X-Message-Number: 32188 References: <> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 03:33:32 -0800 (PST) From: Shannon <> Subject: Response to Ettinger --0-322758332-1259667212=:4485 As always I appreciate the discussions here on cryonet. I often read and do not post--but I wanted to take a moment to agree with Robert's take (by the way if you've not read Youniverse it is a great time to order it for Christmas :-) ) (or also if you have kids you'd like to send or give "21st Century Kids" to here is the link ;-) : http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Kids-Shannon-Vyff/dp/1886057001 ) (Anyone wanting 21st Century Kids that lives in UK, contact me directly as I have some copies and you can save on shipping) But-about cryonicists' general outlooks (which run the gamut from no belief, belief in a slight chance, to 100% assuredness) with my own three children I've always had the "its possible so its worth trying" outlook. Recently I've played the following song as a "cryonics" song: Ocean Breathes Salty http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid23807852001?bclid=23754251001&bctid=18502745 The song can be interpreted different ways (an understatement), and it is about death (afterlife, guilt, loss, responsibilities in life)--but I like the line, "And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again. Well I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Don't think so." To my family at least cryonics is just a chance--one of my children is more of a believer than the other two interestingly enough. My husband and I are of the "slight chance" and "probably not" variety. That said, I enjoy supporting the movement for the advances it gives to science now, and to be in the experimental group in case I, my friends or family get to see the far future and get to work on what I see as best living then--currently for me that means being able to donate to non-profits, volunteer, teach and devote time to my family. It will be interesting for me to see if any of my children keep the tradition of being cryonicists after they start their own adult lives. For now I have gratitude for all those who work at the cryonics organizations, those involved in research of better organ & and subsequently patient preservation, and those who do advocacy of cryonics. The movement is young, is growing and is being bettered in many areas-by the hard work of its members. Happy Holidays All :-) Shannon Vyff, Calveley, Pudsey, Leeds West Yorkshire, UK Message #32187 From: Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:38:26 EST Subject: response to Mark Plus Mark Plus, if I read his post today (Monday) correctly, has some things right and some wrong, all old stuff. First, he says that uploading is not survival. I agree, and I believe I have proven this in my book Youniverse (latest version 2009, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Universal Publishers). Second, he seems to say that the probability of success for cryonics patients is very low. I disagree, and my reasoning is spelled out in an essay that is available on the CI web site, cryonics.org. Some of this is too technical for most readers, but an ordinary person of reasonable intelligence will find the essence accessible. Third, he seems to say that cryonicists are overly optimistic. I don't think there are any relevant statistics available, but my impression is different. I think the typical member of CI regards the chance as unknown and perhaps small, but still worth while because of the enormous payoff of success. Robert Ettinger Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32188