Ok, till now, I have been going on about myself. I thought of doing something different now: describing a few other good applicants that I have seen on the Mars One website.
I have seen quite a few applicants' profiles till now. I have rated many, too. Most of the applicants seem to have submitted single-shot videos where the person just sits/stands in front of the camera and talks. As I explained in my previous post, such applicants do not utilize the full potential of a video application. Some applicants do not even answer all 3 questions that are supposed to be answered in the video! But there are a few that have invested a serious amount of time and effort in this important part of the application.
Obviously, I have seen only the public parts of their profile (i.e. application video, self introduction and interests). I know nothing about their private application parts. But from whatever I have seen, each one of these may deserve a 4 or 5 star rating, and possibly, a place in round 2 (interviews).
Another thing: out of all the 11 languages in which Mars One accepts applications, I understand only one: English (which is also designated as the only "official" language by Mars One, on their website). So I can comment on only those applicants who have applied in English. There will also be several good applicants using other languages, but as I can't understand them, I unfortunately cannot comment on them.
So, here is a brief description of the good applicants (in no particular order), along with links to their profiles on the Mars One website. Check them out!
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1:
Name: Momchil.
Sex: Male.
Age: 24 years.
Country: Bulgaria.
This one may be my favorite till now. His video is an amateur music video, though not of original sound track or music. The sound track is of the all-famous Gangnam Style (of Psy), but the lyrics here are original, relevant to a Mars One application. I first saw his video on YouTube.com (where the full uncut version is posted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3767434399&feature=iv&src_vid=mD2S-JNYBJk&v=ICuEdEIQfPA ).
The applicant says that he is a senior student at Princeton University, studying Computer Science, Neuroscience, Robotics and AI. In the video (in which he sings), he describes himself as a programmer, entrepreneur and ACM finalist. The video also features a few other people in momentary, supporting kind of roles, though he is the only one that sings.
I thought, as the soundtrack is not original, could it lead to a case of copyright infringement? But the track is of Gangnam Style, and it is said that Psy gave up the copyright disclaimer of this song, so I guess this song can be freely used like this.
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2:
Name: Mike.
Sex: Male.
Age: 49 years.
Country: United States.
This was the first "decent" profile that I saw. The applicant has clearly invested time and effort in the video, though it is possible that he took professional help in making it.
He says he has a degree in Physics, and "has worked in hazardous environments", in the video section describing why he is a good candidate. Also says that he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
His weak point may be his age: he is 48 years old right now, so he will be around 58 years old in 2023 when the first Mars One crew lands on Mars. Younger people (not more than 30 years old right now, hence not more than 40 years old in 2023) may be better for a one-way space mission like this.
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3:
Name: Tatiana.
Sex: Female.
Age: 32 years.
Country: Russia.
She says that she is researching in particle physics at the Large Hadron Collider (of CERN, i.e. the European Organisation for Nuclear Research). In fact, she says that the video itself is shot at the LHC. She is about to get her Ph.D. (in physics, I guess) from Princeton University. She is an experienced mountaineer, and "can be trusted to handle billions of dollars worth of equipment".
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4:
Name: Max.
Sex: Male.
Age: 26 years.
Country: United States.
This guy (if he is being honest) is probably an over-achiever type in academics. One of the most significant things about him may be the fact that he got his bachelors degree in not one or even two, but three majors: physics, astronomy and mechanical engineering. THREE majors?!? Is that even possible? Many people find completing just one major a difficult journey. Or did he in fact get three minors combined to form one major, and is bluffing in his application about the minors being majors? I don't know, but if he really got three majors, then I guess he took more than the usual 4 years of college to complete them. Right now, he says, he is pursuing his masters degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University.
In the video, he shows himself in a micro-gravity simulating experience that happens in those "diving" type airplanes.
Overall, seems a strong candidate, though there seems to be a bit of arrogance in him that may not be appealing.
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5:
Name: Maggie.
Sex: Female.
Age: 30 years.
Country: United States.
In her self introduction, she says that although she graduated Cum Laude with a degree in electrical engineering, she put her technical skills into "making high-end costumes, starting an international business selling the largest zippers in the world". Her video is nice, with a certain documentary kind of style, as though she is giving an interview to a journalist. She may have taken professional help to make the video.
In the video's why-is-she-a-good-candidate section, she says that she is both creative and technical be it any task, including this, which, she says, is her first time making a video.
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6:
Name: Gillian.
Sex: Female.
Age: 22 years.
Country: United Kingdom.
In the self introduction, she says that she is about to start her Masters year of her Physics and Astrophysics Degree at the University of Sheffield. In the video, she says that she wants to do scientific research, especially astrobiology. She wants to "investigate whether or not there is life on Mars". She says that she frequently organizes and volunteers in public outreach events. She wants to "keep the public interested in science". She is into "extreme sports", and regularly competes in national competitions. She says that she has represented her university in 5 sports so far.
