I first got into Yahoo!7 Answers by accident.  A friend used it & she said it was really good – one day curiosity got the better of me, and I’m still here.
– Spellbound: Level 7, 66% Best Answer, 31,011 points and counting!

Every so often, we profile some of the amazing answerers we see on the site like relationships expert Love Guru, sports devotee Trusylver and economics advisor Victor. Today is no exception. Meet Spellbound: our resident history expert. Russia is his real passion but he is able to answer on many subjects. Don’t just take our word for it, here are some of his Best Answers…

• Did Joseph Stalin command the army during the Second World War?
• Why did the Art capitol move from Paris post-War?
• What was the significance of the Soviet satellite nations?

Spellbound in his own words…

I’ve always enjoyed history, probably that comes from being taken round castles in North Wales as a child, but I also think that the past is alive, because the consequences of actions taken hundreds of years ago can have a direct impact on our lives – Magna Carta being an obvious example.

Spellbound is educated as a Russologist specialising in the late Soviet period. He finds the USSR fascinating, saying, ‘as Churchill said of it: ‘Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’.”

His favourite question is: Why did Germany surrender in 1918?

The reason I like this question is that it is a clear question, the questioner sounds as though they are interested in the topic – it’s not just for homework help, and the although the question may be a simple one, to answer the question well requires a detailed, well thought out answer.

If I had a history teacher like Spellbound during high school, I may have paid more attention!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Know someone who’s “wow-ed” you on Answers? Think somebody deserves to be celebrated as next Featured User on the Answers Blog? We want to hear from you!

Email the Answers team a link to the user’s profile or answers to y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

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This week, countries all over the world are celebrating 200 years since scientist Charles Darwin was born. People are doing their bit to celebrate evolution and we are no exception. While many Answers users may be marking the day (it was the 12th February) in their own way, few people are as qualified as biologist Calimecita, who we just happened to spot sporting a tribute to him in her Answers nickname. This is what Darwin Day means to her, in her own words…

“First and foremost, I don’t like the idea of “idolising” a person. Charles Darwin was a man, an individual that was clearly as multidimensional as each of us, and therefore any analyses of him as an individual can and will be very complex – and also widely contradictory.

Yet here I am, celebrating his birthday anniversary – even with my Answers nickname,  – Why?

Because what I’m celebrating is the fact that a single individual’s intellectual production can be a major contribution to the human species. To me, that is truly inspiring. So what did he do?

In an outstanding example of conceptual synthesis, Charles Darwin was able to “catch” concepts and data that were “floating around” in different spheres of human knowledge, put them together and come up with a new corpus of ideas (it’s important to note that Alfred Russell Wallace achieved the same synthesis separately – and that perhaps without him, Darwin’s work would not have been published at the time). This corpus integrates the fact of evolution with the mechanisms that make it possible (Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection), and has been since that time the cornerstone of biological science.

The famous geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky once said “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. I’ll just add that even though it is possible to use a non-evolutionary approach to study some aspects of biology, everything just makes much more sense in the light of evolution.

In my daily work, I’m constantly trying to understand the evolutionary processes that underlie the diversity I see. My awareness of evolutionary mechanisms does not detract from my appreciation of life… On the contrary, it enhances the delight I feel when I find myself not only contemplating life on Earth, but also studying and understanding a part of it and trying to make my own tiny contributions to our collective knowledge of biological evolution.”

Calimecita

* Read more about Calimecita’s work here and here and here.

Questions on evolution:

• How does evolution apply to the use of insecticides and antibiotics?
• What is Darwin’s theory about evolutionary progression?
• Why was Darwin considered to be a “revolutionary?”
• Are ants an argument against Darwin’s theory of Evolution?
• Who submitted “Theory of Evolution” other than Darwin?

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“I won’t send a picture of myself since Answers is meant to be confidential but here is a picture of my great-grandfather taken in about 1908 because people say I look more like him every passing year.  He was then about the same age I am now.”

