X-Message-Number: 3358
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 00:26:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS:Scientific Expertise


Years ago, a science-fiction writer told me, quite seriously, he had been
working on a new theory of gravity. He postulated that gravity could in
reality be a REPULSIVE force. We find ourselves pressed against the
surface of the Earth because the cumulative gravitational repulsion from
the stars overwhelms the local gravitational repulsion from our own
planet. 

The idea sounded wacky, but I didn't see how to disprove it.  Against my
friend's wishes (he was afraid of the idea being "stolen") I showed his
thirty-page thesis to a professional scientific historian, who was also
qualified as a theoretical physicist.  The historian/physicist first
pointed out that my friend's idea of "negative gravity" had been
originally proposed in the 1800s. He then suggested that if my friend
wanted to be taken seriously, he had to do the following: first, predict
from his theory an anomaly that would be inexplicable by existing science; 
and second, suggest an experiment or observation which could verify
whether the anomaly existed. Some mathematics would also be needed along
the way, to show that "negative gravity" would not violate existing proven
physical laws. 

In other words, when a gifted amateur comes running in crying, "The sky 
is falling!" we shouldn't feel obliged to duck for cover on the basis of 
his statement alone. The onus is on him to provide some proof.

Cryonics is a field that has attracted many gifted amateurs, some more
qualified than others. In cryonics, almost anyone can quickly become an
expert within a relatively short space of time, with no formal education
and very little experience required. Cryonicists are also aware of the
shortcomings of "experts" in cryobiology whose negative statements about
cryonics are at best unnecessarily pessimistic and at worst uninformed. 

Unfortunately, this tends to foster a kind of all-purpose confidence 
which encourages cryonicists to doubt the authority of experts in almost 
any field. I think this attitude is problematic, not just because we 
should respect people who are more knowledgable than we are, but because 
it makes cryonicists look like pseudoscientists or even crackpots if they 
are excessively intolerant of the "blinkered scientific establishment." 
Cryonics should never be made to seem like Velikovsky's theories of 
planetary motion, or homeopathic remedies which work by "residual 
vibrations" from atoms that have been diluted out of existence.

If we are to be taken seriously by orthodox science, the onus is on us to
prove ourselves, not on them to be "open minded" and see things our way.
We're not going to convince any expert in any field by being dismissive or
by telling him he's stupid or uncooperative. Consequently, I am depressed
by exchanges on CryoNet that take this tone. In fact, they bother me more
than the occasional personal squabbles that occur here. The squabbles may
seem trivial, but at least the people involved can speak with full
authority on the subject matter. 

############################################################
Charles Platt, 1133 Broadway (room 1214), New York, NY 10010
      Voice: 212 929 3983      Fax: 212 929 4467

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