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You can only save one— who do you choose? - Doug MacKay

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TEDEd Animation

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You are the captain of an interstellar cargo transport headed to port when you receive two distress calls. The first is from a labor ship, whose passengers are running out of oxygen. The other from a luxury space cruiser which has lost a thruster, sending them careening into danger. With only enough time to save one ship, which should you choose? Doug MacKay explores this classic ethical dilemma.

Is John Taurek right that the numbers don’t count when one must fairly allocate a scarce resource? In this example, the ships have similar numbers of passengers. What about cases where one could save many more lives by rescuing one ship compared to another?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Doug Mackay
  • Director Avi Ofer
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Music Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam

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