Every so often we come across an Answers user so wonderful we have to share them with you all as a Featured User. Given this, meet Victor: author and expert contributor with nearly 70% Best Answer percentage who’s been with us since spring ‘06. Why did he join? He saw someone write that recession and inflation were the same thing. And when someone else answered that the French Revolution came before American Independence, well, he had to step in. Answers has been the better for it ever since.

Some great Answers by Victor:

* How did Napoleon’s downfall lead to his death?
* How long is it going to take for the economy to completely fail?
* What does the expression ‘economies of scale’ pertain to?
* Was the enlightenment period a positive or negative influence on Europe?
* In Physics why does equation E = MC2 use the square function?

Get more Best Answers from Victor…

Meet Victor…

Answers Team: What do you enjoy about answering?

Victor: “Two parts to it.  First, I like to think that my answers are interesting and may be helpful for someone who needs to know.  Secondly, it’s a kind of competition with myself: how much do I know about this subject that I can write down? I’m willingly ignorant about some things and wouldn’t ever answer on those, but some subjects are very close to my head and heart, and I stick to those.”

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  Where are you based?

“I spend about half the year in South London and the rest at Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India because my wife is Indian and there is a big family there.  Although I’ve worked in education and the Civil Service, I’m self employed now, so I can find work in both places and India is nicer than UK between November and April.  At this moment, therefore, I’m at Igatpuri which is 19 degrees north of the Equator and about 73 degrees east of London.”

You seem to answer in some quite diverse categories, such as history, economics and mathematics – can you explain a little about your interest in these areas?

“I went to university in the early 1960s and studied mathematics and economics, and then did a Masters 15 years later in management sciences [maths in business and engineering].  I’ve written books on these subjects.  However, my real intellectual love is history and I’ve studied that formally and informally since childhood – but you can’t make a living from it!  I did a minor in my BA in history, especially the development of government and democracy in Europe and North America.  As you see, I’ve a big interest in a range of subjects and special knowledge is some of them.”

Does work, education or your own personal experiences inform your choice answering?

“Mostly, I answer from personal knowledge or from academic research interests.  If a question is about business, management or government then I can answer from experience, and the same goes for maths and economic theory.  History involves judgement as well as knowledge and I try to bring both into my answers.  For a time, some weeks ago, I was a Top Contributor in History but then that status was removed.  I don’t know why or if the removal indicates something I’ve done wrong.”

Can you tell me more about where you live (some of the year) in India?

“Igatpuri, to be honest, has been a rail station and truck stop until this past 5 years. Now it’s a boom town because of the dual carriageway highway from Mumbai to Nashik, and the opening of the big Mahindra diesel engine plant. The town is a pilgrimage centre because of the Vipissanar meditation centre and ashram, and the old temple of Ghatendevi (goddess of the mountain).  The elephant statues at Ghatendevi are carved out of wood and covered in stucco, which is whitened each year.”

“The town is located at about 1300 metres (4400 ft) above sea level and the mountains behind the town rise to about 1900 metres (6000 ft).  Igatpuri is in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, which is the centre of the Indian wine-making industry and produces some very fine vintages, similar in style to California and some Australian types.  See, for example www.tigerhillvineyards.com.”

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One of the great things about the Answers community is that you never know who could be answering your question. It could be a kindly elderly woman in the suburbs of Perth, a hip teenager on the streets of New York or a middle aged Singaporean businessman. At any time of the day or night you gain a variety of opinions from different people with entirely unique backgrounds and views on life.

Many users on Answers don’t come for recipe tips or to discuss the economy. They’re looking for advice on something a lot more complex – matters of the heart. We’ve all been there; we’ve wondered about whether our crush returns our affections and how we should respond in different romantic situations. It doesn’t matter how old or experienced you are, love is a complicated emotion and sometimes you just need some independent advice to help you see straight.

That’s where this week’s featured user, ♥♥LOVE GURU♥♥ comes in. He’s a 29-year-old writer/journalist with a top contributor rating in the Singles and Dating sub category. In under a year, he’s managed to get 760 best answers from a total of 1353 answers, giving him a 56% best answer rate.

