Talk:Mae Jemison/GA1

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GA Review[edit]

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Reviewer: Balon Greyjoy (talk · contribs) 06:17, 9 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]


Nice to see this article go up for GA nomination. I had been planning to improve her biography; glad to see someone else improve it! Balon Greyjoy (talk) 06:17, 9 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

GA Progress[edit]

Good Article review progress box
Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV ()
3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant ()
Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

I have completed my initial review, and will be placing the review on hold. This article is going to require a bit of work, but it is off to a good start, and is well-referenced (which I feel like is one of the hardest parts of writing a comprehensive article). Let me know if you have any questions. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 04:19, 11 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Balon Greyjoy for your thoughtful comments. I think there are a few of us who are wiling to pitch in, so hopefully together we can successfully address your comments and make the necessary improvements. Knope7 (talk) 03:02, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Coffeeandcrumbs, Knope7, and HouseOfChange: I've been following along with the edits to the article. I'm assuming you guys will need longer than the standard seven days to finish improving the article. About how long would you anticipate improvements taking? Not trying to rush you, just hoping to get an idea of how long to leave the review open. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 19:27, 16 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My guess is maybe 2 weeks? I will try to devote some time to this in the coming days. Knope7 (talk) 02:54, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds good. I'll plan on leaving it open until the end of the month; let me know if you need more time. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 18:06, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
b 24.185.244.207 (talk) 00:35, 7 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Comments[edit]

References[edit]

  • Make sure the date scheme is consistent for all of the citations. There is a lot of switching between yyyy-mm-dd and Month name dd, yyyy
  • The Miami Herald link (currently reference #54) is a dead link

Pictures[edit]

  • Are there any available pictures from Jemison's pre-NASA career? Those would be good to include in the early sections
I don't see any on Commons or with an appropriate license through a google image search. Knope7 (talk) 18:21, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Are there pictures from her post-NASA career? The only picture currently on the webpage is just a picture of her face; are there pictures of her presenting or taking part in something?
  • I would cut down on the caption of the picture of her in the Spacelab Japan
  • The picture of her in 2009 should at least be in the later section of the article, as it doesn't make sense where it is in the "Early life" section.
  • I don't think the video on the page is necessary, as it is a brief clip that doesn't show Jemison doing anything work-related other than getting a cord/hose attached. A photo would be just as useful.

Prose/MOS[edit]

I haven't given it a thorough review yet (I should get to it in the next few days), but a quick review of the article shows that it is heavily reliant on quotes. While some of them are profound and important (such as Jemison's reference to MLK), there are a lot of quotes in the article that should be paraphrased instead (such as her talking about applying to be an astronaut, her agreeing to be an astronaut, her enjoying dancing).

Looking at Earwig, there are a lot of phrases similar to the sources. The YouTube source is likely the Wikipedia page being used as a YouTube description, and there are many direct quotes that Earwig has found, but there are also phrases that aren't quotes that have been directly used in other sources.

Lead

  • Combine the sentence about flying on STS-47 with the sentence about Jemison becoming the first black woman is space
  • Make Jemison the subject of the sentence about getting accepted into the astronaut corps
Reworded.
  • Be more specific on the company that she founded, as "application of technology to daily life" is vague

