Talk:Stanisław Ulam/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Dictioneer (talk · contribs) 02:54, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

This is my first attempt at a GAN review, so patience is appreciated.

No worries. Hawkeye7 (talk) 08:29, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Reference checks, initial pass

The references passed the mechanical check with few problems. In going through the refs, here are the corrections and changes I would suggest:

Note 53, ref name=ZUBAK

This generates a warning ref check. The simple technical solution substitutes URL=http://physics.aps.org/articles/v6/15 for http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v15/i6/p240_1

However, even the corrected link is too technical for the general reader – I think either of the two alternatives listed below would be fine, and leave it to someone more expert as to which would be more appropriate. Either URL change should be accompanied by the corresponding journal reference (e.g., CHAOS, etc.).

http://physics.aps.org/articles/v6/15 which gives a nice overview of the problem for the general reader

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1861554 which provides a more detailed historical perspective by the original author of the article.

I really, really don't think that the readers will go looking, but substituted the first article. Hawkeye7 (talk) 08:29, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Note 13, ref name=VOLSKY

The reference appears genuine, but points to an inappropriate website. Substitute http://www.aulam.org/anxious2.htm#volsky for current URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/300PolishSquadron/message/3289?var=1 and update the corresponding reference in the note.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 08:29, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Note 75, ref name=MONTESEARCH

I would replace this reference and slightly reword the paragraph it supports: The Monte Carlo method has become a ubiquitous and standard approach to computation, and the method has been applied to a vast number of scientific problems. In addition to problems in physics and mathematics, the method has been applied to: finance, social science, environmental risk assessment, linguistics, radiation therapy, and sports,..

Next, in the references section, replace MONTESEARCH with MONTEALAMOS

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 08:29, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Dictioneer (talk) 02:54, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Ulam Quotations

Comment: Before the recent flurry of edits, which began on 13 May 2013, the article contained two sections of quotations by and about Ulam. There were 14 quotations, documented by 8 distinct references. Both sections have been deleted. I find it hard to believe that nothing from this material should be included in a good article about Ulam. Deer*lake (talk) 18:27, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

They are all still there on Wikiquote, which is linked in the article. The section was removed per WP:LONGQUOTE: Do not insert any number of quotations in a stand-alone quote section Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:00, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

A comparison of the quotes by and about Ulam with those in Wikiquote shows that the above statement is not true. In fact, of the 33 Wikiquotes, only three appeared in the article. The "rule" cited above is ambiguous. Within its context in WP:LONGQUOTE, there is no way it can be used to mandate wholesale deletion of pertinent quotations. The point is that quotations offer a compact way to introduce relevant information that does not fit well within the text. For example, Ulam's quoted and referenced declaration "I'm an agnostic." adds dimension to his character, and its deletion leaves two of his categorizations unreferenced. Similarly, Hans Bethe's quotation, which has been in the article since 5 May 2005, puts on record his authoritative opinion on who deserves credit for the H bomb. Deer*lake (talk) 20:49, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

WP:LONGQUOTE is quite clear on this matter: quote sections are prohibited. The quotes should be on Wikiquote. I have inserted Bethe's quotation into the text, although I believe that the text already covered the issue. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:56, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

I'd personally not object to having one or two quotes, but it is a rare practice, and per cited policy, more often frowned upon than not. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 12:16, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

If the intention of WP:LONGQUOTE is to prohibit quote sections, then it should say so in plain language. In any case, it is part of an essay, Wikipedia:Quotations, where the box at the top states: "This guidance essay … is not a Wikipedia policy or guideline." Deer*lake (talk) 17:13, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

I have no opinion about quotations generally. However, for this article I think that the agnosticism quote should be re-introduced (along with its corresponding REF) – otherwise, I agree categorizing Ulam as an agnostic is unsupported. If there is agreement, adding the quote in or at the end of the Holocaust paragraph seems most appropriate, but I'm also open to alternative suggestions for resolving this. Dictioneer (talk) 19:38, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

It took a bit of effort to find an appropriate spot, but I have inserted it into the text. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:11, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Two more ref issues

Note 35 ref name=MIKEDEATH does not appear adequate to support the sentence, and the sentence appears to be unnecessary. Recommend deleting, but some form of rewording might also work.

Removed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Note 17, name=MCKIBB, does not appear to support the paragraph that references it. Recommend its removal or use in some other part of the article. The statement is adequately supported by fn 5, name=VITA.

