X-Message-Number: 1605 Date: Wed, 13 Jan 93 14:26:49 CST From: (Micheal B. O'Neal) Subject: CRYONICS Neurosuspension, immortality, and the marketing of cryonics. There has been much discussion on Cryonet recently concerning the best way to present cryonics. Two examples have been how to present the concept of neurosuspension to a naive audience and whether or not we should use the word "immortal". Perhaps one way we can approach this problem is for each of us to post how we felt about these issues when we first became interested in cryonics. (Not necessarily the same as how we feel now.) Maybe some kind of consensus can be reached. Take neurosuspension as an example. My first reaction to the neuro idea was quite negative. Even after I understood the technical arguments and became convinced that a technology capable of reviving anyone suspended with today's techniques would probably also be able to revive a neuro patient, I still did not feel comfortable with the idea. Over the years, I have warmed to the neuro idea. :-) For example, while I plan to remain a "whole-body" member of Alcor, I think Alcor's "conversion to neuro" policy is an excellent idea that provides me with a good fall back position in case of crisis. Acceptance of the neurosuspension argument is not a prerequisite for signing up. So, I believe it should be presented strictly as an option that some members elect and as a reasonable fall back position for others. Perhaps official spokespersons for Alcor should even be encouraged to sign up as "whole-body". That way they may appear more "acceptable" and "reasonable" to the general public. I believe that cryonics and the pursuit of "immortality" are also separate but related issues. I agree with Thomas Donaldson that most of us Alcorians are striving for immortality. But, I also agree with Charles Platt that we should not throw up additional road blocks in our path (a path that is already incredibly difficult). I have no problem with cryonicists who talk about immortality, but it took me a long time to fully understand what they mean when they use the term. When I first became interested in cryonics, immortality was the farthest thing from my mind. I was fascinated by the concept of forward time travel and seeing what the distant future holds. I associated the word immortality with religious types -- strictly to be avoided. My first introduction to Alcor was an ad in the back of Free Inquiry that began with the phrase "Physical Immortality Now" or something like that. I smiled and almost passed it by, except that I saw the word "cryonics" and so decided to investigate. For me, in a sense, cryonics has come to fill that spot normally held by a religion meme (as Keith Henson might say), but it does not have to. This process of exploring the possibility of an open-ended lifespan happened very slowly over a number of years and seemed to occur mainly after I signed up, not before. In fact, one of my biggest problems with the whole idea of cryonics early on was the religious feel it seemed to have. What we must keep in mind is that cryonics is a reasonable form of "life" insurance, which does not have to compete with any religious memes a person might have. I think that this is especially true of younger people. In our society it is considered a tragedy to die young -- hence there is no "striving for god-like status" stigma related to young people signing up. In fact, I have successfully used the "life" insurance approach to convince a family member to join Alcor. I can honestly say that for him, both Alcor and his insurance company have about the same level of religious significance (i.e., none). While it is true that members of this type will probably not work hard for Alcor, their very presence makes us stronger. I also think that eventually the bulk of Alcor membership will be people who see themselves as contracting for a service, nothing more. This must become true if cryonics is to gain mass appeal. Now, eventually many of these people will come to view cryonics as a stepping stone to physical immortality. But since this world view is not a prerequisite for joining, and is a turn off to many, why should we play it up? Mike Micheal B. O'Neal Dept. of Computer Science Louisiana Tech University Ruston, Louisiana 71272 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1605