Early life

  • Did her mother teach at Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School? I would use the school's full name
  • If it's available, put in the number of her siblings
  • I think the quotes in the second paragraph can be removed and paraphrased to say that she had early aspirations of getting into space. They don't say much about her, other than that she wanted to become an astronaut, which is evident from her applying later in life.
Done. I also moved the mention to Nichols to this paragraph since it was a source of childhood inspiration. Knope7 (talk) 02:07, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Jemison learned to make connections to science" What type of connections are you referring to? I would say that Jemison was interested in nature and biology.
Rephrased. Knope7 (talk) 19:10, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • When you mention that Jemison did a project on pus, what type of project are you referring to? It's not clear, and doesn't tie into if this was some brief project she did, a school science fair project, etc. My personal opinion is to remove these two sentences.
Removed. Knope7 (talk) 19:10, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would paraphrase the quotes about her teachers and her frustrations over the lack of female astronauts. There are fairly long quotes being used, and the information would come across better if it were text instead of quotes.
Changed so it is now mostly paraphrased. Knope7 (talk) 19:10, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would move the MLK quote to another section, as her quotes are looking back at MLK's accomplishments, but this section takes place during the late 1960s.
Removed. Knope7 (talk) 19:10, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would combine the sentence about beginning to dance at 11 and having aspirations to become a professional dancer.
  • What type of play was West Side Story? Was it the school play, or a larger production? If it's just a school play, I don't think it's a notable enough part of her childhood to be mentioned in the article.
I've been trying to get to the bottom of this. The cited souce sounds more like a professional production of some kind, but I can't find anything clear. It's definitely possible it was a high school production in which case I would agree it could be omitted or cut down to one sentence as an example of her love of dance. If someone else could clarify that would be great. Otherwise I'll come back to it. Knope7 (talk) 23:04, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • How seriously was she thinking about becoming a professional dancer after college? Was it just something she casually entertained, or had she made plans to turn down medical school and become a dancer She received a degree from Stanford in Chemical Engineering and was accepted to Cornell Medical School, which makes me think she had no serious intentions of giving that up to dance. I would remove those two sentences.
  • I would remove the quote about her being young and going to college. It doesn't add to the information about Jemison's time in college.
I removed most of it but left little that I think goes to being young for someone leaving for college. Knope7 (talk) 22:37, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Did she get a BA in African and Afro-American Studies? It's not clear; it just says that she fulfilled the requirements.
Removed. The source used the "fulfilled the requirements" language, which I agree is unclear. Knope7 (talk) 22:37, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would combine the second-to-last paragraph with the previous ones, and cut out the quotes and state that Jemison experienced racial bias while at Stanford. The quotes themselves are either very long, or are more representative of her view points in interviews, not the story of her youth.
  • Is there more information about her time in medical school? Or at least applying to it? It's all captured in 2 sentences.
  • I would move the building a dance studio to a personal life section, as that is more of her later life, and doesn't apply to her early life.
Done. Knope7 (talk) 02:21, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Peace Corps

  • The first sentence has a lot of information in it; I would break it into 2 sentences.
  • Make Jemison, not her work, the subject of the sentence about what she specifically did
  • I changed "a doctor diagnosed" to "was misdiagnosed with"
  • Couple issues with the paragraph about saying the volunteer's life. 1). It's pretty wordy, and several parts (how long she was up, that the patient survived) can be removed/combined into other sentences. Also, the pushback from the embassy should be attributable to some person or office at the embassy; the embassy itself wasn't causing any delays. Furthermore, while Jemison was empowered to make the call for the medical evacuation, the paragraph makes it seem that she was the sole approval authority for a plane to launch from Germany, fly to Sierra Leone, pick up a patient, and fly them out, which certainly required approval and work from other individuals. I would shorten the paragraph about her saving another volunteer's life, and just say that she properly diagnosed meningitis, and evacuated the patient, who survived.
  • Is there any more information about her time in the Peace Corps? The section is mostly a quick introduction into her roles and responsibilities, and then one anecdote.