Also suggest shorter wording, something like: Knowing nothing of the area, he borrowed a New Mexico guide book. On the checkout card, he found the names of his Wisconsin colleagues, Joan Hinton, David Frisch, and Joseph McKibben, all of whom had mysteriously disappeared.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

typos/abbrevs/wordy=

Beth > Bethe

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

ca. 1990 > around or circa 1990

Removed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

"Theory of Multiplicative Processes I", … > "Theory of Multiplicative Process", whose last page gives suggestions pertinent to bomb design.

Done, and removed the trailing clause. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

However, he kept a residence > He kept a residence

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

However, this report, which > This report, which

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

its scope was extended by another pioneering exploration > its scope was extended

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

However, in January 1951, > In January 1951,

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Vagueness patrol

put some tritium > put tritium

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Some topics represented > Topics represented

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Some notable results > Notable results

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Dictioneer (talk) 02:42, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Dangling phrase

In 1951, after controversy over credit for the H bomb developed, both Teller and Ulam left Los Alamos, which is an indication of their states of minds. The original paragraph stating this has been removed, which leaves dangling the first phrase of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem Deer*lake (talk) 17:35, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

I had to look back quite a few revisions to find the missing sentence, and even then I think it had a couple intervening paragraphs. It appears that the reference is to when Teller left for the University of Chicago and Ulam took up a visiting professorship at Harvard in 1951. If this understanding is correct, I suggest the following opening sentence in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem: In September 1951, Ulam began a pattern of going on leave as visiting professor to a variety of universities but returning each summer to continue his research. Dictioneer (talk) 19:38, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

September 1951 is when Teller left, but I'm not sure exactly when Ulam did. If you insist on deleting the original paragraph, you could just start the FPU section with a statement that Ulam went to Harvard in late 1951. Although Ulam was often on leave from Los Alamos, I don't think a pattern had been established at this early date. Deer*lake (talk) 21:01, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

I have restored part of the original paragraph, which was deleted because it was unsourced, and ran off-topic on talking about Teller's subsequent activities. Ulam departed Los Alamos on 13 September, three days after Teller submitted his resignation. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:40, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Impact and legacy edits

Delete the following 2 sentences as non-relevant to this biographical article: Alwyn Scott was its first director, and Kac was chairman of its first external advisory committee, on which Martin Kruskal also served. The purpose of CNLS is to continue the laboratory's tradition of work in nonlinear science, which began with FPU, but which also includes Mitchell Feigenbaum's important work in chaos and fractals (1975).

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

which provides a prestigious annual award that enables a noted scientist to spend a year carrying out research at Los Alamos. > an annual award that funds a year of research at Los Alamos for the recipient.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the original FPU paper, the problem was the > The fiftieth anniversary of the original FPU paper was the subject of the March 2005 issue of the journal Chaos, and the topic of the 25th Annual International Conference of CNLS.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

The year in the ref date for both FPUCHAOS and FPUCNLS should be 2005 instead of 1955.

Done Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

For the biology legacy, substitute the following as a stand-alone paragraph:

old graf: In 1985, Beyer, Sellers, and Waterman reviewed Ulam's contributions to theoretical biology in terms of his work in cellular automata theory, population biology, pattern recognition, and biometric spaces. In much of this work, Ulam attempted to define distance metrics, which differ from Euclidian distances, but which are appropriate measures in the context of molecular biology. In 1982, Ulam gave an overview of these ideas in his Gamow memorial lecture at the University of Colorado. His Los Alamos colleague, Walter Goad, has described their impact on sequence analysis.

new graf: Ulam's work on non-Euclidean distance metrics in the context of molecular biology made a significant contribution to sequence analysis and his contributions in theoretical biology are considered watersheds in the development of cellular automata theory, population biology, pattern recognition, and biometrics generally. Colleagues noted that some of his greatest contributions were in clearly identifying problems to be solved and general techniques for solving them.

Done Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

ref name=GOAD has the same URL as ref name=VITA. The correct URL for GOAD appears to be http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00326869.pdf

Done Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:33, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Section by section

Poland

Soon, he began > He began

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Here, under > Under

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

in the Scottish book, which is a thick > in the Scottish book, a thick

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Ulam is a major presence in the > Ulam was a major contributor to the

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Coming to America

Here, he became an > He became a

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Hydrodynamical calculations of implosion

which suddenly releases a large amount of energy > releasing a large amount of energy

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

simpleminded > simple-minded

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Post war Los Alamos

Much later, after Ulam's death, another friend, Gian-Carlo Rota, asserted > Another friend, Gian-Carlo Rota, asserted in a 1987 article

