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More variety[]

How about changing some photos (especially in the infobox) so that they aren't just of white people? It's good to show some more phenotype variety of humans in the article. JagoAndLitefoot (talk) 03:03, 18 December 2021 (UTC)

The infobox can only have two photos, one male and one female, so no matter which photos are chosen for the infobox, plenty of races and ethnic groups are going to miss out. Further down the article, we have a photo of a native American and a photo of the rec dec crew showing humans with a variety of skin tones. So I don't see the value in changing the photos. --NetSpiker (talk) 01:42, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
I don't see why either infobox image should be of a white person. You can just scroll down a little to see Cochrane. -- UncertainError (talk) 05:30, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
Is there a reason it should not be a white person? --NetSpiker (talk) 05:34, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
Like I said, Cochrane is right there at the start of the article. -- UncertainError (talk) 07:02, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
But is there a reason to change it? Are the current images somehow failing to show what a human looks like? Would adding different skin tones make the infobox better in some way, and if so, how do we decide who to add? For that matter, how did we decide on the current images? --NetSpiker (talk) 07:46, 19 December 2021 (UTC)
If the intention is to show examples of human phenotypes, the largest ethnic subgroups (at least, in our world in 2021) are East Asian and South Asian (with the numbers varying according to how one classifies different ethnicities). If we assume that the distribution of human phenotypes in the Star Trek universe is roughly equivalent to our own, and we want to show "typical" humans in the infobox (which can hold only two images), then those images should be of an East Asian and a South Asian. Perhaps File: Hikaru Sulu, 2266.jpg and File: Thira Sidhu.jpg? —Josiah Rowe (talk) 19:24, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

"Would adding different skin tones make the infobox better in some way" – I would say yes, and this also applies to other Star Trek species with varied phenotypes, it's best to show some variety within the species if possible; e.g. in Tellarite we have an ENT Tellarite and a DIS one, in Romulan a TNG one with forehead ridges and a TOS one without, in Klingon we have Martok and L'Rell etc.

Of course out of universe, the phenotype differences in other species have different reasons, but I think the same logic should apply. JagoAndLitefoot (talk) 20:26, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

Dubious claims in the article[]

The article states that, "Human culture evolved to eliminate war, poverty and disease by the year 2113. (Star Trek: First Contact; ENT: "Broken Bow"; TNG: "Time's Arrow, Part II")" The claim about the elimination of disease is clearly false, however. To note just one of various examples that could be given, in the original series episode "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" Dr McCoy is suffering from a fatal disease, xenopolycythemia, for which there is, as of the beginning of the episode, no known cure. Like the other original series episodes, "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" is set in the 2260s. So the claim about humans having eliminated disease by 2113 in the Star Trek universe is demonstrably untrue. Pie Son (talk) 10:46, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Maybe "and many previously common diseases"? JagoAndLitefoot (talk) 11:14, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Maybe. I had been thinking about just removing the part about disease being eliminated by 2113, which seems contradicted by a number of Star Trek episodes dealing with diseases, but alter it however you like. Pie Son (talk) 11:25, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

That line's in the article because it's directly stated in an episode. It's not for us to try and reconcile parts of canon that are contradictory. At most we can add a background note about it. -- UncertainError (talk) 21:19, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
Our articles obviously do not mention everything that is directly stated in every episode: we can be selective. So, "it's directly stated in an episode" is not an automatic reason for including something, you have to give a reason for it. Pie Son (talk) 02:52, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
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