Career

  • This should be something like "NASA Career" as it only captures a portion of her total working career (albeit the most notable part)
Agreed and changed. Knope7 (talk) 03:02, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Sally Ride (and several other female astronauts) were selected in 1978; it doesn't make sense that Jemison would view her flying in space as evidence that women were accepted into the program.
The source cites the 1983 flights of Ride and Bluford. I've tweaked the wording a bit. If you still object, please let me know and I can remove it. Knope7 (talk) 03:02, 14 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Earlier the article lists MLK Jr. as an inspiration, and also that Jemison had wanted to go into space from a young age. While I'm sure she looked up to Nichelle Nichols for her role on Star Trek, the word "inspiration" implies (at least to me) that Nichols was the cause that she applied to become an astronaut.
  • When did Jemison first apply to become an astronaut? There was a class accepted in 1985, and then her class in 1987. Was she rejected in 1985, and then reapplied? How was her selection delayed by the Columbia disaster?
Good question. I added the answer to this: October 1985 was her first application. That would have been after the 1985 class was chosen. Knope7 (talk) 02:54, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would shorten the part about her selection, and just stated that she reapplied and was selected as one of the 15 candidates in 1987, and then link her astronaut class. I would remove the quote, as all it states is that Jemison agreed to become an astronaut.
Done. Knope7 (talk) 02:54, 18 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is there any information about her time as a candidate? What about press coverage/attention for the first black female astronaut?
Found some sources in Newspapers.com and added them. Hope it's what you're looking for. Can add more later if it's all good. Megalibrarygirl (talk) 23:34, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is there more information about what she did for launch support activities?
  • I would remove the quote of her supporting launches, as that is no new information from the previous sentence.
  • minus Removed. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 23:04, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would include more information about the STS-47 mission, such as when she was selected for it, 2-3 sentences about the mission itself, and any other astronauts that she worked closely with. Also, since you mention that it was a joint US-Japan flight, mention the coordination that occurred.
  • I would remove the quote about her looking down at Chicago, as almost every astronaut would view their homes as they flew over, and it's not a particularly notable event.
  • Reword the "Hailing frequencies open" sentence. Was she broadcasting this, or just saying it throughout the mission. Also, it should say something like "Star Trek-inspired quote "Hailing frequencies open." Saying "a salute on a Trekkie could appreciate" is a colloquialism and conversational tone.
  • I would shorten the paragraph about stuff she brought into space. I would remove "Because of her love of dance and as a salute to creativity" as the personal effects that people bring all have some sort of personal significance.
  • I would remove her quote about "connection between science and dance" as that is indicative of Jemison's world view and personal opinion, not her actual time during the mission.
  • "to ever fly an airplane" should be shortened to "pilot"
  • Is there any more information about what work she accomplished in space? There is very little about the science that she conducted.
  • I would remove the quote about why she left NASA, as it is pretty long, and doesn't contain much new information. It could just state that she resigned from NASA with the intention of starting her own company.
  • I would remove the Hickam quote. It's nothing profound, and just states that NASA spent a lot of money training astronauts, so he wishes that they wouldn't resign.
    • minus Removed just the qoute and left in his sentiments about her resignation. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 12:41, 28 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would also remove the quote from her 2008 interview, as that is more of a retrospective of her feelings, not biographical data. Additionally, while she would've wanted to still go to space without being the first black woman, she understood the historical significance of her going.

Science and technology

  • I would rename this section to something like "Post-NASA career"
  • Make this section have more of a chronological flow. It starts out with an event in 1999, then jumps to events in 1995, 1990, 1993, and so on.
  • I would remove the sentence "She sees science and technology as being very much a part of society, and African-Americans as having been deeply involved in U.S. science and technology from the beginning" as that is her motivation for working, but this sentence about what she is accomplishing, which is explained in the previous sentence.
  • Expand on what the Jemison Group does, as "which researches, markets, and develops science and technology for daily life" is very generic
    •  Done. It appears to be short lived and of minor notability.--- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:57, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would remove the quote about her calling her parents the best scientists she knew, as that is more praise that she was giving them, rather than objective truth. Nothing against her parents, but neither were professional scientists, and Jemison worked at NASA, which employs a lot of accomplished scientists.
  • The multi-sentence description of The Earth We Share reads like an advertisement.
    • I trimmed it down. See if more trimming is needed. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:31, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • The BioSentient Corp paragraph also reads like an advertisement
    • I removed some advertorial descriptions. The rest seems notable since it is connected to what she did during STS-47.

Writing

  • I would paraphrase the Book Report review
  • Is "True Book Series" a textbook, workbook, activity book, etc.? What is the "Find the Truth" challenge?
    • I added a few details... take a look. Not really sure which category of children's books it belongs to.--- Coffeeandcrumbs 23:27, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is there anything more descriptive for a review of the True Book Series? The quote "properly tantalizing surveys of our local stellar neighborhood and its ongoing exploration" doesn't really say anything about the quality of the books.