While ♥♥LOVE GURU♥♥’s background is in computer programming, he has attained a bachelor degree in Electronic Media Communications and minors in Sociology, Geology and Women’s Studies. This is perhaps where his interest in giving advice came from. ♥♥LOVE GURU♥♥ writes a weekly advice column and is working on a book about relationships, health, sex and dating. He finds Answers to be a great place to try out his advice before he uses it elsewhere.

So what inspires his answers to the lovelorn?

I draw from my own experiences, my education, and common sense. That last one is pretty important. Sometimes the best thing you can do, is just use a little common sense. Often, rather than just provide advice, I’ll rephrase the person’s question in a new way, and they’re able to help themselves. Often, we know what we should do, but the situation is just really confusing. It just takes someone to either agree with you, or help you look at it in new way.

♥♥LOVE GURU♥♥ finds he often is giving advice to young people who are just beginning to date as they often have many questions and want straight answers. He says:

Of course, I’m careful to not be obscene, but I do draw from both my sociology, behavioural, women’s studies and reproductive biology background to try to answer their questions. I’m careful not to talk down to them, but I try to use language that they’ll understand. It doesn’t do any good to talk down to people, because they tune you out.

♥♥LOVE GURU♥♥ has also found that some questioners are curious to know more about human behaviour. They don’t just want to know how to improve their relationship situation, but also why different people react in different ways.

A common question I get is, how do you ask someone out? It really bugs me to see all these short responses people leave, like, “You just ask them.”  Well, that doesn’t really help them.  So, I like to go into a little more detail.  Again, I keep things conversational, but I provide scripts, examples and biological explanations for why someone may have difficulty speaking to someone.  Oh, I know, it sounds way too complex to provide biological explanations, but the emails and IMs I’ve gotten tell me different.  People like hearing why they are, the way they are. They like hearing they are not alone.  They like hearing there is a biological, psychological, sociological and even anthropological reason for why they’re behaving the way they are. When we start to understand our behaviour, we can actually do something about it. When we receive scripts to follow, hear examples of how others have overcome this problem and get real detail, then and only then can we do something about it.

Next time you’re having a relationship crisis, you’ll know where to turn!

Caitlin
Community Manager

PS Know someone who’s “wow-ed” you on Answers? Think somebody deserves to be celebrated as the next Featured User on the Answers Blog? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment below with a link to the user’s profile or best answer, or email the Answers team at: y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

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Our most recent Featured User certainly has an impressive record. With a 92% Best Answer rate, Trusylver has made a huge impact in the Diet & Fitness section of the Answers community.

This sporting specialist currently lives in South East Queensland but spent her formative years in Bega on the South Coast of NSW. She studied electronic engineering and holds a diploma of E-Business but after many years as a web developer, she realised her true calling was fitness so is now studying to become a fully qualified personal trainer.

From reading her Answers, she certainly has what it takes to instruct and motivate effectively. Questions about toning, weight loss, weight training, exercise routines and even diet have been discussed by Trusylver. She’s advised how to gain weight, how to get stronger, how to build arm muscles and how to reduce leg fat.

When Trusylver isn’t improving the fitness and strength of Australian gym junkies, she is usually found studying or training at the gym for not only fitness but for Powerlifting competitions. She also enjoys playing Warhammer fantasy, reading and takes care of her 3 sons and a husband.

In her own words:

Answering questions not only make me feel like I am helping people but also helps me focus on my study and to increase my own knowledge when I need to do additional research so that I can provide accurate and helpful answers.

Caitlin
Community Manager

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Our featured user this week is a true patriotic Australian! Ozmaniac is a top contributor in both the General – Australia and the NSW (Sydney) travel subcategories. It is her knowledge of Australian immigration and visas that has provided assistance to, no doubt, hundreds of potential Aussies.

Ozmaniac lives in Brisbane and has very diverse areas of interest. Her first job at 15 was as a calculator operator and she hasn’t looked back since. This role led to the computer industry, and she says, “I’ve worked in the computer industry since long before it was an industry.” She has also bred cats and loves sports, especially Australian Rules.

