3 replies to this topic

[walpurg]

Does anyone have a complete list of cryonics organisations and their email/snail mail addresses?

Once we have such a list, I'd like to work with anyone who agrees with Steve Bridge (ex-Alcor President) to write up a letter stating the "change of paths" to which we can all add our signatures.

This way we can all assess the interest in Steve's proposal

http://www.alcornews...he_wrong_p.html

and our organisations might make the necessary changes.

I'm not worried about alienating futurists - cryonics has a long history of association with futurism, and it will continue to interest many of us (including myself). This can continue in the background if the orgs. alter their presentation.

Thanks.

[walpurg]

Is cryonics suffering because it is wedded to ideas about the future which are so fanstatic as to appear cultish or mere wishful thinking?

Some cryonicists have writen about how these ideas inspire them(this includes myself), others do not seem to air their opinions online at all.

But is cryonics really "on the wrong path" because of futurism (transhumanism, singularitarianism, extropianism, etc.)? Or is cryonics actually *dependant* on ideas like future medicine that can re-grow your whole body, cure your terminal disease, and revive your youth?

A skeptic once asked me "what is the point of being brought back to life only to die again in a few years time?". And another "I don't want to live for decades after being brought-back getting older and weaker".

It was necessary to explain that cryonics could preserve a *young* person so that s/he could be revived and live out a normal life-span. Better yet, cryonics could enable a person to reach a point in time where medical-tech could revive them, cure them, return their youthfulness (and perhaps their bodies below the head), and extend their life-span significantly beyond what is currently known.

The skeptics were right to question a procedure which might not make an impact on longevity and youthfulness. And I wasn't surprised when my answer (revival from cryopreservation, cure, youth, and longevity) failed to convince them because it seemed too *far-fetched*.

We can protest that they don't understand the idea. But stripped of the hopes for the capabilities of future medicine, cryonics doesn't offer much either.

Cryonics appears to be necessarily wedded to futuristic (and for some, unrealistic) dreams regarding our medical capability. What is cryonics without these possibilities?

[walpurg]

Great post addressing my question here:

http://www.alcorunit...?t=365&start=15

How to get medical people interested in the first place, that I'm not sure of. My interest came from an interest in aging, longevity, health, and improving life.

1. Keep the epilogue! Medical people like good endings, and as far as cryonics goes, the only good ending available lies in the future.

2. Shape up the science. We are taught not to believe anything until it is proven. This creates an obvious problem for cryonics. Interestingly enough, there is a lot of science behind cryonics if you go and really look for it. The problem is that the science is all over the place. I'm trying to get a good grip on everything cryonic by clicking along on the Alcor site, but it gets a bit confusing after a while. An easily read, comprehensive textbook of some sort that brings together all of the history, current science, concepts and methodology in cryonics could go a long way in getting all kinds of scientists interested/ involved. And obviously: do more studies.

3. Cut the speculation! The importance of future technology for the viability of cryonics is obvious, and should be stated. What should not be stated is all these theories about singularity, mind uploading, etc. I find some of them interesting, and even accept the possibility of some of them, but I do think they will and do already estrange people in general.

4. Create problems to solve. What is the best medical treatment of a patient that is still alive to enhance cryonics procedures? How could ischemia be minimised? How could cryonics research improve current medicine? I see the possible future role of medical staff more in the area of the initial management of the dying and "just dead" patient.

5. Clear up the law issues. I have thought a lot about how cryonics could bring me into trouble with medical ethics committees, the law, or even just patients wanting to sue for some stupid reason. I'm not sure that I will get in trouble if I help out with a cryonics procedure, but you never know with these ethics committees. It is very unfortunate indeed for a doctor to get bad publicity, as that can lead to decreased revenue as well as decreased patient trust.

Medical personnel are certainly aware that death as we define it is a very arbitrary line that is continuously moving. I've had a few discussions in medical wards about that.

[razor]

I am a journalism student and am working on a news feature about cryonics and people that sign up for it or have family members that have undergone the treatment.

If you are any of the following and you live in the Los Angeles area and would like to share your story/beliefs/experiences with me on camera please e-mail at:

helprazor@gmail.com

Are you any of these?

1. Are you signed up for cryonics?

2. Do you have a family member that has already undergone the process of cryonics?

3. Are you an employee at a cryonics center?

4. Are you a doctor that can speak authoritatively about cryonics on camera?

If you can answer 'yes' to any of the above and you live in the LA area please contact me at : helprazor@gmail.com
I would greatly appreciate your help!

***This is for a student project and has the potential to air on our school television station.***

Thanks.