X-Message-Number: 26750 From: "marta sandberg" <> Subject: Steady state? Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:37:14 +0800 There have been comments lately about the growth rates and size of cryonic organizations. Implicit in these discussions has been the idea that bigger is better and growth means success. Let me play the devils advocate by arguing for the opposite. The most important feature of a cryonics organization is stability. The hard part is not suspending people today; it is developing a structure that can keep us frozen for a century or more. Maybe we won't need that much time. . . and maybe we will. Anything that grows is inherently unstable. The organization will sooner or later grow out of the old and time-proven way of doing things and have to try out a new way of managing. Every change means there is a possibility of failure. Being bigger also means an organization is more likely to draw attention to itself. Unfriendly attention. A few years ago somebody - possibly Thomas Donaldson - said that a cryonic organization only needed to keep its numbers steady to be viable. The reality is that cryonics is growing and of course I rejoice for every human being we sign up. If cryonics works that means one more life saved. But it is a two-edged sword and there is a lot to be said for slow and steady too. Long life, Marta _________________________________________________________________ REALESTATE: biggest buy/rent/share listings http://ninemsn.realestate.com.au Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26750