X-Message-Number: 17240
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 08:25:46 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #17232 - #17239

Hi everyone!

Two brief comments before I delete the messages starting with #17232:

1. I'm sorry to hear from Linda Chamberlain about her bowel cancer
   problem, and naturally hope that she can deal with it. We're all
   getting up there, and should not forget that only 50% of people
   live past the "average life span" ... a pretty strong risk, when
   you think about it. As many readers know, I am still dealing
   with my brain tumor, which I got in 77-78.

2. The connection of suspension with "death" in the literal sense
   shows up quite well in the definition (by NONcryonicists) of
   cryonics in the dictionary. We must keep in mind that our notion
   of "death" differs from the common one: strongly in the case of
   medical cases in which large parts of our cortex become destroyed
   while we remain "officially alive", even more strongly in the case
   in which our brain cortex does NOT get destroyed even though for
   other reasons we have been declared "dead". The first case is a
   case in which we'd say someone had died, because their personality
   had clearly vanished. The second case is one in which we'd say
   that someone HAD NOT died, because it remained an open question
   whether or not enough information existed to revive them.

   There is no religion in cryonics, no matter what the Dictionary
   says. 

			Best wishes and long long life for all,

				Thomas Donaldson

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