X-Message-Number: 32836 From: Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:32:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: without really trying Want to live forever without really trying? Some religions teach/preach that everyone will live forever, although some may not like their destination, even though it's a dry heat. A pretty good deal for some, in some ways--immortality regardless of what you do or don't do. And Blaise Pascal said faith is a shrewd bet. Then there are the omega pointers who believe more or less the same thing, but without the hot place. Everybody goes to Heaven, regardless, by ultimate uploading near the end of time. (Giving them their due, some of the omega pointers recommend cryonics for life insurance, just in case.) On the other hand, Robert Heinlein said TANSTAAFL--there aint no such thing as a free lunch. On the third hand, Heinlein believed in reincarnation, which is surely in the running for one of the dumbest ideas of all time. And Phineas Taylor Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute. On the fourth hand, experience teaches us, or tries to teach us, that few exceptional rewards are received by those who don't work for them. Too many cryonicists see themselves just as customers rather than partners or family. It's a rare individual who is actually doing all he can and should do. 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=32836