Despite all her experiences, Ozmaniac feels most at home in the Travel – Australia category on Answers. Her background knowledge of immigration and visas stem from family contacts who work in the immigration department. She believes that Australia is crying out for skilled immigrants and she does her best to help them understand the minefield of rules and requirements that need to be satisfied in order to gain a visa.

She also likes to answer questions about books and authors, local businesses, computers and babies (she was a volunteer breastfeeding advisor for years) and anything else that takes her fancy as it appears on the Home page.

In her own words:

I discovered Answers by accident in April this year when I was searching for some info (on dishwasher salt of all things), but was immediately hooked. I think it’s a fantastic resource for people to get information and advice on just about any subject and I’m pleased to be able to contribute. I’ve only ever asked a handful of questions, but each time, I received some great and very useful answers.

Thanks Ozmaniac!

Caitlin
Community Manager

PS If you’ve seen an answer that has impressed you this much and you think the Answerer deserves credit where credit is due, please email us on y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au.

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This week’s featured user is revoltix, a devoted member of the Video & Online games section of Answers. At high school, he was known as ‘Mr Internet’ and ‘The Cool Nerd’ and has now found an outlet for all his knowledge on Answers.

Revoltix is 26 years old and grew up in the south west suburbs of Sydney. His main interests are computers, gaming technologies, playing the guitar and motor sports however above all, his main passion is video games. Whether they’re the latest releases or old school eighties classics, he loves them all.

He certainly brings his knowledge to the users of Answers. From technical questions about online PS2 networks, Playstation patches and reformatting super nintendos to specific game questions such as Halo 3, revoltix has all the Answers. He says:

I give advice on these categories as they are of interest to me and they are things of which of have a vast knowledge of. I’ve setup most video game consoles online, networked computers for LANs and gaming parties, solved problems that Internet Service Providers couldn’t solve, as well as manufacturers of hardware and software. All my friends, either in the real world or in ‘cyberspace’ ask me for the answers before they read their manuals. And if I don’t know, I know where to look for the answer.

It isn’t all computers and gaming in revoltix’s life. He also likes answering in different categories such as pets, philosophy and history to keep things interesting. He even once used Answers to help a work colleague find a friend from ten years ago who was living in a different country. His colleague ended up ringing his long-lost friend and arranged a reunion, all thanks to revoltix finding him.

It’s these sorts of experiences that make Answers worthwhile for revoltix:

Answers gives me the satisfaction that I helped someone. I know how frustrating it can be to seek for something that you think you will never find. You get a great feeling when someone lends you a hand, and that’s what I like to share.

Thanks, revoltix, for being such an important member of our community. For those curly networking or gaming questions, we all know who to ask!

Caitlin
Community Manager

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Asher3620 notes there isn’t actually a piercing section so she contributes to a broad range of categories. Sometimes she finds it under areas like Fashion, First Aid or Pain Management however most of the questions are in the Skin and Body part of Beauty and Style, which is where Asher3620 enjoys Top Contributor status.

There isn’t an area of piercing that Asher3620 shies away from. Whether it’s tongue piercing, nose piercing, eyebrow piercing, nipple piercing and even areas that you never thought could get pierced, she has advice in spades.  Asher3620 is so popular with her informative, detailed and well written answers that she has 60% best answer rating. Her knowledge comes from working as a Body Piercing Apprentice in an award winning tattoo shop, and also from working in a teen retail store.

Asher3620 has also been active in areas of women’s health, hairstyles, music, and tattoos. Her favourite part of Answers is when the asker choosers ‘Best Answer’ and leaves their feedback. She says: ‘I really enjoy those few words of feedback that let you know you’ve made a difference in someone’s day and answered a question they were really interested in. True it may be a question that could have easily been solved with a two second internet search or a search of Answers itself, but thanks to a few minutes of typing, someone has learned something new. That kind of interchange is what makes Answers so much fun on so many levels.’

From reading some of the feedback, it sounds like the people she has helped has certainly appreciated her wisdom!

Caitlin
Community Manager

PS If you’ve seen an answer that has impressed you as much as asher3620 impressed us and you think the Answerer deserves credit where credit is due, please email us on y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au.

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