Today in class we assessed 4 different choices based off a sheet of information we received. Out of the 4 groups, only 2 had the same sheet. We discussed the choices we made and compared and contrasted the two different sheets. Only the last three sentences were different, one was very emotional and putting the whole world on the actor’s shoulders, the other sheet supported the reliability of the computers and how if the actor didn’t do their job, they would be executed. My group members and I made the choice based off a few factors:

1. it is the actor’s duty to relay information
2. it is the actor’s duty to protect their country
3. there has been a lot of rising tension between the USSR and the U.S
4. Ronald Reagan joked about sending missiles
5. the computers were routinely checked and were top grade
6. if the actor did act, thousands of civilians would die, and our bunkers would be destroyed
7. either way, we would die

3/4 of the groups chose option C: report to the head officer what was seen on the computer. This puts the responsibility off of the actor and onto the computers, after all, it is the actor’s job and they are not involved with the maintenance of the computers. Furthermore, the events rising in tension would allow for the situation to make sense. One problem we did not look at is, why did the U.S only send out 5 missiles. For such a strong and powerful country, with a lot of resources and money funded into the military, why would they only target so little of the USSR which in turn was also a huge country. When we found out what choice was made that day, it was due to not only a bit of logical reasoning but also due to feeling, the man in control stated he had a funny feeling and therefore stated that the computers were wrong. In which indeed they were. But isn’t this all luck as well, that is something that can never be answered, but he sure got lucky. Things can be unexpected and you never know how it will play out. I think that as students it is also hard to make decisions about missiles based off current affairs that happened before we were born, most of us just chose the facts and logic over our emotions because on paper it just seemed to be what was right. We will never have the same mindset and reasoning as the man who made the decision to say the computer was false, he probably had worked in this field for a long time and definitely knew a lot more about the current affairs during his time, and I think that also helped him make the decision based off what he knew and also how he felt. Therefore, I think it is important to have both emotion and logical reasoning when making quick decisions. It is never easy and you never know how it might have truly played out, maybe it was luck, maybe it was right. But emotion and logic go hand in hand, even if one can overpower the other time to time. I found this exercise very interesting and enlightening, especially since it correlates so strongly to what is going on right now between Iran and the U.S and the rising tensions, but I hope dearly that nothing severe happens later on.