X-Message-Number: 11445
From: 
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 22:55:56 EST
Subject: irrelevance of cryonicist profiles

Thomas Nord quotes someone:

>"If we really want to find more cryonicists, we need very badly
>to know what cryonicists are like. "
>Havent anyone done that yet?!?

This question has been kicked around interminably, but possibly it may be
worth reiterating that, in my opinion, the profile of a cryonicist is not
important. The reason is simple: The absolute numbers of actively interested
people are so small that the relative numbers don't matter.

For example, both Libertarians and physicians are over-represented in cryonics
(much more than  expected on a population-proportionate basis). So what? It
still doesn't pay to advertise in REASON or in JAMA (if they would accept the
ad). To my knowledge, no paid advertising of any kind, anywhere, any time, has
consistently paid for itself.

So what can we do? Plenty. We just  keep trying to make ourselves more
attractive to ALL potential recruits. If Libertarians are better bets than
Catholics, but there are a thousand times as many Catholics, then a 1%
improvement in our attractiveness to Catholics will be more important than a
100% improvement in our attractiveness to Libertarians. (I know, some
Libertarians are also Catholics.) 

And how do we accomplish this improvement in attractiveness? Mostly just by
keeping on doing what we have been doing, but trying to do it better. No
brilliant new concepts are needed, although they would be welcome. The wind is
at our backs. The Web is making a noticeable difference; Cryonics Institute
recruitment, although still pitifully small relative to need and logic, is
definitely accelerating. Advances in science and medicine are making our case
more credible, on almost a daily basis. Our organizational improvements and
our research, and the research of related groups such as 21 CM, will continue
to help. 

Obviously, this is not a call for complacency. People are dying in horrifying
numbers, and some of them are people we love. Even among those already
committed, our chances are not as good as they should be, because our
resources are insufficient. We have not done enough, and we have not done it
well enough. I am simply saying I do not believe there is any magic in finding
an ideal cryonicist profile. There are better ways to apply our energies.

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

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