Media appearances

  • I would combine the sentences about Burton learning about Jemison being a fan, and her accepting it. It doesn't require a one-word quote, and should just state that Burton contacted her, and she agreed to be on the show.
  • Back to a previous point, how did Uhura inspire Jemison?
  • Is there anything more about her genetic makeup, other than East Asian (which leaves 87% unaccounted for)
    • I added more about her paternal ancestors. I did not find more information about her maternal ancestors. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 22:44, 24 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would remove the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me appearance, as that is not a significant interview, and I'm sure she has given numerous interviews of a similar caliber.

Other public appearances

  • This section should be removed, and the information moved into other appropriate sections (Awards and honors, mostly).
  • The first few sentences read like an advertisement for her public speaking. It should just say that she is works as a "public speaker who appears before private and public groups promoting science and technology"
  • I removed the sentence that she appears at charity events
  • I would remove the interview about her feelings for "role model" It's her personal opinion; not an honor she's received or an event she attended.
  • Was she the commencement speaker at Western Michigan University in May 2017?

Other news

  • Similar to the previous section, this is all information that can be in other parts of the page. It seems like there are sections for the sake of sections with titles that begin with "Other"
  • Is Gen-Probe the only board she sits on? This is the only mention of the company in the article; it doesn't seem significant enough to merit an entire paragraph about her board seat
  • I rewrote "a "Women of NASA" LEGO set went on sale featuring (among other things) mini-figurines" to "In 2017, LEGO released the "Women of NASA" set, with minifigures of Jemison"
  • Is there any information about her personal life (family, hobbies, etc). Most biographies have that, and would be a good place to put information such as her in-home dance studio.

June 3 updated comments[edit]

Not sure how close the article is to being completed, but I wanted to provide some feedback, as a lot of edits have been made. The article has definitely been substantially improved so far. Nice work! Balon Greyjoy (talk) 15:12, 3 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  • The article is still overly reliant on quotes, and still has a mix of retrospective information with biographical information. The Early life section is the part that is most quote-heavy
    • I've removed a lot more quotes from the Early life section. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 08:18, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is there more information about her time in medical school?
  • Is there more information about her time in the Peace Corps? Are you planning on shortening the paragraph about the incident with the injured patient?
    • Correct me if I am wrong but the paragraph on the Peace Corp is sufficient. A separate section for the 2 years she was in the Corps was not necessary. I folded it into a new section on her Medical career which includes the paragraph that preceded it about her time in medical school. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 08:18, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • The anecdote is just another excuse to complain about discrimination which there is enough of in this article. I removed it. It is not a particularly notable event in her life. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 08:18, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Can you expand upon the research she conducted on STS-47?
    • I have just completed removing the trash sourced from unreliable sources and information not even contained in the sources cited. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:42, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    • I've added more details about what experiments she performed in space. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 08:18, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • The Earth We Share description still reads like an advertisement
  • Has BioSentient accomplished its goal yet? It comes across as still a work in progress after 20 years.
    • My original research through archives of the company's websites indicates the company died in infancy. It appears the only goal was to offer AFTE for commercial use. The technology was already well developed, used in space, and patented in 1997. I could not find any information indicating that it went into commercial use on Earth. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:42, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is there more information about her personal life?
    • As far as I can tell, she never married or had children. She has kept her personal life very private. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:42, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would cut down on the paragraph about her police brutality complaint. It's important information, but the entire paragraph is far too long and detailed, especially when the Personal life section is otherwise so short.
    • Can you suggest some things you think is extraneous? I have to admit I am biased on this subject. I find the whole incident personally offensive and can't find myself able to reduce it. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 00:42, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
    I removed the part about the interview and the quote, as it doesn't add to the narrative of what Jemison experienced. Stylistically, I would've said it in fewer sentences, but I have no arguments with how it is currently written.
Break

@Balon Greyjoy: I have done what I can. Please don't hesitate to ask if there is anything else I can do. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 08:18, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Coffeeandcrumbs: Nice work on the article. I made an edit to her arrest paragraph, and made a few minor edits to the NASA career section. I am passing this review and look forward to working with you on future reviews. Balon Greyjoy (talk) 23:21, 4 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

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