At the video's end, there is a group of people gathered outdoors, that shouts, "Send Gillian to Mars!"
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7:
Name: Besh.
Sex: Male.
Age: 35 years.
Country: Canada.
In the video, he says that living on Mars is something that he has "dreamed of", and has been "preparing to do, for a decade". He shows a bit of footage of himself in underwater scuba diving, snow-covered areas, etc. Also some clips of him on a stage, addressing an audience.
A unique thing about him (if he is being honest in the video) is that he started shooting videos of himself, a little bit each day, for "432 days", i.e., since the day he hard about the Mars One program. Each clip has a "day number". So, in the video, there are several such clips, many shown simultaneously in different panes that the screen is divided into. In one clip, labelled "June 25th 2012, Day 1" he says ,"I found out about this program called 'Mars One'." He says he has done this to "document his dedication," because he will "go in a heartbeat". But I guess that all this, if true, would be too much video shooting (videos whose total duration would be up to several hours), ultimately for a final video that can be maximum 70 seconds long. Was it all worth it?
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8:
Name: Andrea.
Sex: Female.
Age: 30 years.
Country: Australia.
In the self introduction, she says that she is a mechatronic engineer. She "did school next to an active volcano in Italy; University study in Australia and Korea; Worked for years in Industrial Automation in the desert mining underground (flying to/from work!)." She "moved to Belgium to work on the International Space Station. Lived/worked/studied in 32% of the world." (How did she arrive at the 32 % figure, I wonder?)
Her video is a bit different. She does not speak much, unlike others who speak most of the video-time. Instead, she shows several pictures and short video clips (of herself in different places) in quick succession, with some energetic music playing. She answers the "Why go to Mars?" question by saying "I've explored most of the Earth, and I want to keep going."
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9:
Name: Heidi.
Sex: Female.
Age: 25 years.
Country: United States.
Right now, she is in one of the top few positions in the "ratings" list of applicants on the Mars One website (though that list is not really an accurate indicator of actually "good" applicants, as many applicants repeatedly give themselves 5 star ratings, and give their competition low ratings of 1 or 2 stars).
In the video, she says that she got a B.S. in chemistry from Virginia Military Academy. She also says she was a member of NASA's Space Exploration Academy, studying surface features of Martian craters. After graduation, she says, she decided to serve her country as a chemical officer in the US army, and today she is responsible for "training and developing 21 soldiers".
Overall, she seems like a good candidate, except for the somewhat arrogant way in which she says "I am the best candidate for Mars One" near her video's end. Is it just my thinking, or do military people all over the world have some kind of stiff arrogance or pride built into them? If true, is it good for a mission like this?
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10:
Name: Taranjeet Singh Bhatia.
Sex: Male.
Age: 29 years.
Country: India.
I had viewed quite a few Indian applicants' profiles, and for a long time, all that I saw were profiles with single-shot videos where the applicant just sat and talked in front of the camera. Same level as plain text. Only one other Indian applicant (http://community.mars-one.com/profile/16fdbb9f-b679-41c0-9a6a-a47e1f3be6a8) had done a slightly better job, by making a video that is a slideshow of his vacation-type pictures, with his voice answering the 3 video questions. But even that may not be considered as a "good" video as the pictures are of his past vacations, with many of them being irrelevant for a Mars One application, and his answers for the 3 questions are also quite average.
My video is not that great, but honestly, it did seem at least a bit better that all these other videos of Indian applicants that I had seen till now. If not better, then at least my video was invested with more time and effort.
But then I saw this profile. The applicant has clearly worked a decent amount on the video. In the self introduction, he writes that he is studying for a Doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. In the video's humor section, he says that he does have a stage humor talent, while the video shows him performing a comic act on stage. He says that he can easily mimic people around him. He has "strong skills in electronics, computers, robotics", is "interested in physics", and is a "national level sports person". The video shows a clip of him in assisted sky-diving.
It was nice to see another Indian applicant who had invested some serious time and effort in making the application video. The rest of the world must not think that all Indian applicants have boring videos!
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Till now, these are the decent profiles that I can tell you about. When I see more, I will add them to this post.
Meanwhile, I would like to list my profile again:
My video may not be as good as that of all these candidates, but I did put in a lot of work to make it!
:)
"Views" vs "popularity" statistics on a candidate's profile...
By the way, a thing that I have noticed in many profiles (especially the ones placed high in the "ratings" list of applicants on the Mars One website) is that the number of ratings (i.e. "popularity" number) displayed on a profile can be higher (sometimes much higher) than the number of views as displayed on the profile at the same instant. If the stats were correct, then it should not be so, as a person can "rate" a profile only when he/she "views" it. But I think this can happen when you rate a profile repeatedly. It is not possible through a desktop computer (you can rate a profile only once through a PC), but it can be done via a smartphone with internet access. And many applicants would rate themselves repeatedly with 5 stars, to climb up the "rated" ranking. :P
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