X-Message-Number: 3071
From: 
Date: Tue, 06 Sep 94 21:48:04 EDT
Subject: CRYONICS research strategies

I'm probably being obtuse, but I'm still not really clear on what Thomas
Donaldson means about the "temptations" to which supposedly some organization
might be exposed which is a funnel for research money. Who is going to be
tempted to do what? 

In any case, perhaps considerable progress can be made with very informal
arrangements.

Personally, I detest the kind of work necessary to prevent theft by using
detailed rules and layered bureaucracies. (When I was a teacher, I NEVER used
lesson plans, and I did a good job. A lot of rotten teachers had beautiful
lesson plans.) Besides being very expensive, it frequently just doesn't work,
and may even create new opportunities for waste or theft. A thick book of
rules means the researcher who is successful in being funded may have to
study funding or lobbying more than he studies science. 

In some cases, at least, a better way may be just to satisfy oneself about
the character and abilities of the prospective worker(s), and then limit risk
by breaking up the project into relatively small pieces. Give them their
heads, and give them the benefit of the doubt, and at relatively short
intervals look at the results. With luck, everyone will benefit.

Admittedly, some projects are inherently large and unitary, e.g. those that
require a heavy investment in new hardware. They may also  involve concerns
about patents or sharing of financial rewards, and need three lawyers for
every scientist. From those, may Heaven deliver us. 

Robert Ettinger

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