Cold Equations By Tom Godwin: An Analysis

At some point in time, each person on Earth may have to make a life-changing decision that could affect not just one, but multiple lives. “Cold Equations,” a story by author Tom Godwin, highlights how science and emotion were used in two fictional decisions, both of which impacted the lives of multiple people in the story. Barton, the pilot in the short story, had to decide whether to end the life of a teenage girl, Marilyn, who stowed away on his Emergency Dispatch Ship. Her added weight threatened to deplete the ship’s limited fuel supply. Despite Barton’s internal conflict and sympathy for Marilyn, who in his eyes was just an innocent girl wanting to see her brother again, he ultimately chose to abide by interstellar laws and science and …show more content…

Individuals and the nation should use science in any form of decision-making because facts eliminate the risk of biased decisions. For example, governments use science to make important decisions regarding critical events such as the Ebola and Zeka outbreaks. Frank Gannon, a medical researcher for Brisbane, Australia, asserts, “formal structures that provide expert advice to government are necessary, because otherwise you are likely to pick up somebody's opinion that may have a selfinterest, overtly or covertly” (King). This quote proves that utilizing data to find evidence on a subject helps to make unbiased decisions and produce accurate results, aiding in the formulation of helpful government policies or the advocacy of a specific stance on a topic. Scientific decisions lead to positive outcomes for many people, such as in the case with the Ebola virus, where governments sent large response teams to countries facing the epidemic and screened everybody leaving West Africa from airports. By grounding decisions on objective data, policymakers can develop sound policies and …show more content…

The results of a behavioral study conducted by the University of Southern California and Stanford University concluded that anger led people to disengage from their audiences and caused them to refuse to evaluate clever ideas that would have had a positive impact on a business (Gino). The study highlights how using emotion in decision-making causes people to make hasty decisions they otherwise would not have made. In the study, those who were in a clear headspace were tasked with using their knowledge to evaluate both good and bad ideas. The results of the study showed that those who did not let emotions play a part in making decisions made more effective decisions regarding the idea evaluations (Gino). Letting emotions cloud the judgements of decision-makers leads people to make negative decisions that do not contribute well to the world on any level, whether national or societal. On a national level, those who work in government use both science and emotion to make decisions, but when emotion comes into play, decisions often become biased and riskier. Much like the study shows, if anyone uses emotions in decision-making, negative outcomes may follow. The short story also highlights an example of how emotions lead to biased decisions that negatively affect people. In “Cold Equations,”