X-Message-Number: 32616 Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:58:58 -0700 Subject: The Enduring Myth of One Quick Promotional Fix From: Charles Platt <> David Stodolsky writes: "If the marketing strategy was updated, then we would be looking forward to having about a third of the population signed up." David, since you often chide others for failing to substantiate their claims with appropriately rigorous statistical methodology, what would be the basis for your absurd claim that we can sign up "a third of the population" simply by presenting cryonics to them in some unspecified new way? And which population are you talking about, anyway? World population? North America? USA? Russia? You are aware perhaps that the Omni Immortality Contest, about 15 years ago, offered free cryopreservation arrangements to the winner, who merely had to write a 500-word essay explaining why he or she wanted to be cryopreserved. Omni's readers were an ideal audience, since they were mostly techno-optimists. The magazine had a circulation approaching 1 million at that time, and the contest attracted a lot of publicity, including a half-hour nationally networked TV show. Omni's PR department estimated that about 10 million people in the USA heard about the contest, one way or another. So what happened? We received fewer than 400 entries. The winner didn't even bother to fill out his signup documents until Alcor threatened to take his prize away. And then he disappeared a few years later. This is just one example. There have been many other attempts to promote cryonics. Now, tell me again, how easy it can be? To me, a big problem in cryonics is that enthusiasts such as yourself persist in imagining that one "quick fix" can change everything. Bob Ettinger persisted in this belief for decades (which helps to explain why he is said to have wasted $25,000 on Olga Visser, the lady who claimed to be able to revive a frozen rat heart). In reality there are no quick fixes. Cryobiology is very difficult. Finding stable, trustworthy people to perform field work is very difficult. Hiring hard-working, nondelusional CEOs is very difficult. And promoting cryonics is extremely difficult, mainly because, almost anyone can see that cryonics doesn't work yet. You are not going to sell something that doesn't work, but is quite expensive, to one-third of the population (any population). Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32616