X-Message-Number: 1750
Date: 15 Feb 93 11:01:39 EST
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS Personality types

To: Cryonet


February 11, 1993


At various times I have seen casual references to the typical 
cryonics personality type as being independent, stubborn, 
opinionated, and so on. 

But has the cryonics personality type been defined in more 
rigorous detail? In particular, has anyone noted the 
seemingly unusual closeness that many cryonicists have with 
their mothers? This is not meant to sound pejorative; it is 
in fact a feature of my own life, although in my case I chose 
to break the bond by moving 3000 miles away. 

There are well-known cases where cryonicists have endured 
considerable sacrifices a) to get their mothers signed up and 
paid for, and b) to get their mothers safely (?) suspended. 
Last year on Cryonet, to take just one example, there was a 
remarkable testimonial from Jerry White idolizing his mother. 

I have my own half-baked theories about this. One is that you 
need a lot of belief in yourself to swim strongly against the 
stream of public opinion, and an intensely supportive 
maternal relationship can help to provide this. Another 
possibility is that a close maternal relationship protects 
the child from being "toughened up" by life--i.e. forced to 
suppress various fears, such as fear of death. But the 
possibility which seems most plausible is that the maternal 
relationship heightens one's awareness of life on one hand, 
and death on the other; because when one experiences life 
THROUGH another person (as happens if the maternal figure is 
powerful and overbearing), being separated from that person 
feels very much like death. Indeed, in separation anxiety, 
the sufferer may feel as if he no longer exists. This "death 
terror" (which I have experienced) makes the individual more 
aware of "the void" and hence more likely to do something 
about it--to safeguard himself, and/or the parent. 

I'm interested in exploring this out of pure curiosity, and 
because I like to understand the gut-level drives in people 
(including myself). I see no practical application in terms 
of finding new members. 

--Charles Platt

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