions in the list of questions that you get when clicking on a
researcher's name.

Doing so, I would have a value of:

(521 / (5.00 - 4.73)) * sqrt(15) = 7,473

bobbie7 would have:

(2205 / (5.00 - 4.75)) * sqrt(25) = 44,100

pinkfreud would have:

(1750 / (5.00 - 4.89)) * sqrt(10) = 50,308

Which is pretty much how *I* see myself against those two illustrious
researchers! :-) ;-)

websearcher

Of course, to eliminate a newbie or very low-productivity researcher
with a 5.00 average rating from these calculations, we should probably
limit the contest to those with over 100 questions answered.

websearcher

Interesting formula websearcher-ga. To follow on your last remark
about limiting to those with over 100 question, do you think different
"weight classes" would be appropriate?

< 100
100 - 300
300 - 500
500 - 1000
1000 - 1500/2000
2000+  We know that Bobbie is in a class by herself. Amazing!!!

As well as being prolific and well-rated, bobbie-7 is also unfailingly
professional both on and off the court. Also add tremendous focus and
a great sense of perspective to the mix. If I had to make a list of
the top ten Researchers, for overall all-around *quality*, bobbie-7
would take the top four slots.

- Hammer

Thanks for the classes suggestion, czh. When I designed the original formula:  

(# of questions answered / (5.00 - Average Rating)) * sqrt(Median
price of all questions answered)

I multiplied by the number of answers to sort of create those
"classes" you mention. However, my assumption was that of two GARs
with the same rating and same median question price, the one who has
answered more questions is the better GAR. The reasoning behind this
was twofold: that the rating was less likely to be a "fluke" and
statistically  more likely to be accurately reflective of ability, and
that "practice makes perfect". While I still think that that premise
is basically valid, perhaps I have over-emphasized the importance of
that parameter. After a couple of hundred questions, the chance that
ratings are "skewed" by random chance are pretty low.

I would, however, like to not move into a formalized system of
classes, because I believe that quality of GAR can cross any classes
that are made strictly from number of questions. What do I mean by
that? I mean that a GAR with 400 questions and a average rating of
4.85 is better than one with 1000 questions and a rating of 4.50.

So, how about the following for a new formula?

(sqrt(# of questions answered) / (5.00 - Average Rating)) * sqrt(Median
price of all questions answered)

This would change the scores above to:

websearcher:

(sqrt(521) / (5.00 - 4.73)) * sqrt(15) = 327

bobbie7 would have:

(sqrt(2205) / (5.00 - 4.75)) * sqrt(25) = 939

pinkfreud would have:

(sqrt(1750) / (5.00 - 4.89)) * sqrt(10) = 1202

juggler would have:

(sqrt(1838) / (5.00 - 4.78)) * sqrt(10) = 616

Another assumption that I made with this formula is that if two GARS
have equal number of questions and equal average ratings, that the one
who answers more expensive questions is better (since they are tougher
and the customers more likely to be demanding).

[Of course, all of this is just playing with numbers and has no
bearing on reality.....but it does reinforce my feeling that "pink" is
#1.]

websearcher

I question the assumption that customers who post high-priced
questions are more demanding. It has been my experience that the
majority of my lower ratings have come from low-dollar customers who
have unreasonable expectations. Some customers, rather than requesting
clarification and working toward a more satisfactory answer, go for
the smackdown and give a mediocre rating. Seldom have I had this
happen with a customer who was paying a substantial amount.

When people pay very little for something, it may be that they value
the provider very little.

What is the gender ratio, taking Pinkfreud-ga's and bowler-ga's lists
and including, of course, Pinky?  Seems like the girls are leading on
the first list and Pink; I don't know about those on the second.
Maybe that question about why women always answer the unasked question
has a bearing:  lateral thinking  - maybe from having to second guess
men from early youth??

myoarin,

On the matter of gender, my list of ten GARs has five males and five
females. I didn't plan it that way; it was just a lucky accident. I
notice that bowler's list of nine GARs (including moi) has five males
and four females. Are we seeing a pattern here? Is Google Answers
really that well-balanced? Yup, I think it is.

Well, isn't that nice!

Thank you, ma'am.

This is similar to looking at the ice cream flavors displayed in a
Baskin-Robbins store. So many flavors - most all appeal to me, yet I
can only chose one (Two if I'm living on the edge)! I might chose a
raspberry sherbet if it's hot, or a praline caramel crunch if I'm
seeking out comfort food.

That's how we researchers are. We all have different styles and
abilities. We appeal to different customers on different days!

So many good researchers... I can't chose the best, but bobbie7,
pinkfreud, scriptor, juggler, czh, hummer, missy, umiat, tutuzdad,
sublime1, journalist, boguinha, omnivorous, chromedome, and denco are
among *some* of the researchers whose answers I most enjoy reading.
This is not an all inclusive list though. I usually enjoy most all the
flavors of GA!

Here's to the vanillas, the sherbets, the rainbow swirls, the butter
pecans, strawberries, pistachios, cherries, peanut butters'
cheesecakes, chocolates and peppermints of GA!


Crabcakes

PS. I am humbly honored to be included in Pinkfreud's list, though!

Crabcakes,

If the researchers are the flavors of ice cream, are the commentors
like the nuts, hot fudge and fruit toppings!

Bowler-ga

SOme commenters are the whipped cream! Some are hot fudge, and a few ARE nuts!  ;-)

I'd like to thank those who have mentioned me. <blush> 

If I stand tall, it is only because of all the squirming, shrieking
little people that I have crushed beneath my boots. ;-)

I love Crabby's ice cream analogy. GA does offer quite a variety of
tasty flavors. A long while ago, Granny Bing asked a question about
the best GARs for different kinds of questions. This remained
unanswered, but provoked lots of interesting commentary:

http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=173534

Pinkfreud, Miss Pinky  (yeah, I went back and corrected the spelling (-:  ),
How do you do it, find a question from way back when?   You must have
been about 15 when it was posted.  These days, girls older than 18
can't blush!
Crabcakes are good with Tobasco Sauce, mustard (sweet or hot),
catchup, even horseradish.  That was/is a good analogy.

I am still wondering why this question was locked for so long ...