X-Message-Number: 15437 From: "George Smith" <> References: <> Subject: Revealed! Who wrote the "Truly Amazing Email" Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 13:05:13 -0800 In Message #15425 from Jeff Grimes, he wrote of my "Truly Amazing Email" and was polite enough to not disclose the source (me) of this personal communication. I respect that and will always continue to hold emails sent to me in complete confidence. For those of you truly shocked by my statement, here's the whole thing: ------------------- Dear Jeff Grimes: Reference your message # 15410 etc. Bet you get all the precision details you want in the next posting from Robert Ettinger. Of course that still doesn't explain why you want this level of detail as far as I have been able to understand. You sound on the surface as if you are shopping for a cryonics service but I frankly think that you are missing the big picture entirely. "The Devil is in the details" but all this nonsense remains just that - nonsense. Personally, I would be perfectly happy with a straight freeze. The primary concern I have is to cool the body rapidly and even this may not be all that critical. All this "cryoprotectant" stuff will probably prove to be a waste by the time we are at the place where resuscitation becomes possible. If you sign up for cryonics with somebody, maybe we can talk about it then. I hope you don't miss the forest for the trees. Best wishes on your survival, George Smith -------------------- The bottom line is this. I am not opposed to better methods and the research needed to get those better methods. I simply disagree with the attitudes of those who pretend to ALREADY KNOW THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH NOT YET DONE! (Or not yet possible). Hubris, not science, is the issue. And I am utterly unconvinced that the current best guesses from our CURRENT understandings may not be overturned entirely as we learn more about the facts of reality. I base this upon a simple historical projection. IN MY OWN LIFETIME of how the "certainties" of most scientists have been proven wrong. For example, just last week the speed of light was brought to zero. (No, I am not joking. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/018/nation/Harvard_scientists_say_they_ve_ stopped_light+.shtml). So much for the standard of the absolute speed of light! Another pillar of "absolute certainty" falls away. It really doesn't take too many of these "absolutes" to collapse over and over for the open mind to recognize that we still have a lot to learn about the fundamentals of reality. Those who refuse to do what they can to preserve their bodies now are gambling that THIS time the current crop of scientists have got it absolutely right. From that BELIEF they are willing to state that current methods are not good enough. THEY CAN'T KNOW THIS. I have simply lived long enough (and read about history long enough) to see absolute trust in the accuracy of the current crop of scientists as a poor gamble almost certain to not pay off. Next year, next decade, next generation they may be proven to be wrong about critical issues just as all of their ancestors were proven wrong about critical issues. Those of you who have made a religion of current scientific dogma might want to understand that it is better to assume with skepticism than to believe with fervor. True science is not based on dogma. Think it through. There are a number of assumptions I see expressed in this forum without question but the worst of these I feel to be the belief that THIS TIME we have it absolutely right. I am only asking everyone to question the word "absolutely". Being right enough to get the job done is all that is required for our purposes here. That requires staying in contact with reality even at the expense of our most cherished beliefs. A straight freeze probably WON'T be "good enough" but NOBODY KNOWS. ALL current and proposed suspension protocals MAY not be "good enough" but NOBODY KNOWS. But if you don't do SOMETHING, you will PROBABLY not come back to complain about it later! THAT is why I think it is sensible to sign up NOW. Something is better than nothing. So to summarize my perspective: Research, YES! Hubris, NO! George Smith Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=15437