X-Message-Number: 19095 Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 12:58:30 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: Too Important to Die Damien Broderick very helpfully informs us of the Arthur Clarke rationale for not bothering with cryonics: >Although he feels sure that Cryonics Suspension will be possible one day, he >doesn't think it's fair to impose oneself on the future, although as some >philosopher once remarked: "What has the future ever done for us?" Interesting. I spell this D-E-N-I-A-L. When you are a famous, busy man, each day presents a whole range of opportunities and possibilities that are a lot more interesting than your own death. So, why not just get rid of that annoying topic with a little joke? Most of us are fairly sure that we're not going to die TODAY, and probably not tomorrow, either. The difference is that some of us are fairly sure that we are likely to die at some point in the future. I have met some famous people who really do feel, on a gut level, that in a sense they are too important to die. Death is, after all, pretty damned humiliating: The most painful reminder that on the biological level, the richest man in the world is no different from the humblest peasant. This realization doesn't bother me too much--but then, I am not rich or famous. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19095