<p>I might have lied in the title but could you please rate my SAT essay and give me some feedback?</p>
<p>Prompt: Is uncertainty a weakness or is it essential for potential growth?</p>
<p>The premise that uncertainty equals weakness is unequivocally mistaken. Although in some cases, showing reluctance might me detrimental, there are many cases in which a reexamination of facts is beneficial. Compelling arguments for this proposition can be found in history.</p>
<p>As demonstrated by the experience of Michael McKenna, an attack helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, uncertainty can save lives. Michael was patrolling the sky when his commanding officer told him to eliminate a group of Vietnamese soldiers travelling towards a US base. When he arrived over the group, he felt uneasy about shooting them and asked the base to confirm the identity of the combatants. It turned out that the soldiers were in fact US soldiers and his uncertainty helped save 40 lives.</p>
<p>A situation in which uncertainty is celebrated is in the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In it, the main character, Arthur, is warned by his friend, Ford Perfect, that the world is on the verge of destruction. Instead of assuming Ford’s lunacy, like everyone else did, Arthur exhibited a modicum of doubt and gave Ford the benefit of the doubt. Thus, he was saved from annihilation and continued living an adventurous life.</p>
<p>Another indubitable example is that of Stanislav Petrov. Officer Petrov was manning the soviet Early Launch Detection system at the height of the Cold War. His responsibilities included detecting a US launch and warning the soviet military leadership so a retaliatory strike may be launched. One evening, his computer displayed a credible launch alert but he was uncertain whether or not the information was accurate. He decided to ignore the warning. The system malfunctioned and the information was inaccurate. His reluctance saved millions of lives and prevented another world war.</p>
<p>To conclude, uncertainty isn’t always equivalent to weakness. Most of the time, uncertainty produces positive effects as is seen in the lives of McKenna and Petrov. The only possible fault in celebrating uncertainty is to not become so complacent in the grey area as to not assert any responsibility.</p>