I Am Alive: Surviving The Andes Plane Crash

Life is unpredictable with all of its twists and turns; it can turn the best situation into the worst. There are people are always prepared for the worst, and those who aren’t. While it may seem though that all the odds are against the people who are poor planners, they still make it work; same can go for the people who are prepared for everything, things can get ugly if they are caught off guard. Like Jack London had once said, “Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well”. Meaning that it doesn't matter if someone has everything or nothing, life can still have obstacles that can mean life or death, it's what they do in those situations that make all the differences. In those situations, it would

be best to have knowledge on their side rather than strength. One’s intelligence is the best strength to have in life’s most difficult situations because it can make survival easier.
Intelligence is not all about how much they know but how much they remember.

There are moments in life where it will throw the most difficult situation in someone’s face, and all they have is the thoughts in their head. How they use the information to improve their situation, is up to them. In Brad Osborne’s documentary, I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash, he retells the story of a plane crash in the Andes Mountain range from Nando Parrado perspective. Nando Parrado’s mother and sister all joined him with his rugby team on a flight to Chile for a game. But on Friday, the 13 of October 1972 their pilot had miscalculated and crashed landed in the Andes Mountain range. They were never prepared for the cold, harsh weather of the mountains, or the loss of their friends and family. Because they were so unprepared, they had to be resourceful and use their heads to survive. Since one of the had past knowledge of radios, they did their best to repair the one they already had. They fixed it to where they were able to hear everything that was within range. If one of them had never been able to repair the one there, they would have lost hope of survival earlier and had given up. Before the pilot had died, he had told the group where everything was, particularly that Chile was west of where they are. Parrado and his friend, Roberto Canessa, both separated from the group heading west, in hopes reaching civilization in Chile. Intelligence in this situation was used to listen

to the pilot, and also to use knowledge of how to tell direction. With all odds against them, Parrado and Canessa traveled, for 10 days, across the mountains with no gear, to find Sergio Catalán; a man who called authorities to help rescue all the survivors. After 2 months, 72 days to be exact, the 16 survivors were all saved. If they had not had intelligence on their side, they may have never survived such a terrible crash. They had been dealt the poorest of cards and had played them right, as a result, they were granted life. In any other event, others would have had an entirely different outcome because they wouldn’t have the same knowledge they did.
There are some who purposely ignore their own intelligence. In Jack London’s short story, To Build A Fire, a man decides to go against advice and travel through a trail in the Yukon. The man was “foolish” and “unconcerned” with the weather, he did use his own head to know that trouble was near. He did not believe the “Old Man” that a man can’t survive alone out in the Yukon trails. However, after his hands had frostbite on them and he was out of matches, he began to regret not using his own intelligence and listening to the Old Man. He realized too late that “the old man on Sulphur Creek was right”. The man had given up and lost all hope; he died soon after. London had written a story that had best described his quote above- that it doesn't matter how bad the circumstances are, one’s intellect can decide what happens in the end. If the man had used some sense and listened to the Old Man, he could have survived.
With intelligence being as important as it is, others still believe strength is all one needs to survive a storm similar to the one in Jack London’s story, To Build A Fire. The man in London’s story had believed so too. He believed that all one needs to survive a storm is his own sanity; to have a strong mentally. Although it is important to keep one’s head, it's hard to do so when one can barely his own hand. Even the man had realized too late that sanity can only be maintained when knowledge is exercising it. To be intelligent about a situation, one is constantly thinking and going through all seniors. The man only did so once he lost his sanity and stop running from his fear of dying.
For the most part, intelligence is what keeps a person going- it's what drives them to find a solution. To have previous knowledge or advice can turn any situation from bad to good. It doesn't necessarily mean that everyone survives, but that everyone can survive. It's how they use the information that can turn a life and death situation into a when is it over situation.