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Monte Carlo method

old: John von Neumann immediately saw the significance of this insight, and in March 1947, proposed to Robert Richtmyer, a statistical approach

new: John von Neumann immediately saw the significance of this insight. In March 1947 he proposed a statistical approach

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

I think that all of the next paragraph (In 1948, ENIAC was moved...) except the last sentence should be removed as not relevant to this biography. The last sentence should be merged with the previous paragraph.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

I would remove the first sentence of the next paragraph as not relevant to this biography, and reword the next 2 sentences: Fermi, learning of Ulam's breakthrough, devised an analog computer known as the Monte Carlo trolley, later dubbed the FERMIAC. The device performed a mechanical simulation of random diffusion of neutrons. As computers improved in speed and programmability, these methods became more useful. In particular, many Monte Carlo calculations carried out on modern massively parallel supercomputers are embarrassingly parallel applications, whose results can be very accurate..

There may be an argument for keeping it as is, but at this point, I think a substantial edit is needed.

Agreed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 13:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Dictioneer (talk) 03:18, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Teller–Ulam design

Delete the paragraph “In May 1951, during Operation Greenhouse” as not relevant to this biographical article.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:21, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Delete the 2 paragraphs starting “With the basic fusion reactions confirmed,” and “On 12 August 1953, the Soviets” as not relevant to this biographical article.

Kept the first paragraph. Deleted the second. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:21, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Delete all of the sentences except the last two in the paragraph starting “When fission neutrons break” as not relevant to this biographical article. The last two sentences (“On 22 November 1955...”) can form their own paragraph or be merged into the previous one (preference is they stand on their own).

Deleted these. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:21, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

I realize that again I am advocating some serious cutting of this section, but my goal is to focus on the biographical aspect and our subject's contribution to and participation in these important events. I would be happy to review a rewrite of this section if that is preferred, but I think the the proposed cuts meet the GA criteria of conciseness and relevance.

That's okay. I agree. I already made a series of cuts. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:21, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Fermi–Pasta–Ulam problem

Delete the opening sentence in the 3rd paragraph, “With the aid of standard...”

Deleted opening clause. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

This amazing behavior > This behavior

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Nuclear propulsion

Recommend changing section title to Nuclear Propulsion, Fermi-Ulam model, Chaos Theory

That would be cumbersome, and go against MOS:HEADINGS. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Compromise with Nuclear propulsion, Chaos Theory? Not a deal-breaker in any case.Dictioneer (talk) 00:36, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

During the war > Starting in 1955, (this is what is supported by the reference)

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Delete the last two sentences of the paragraph, “It was administered...” as not relevant to this biography.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Ulam and C. J. Everett proposed > Ulam and C. J. Everett also proposed

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Replace last sentence of the section, “Another, with Paul Stein, which was titled "Quadratic Transformations", was an early investigation of chaos theory.” with “Another, with Paul Stein and Mary Tsingou, titled “Quadratic Transformations” an early investigation of chaos theory and is considered the first published use of the phrase “chaotic behavior.”

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

add the following to the references section

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:10, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Dictioneer (talk) 21:56, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Return to academia

until Ulam died on 13 May 1984 > until Ulam died of an apparent heart attack on 13 May 1984

add ref and substitute this ref for the LANLBIO ref at the end of the sentence.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:35, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

reword last two sentences, something like: In 1987, Françoise Ulam deposited his papers with the American Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia.(keep the ref as is) She continued to live in Santa Fe until her death at age 93 on 30 April 2011. Both Françoise and her husband are buried with her French family in Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.(keep the ref as is, it supports both statements).

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:35, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

The remaining paragraphs of this section “From the publication...” seem like they should be moved into the Legacy and Impact section. I am of the opinion that the Legacy section could simply begin with this, but am agreeable to alternate edits.

Done. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:35, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Infobox, misc

I am not a fan of infoboxes and consequently not very familiar with best practice. I've had a look at the MOS and think these consistent with its guidance, but nonetheless consider the following changes as open to discussion.

In the Fields section of the infobox, I think Physics is a “must-add”, and Biology and Computer Science also seem appropriate additions.

Done. Ulam considered himself a mathematician. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:46, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

The sentence at the end of Known For seems unnecessary for the infobox and repeats the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. I recommend deleting it.

Removed. Normally everything in the legacy section would be listed. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:46, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

I noticed that the Teller-Ulam design suggestions listed above were not implemented. That's fine and certainly not a deal-breaker, but please add a note to the section documenting why the changes would not improve the article. If they simply got missed in the clutter, feel free to implement them and make a note.

Implemented. They were just overlooked. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:46, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

Dictioneer (talk) 00:36, 1 June 2013 (UTC)