X-Message-Number: 13980 Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 09:46:08 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: some comments on postings About our need to understand how brains work: The main problem we are faced with now (and may always have SOME patients with this problem) is that freezing does not preserve brain structure well enough that we can easily put it back together. I am not claiming that we'll never be able to put such patients back together at all --- quite the contrary. I am simply pointing out that to do so we'll need more than nanotechnology; we'll also need a deeper understanding of how brains work. If we develop a method of preservation which does NOT destroy the essential brain structures, such as vitrification, then for patients preserved by this method we won't be faced with this problem. That's fine if you are one of such patients; but for now, no such method is in use, and you will still face the problem given above. The central problem in reviving all PRESENT patients requires a combination of abilities, neither one of which would be sufficient. And I will even predict that we'll NEVER catch every patient with a method which leaves essential brain structures undamaged. The need for understanding how brains work will remain. People can need to be preserved in all kinds of circumstances and settings, and many of these may simply not allow the vitrification (or other methods) that are optimal. Sure, if we did statistics, eventually the number of such patients may become only a small percentage, but never ZERO. And about going faster than light: Those who believe this has happened could help us by pointing out the exact article in which this is done, when it appears in NATURE or whatever other journal. Speaking for myself alone, I prefer to read the original articles rather than someone else's opinion of them. And don't be offended: I would say the same regardless of who you are, even if you've been doing physics and relativity research for years. Best and long long life for all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13980