X-Message-Number: 3879
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 17:47:31 -0800 (PST)
From: "Martin N. Nemko" <>
Subject: A very troubling question

	I have taken quite a while to decide whether to sign up with a cryonics 
organization.  I have arrived at a disturbing conclusion.

	We know that mental illness can be caused by just a single
defective gene or slight deficiency in just one of the thousands of
chemicals in one of dozens of portions of the brain.  We also know that
microscopic anomalies can cause a person great physical pain.  If such
tiny anomalies can cause such drastic effects, imagine what will happen as
the result of undergoing cryopreservation.  Therefore, it would seem that
the following would obtain:

	a. Upon revival, it is quite likely that the person would wake
mentally disturbed and/or in great pain.
	b. The primary hope for reviving a person sane and pain-free would
be some sort of cloning of a single healthy cell into an entire person. 
But then, this person's memories and identity would be lost, crucial I
would say.
	c. It seems less likely but perhaps conceivable that a person
could be healthily restored via a wide variety of nanomachines, although
it is difficult to imagine the creation of enough custom-designed
nanomachines smart enough to search out all the damaged cells, each
damaged in one or more of dozens of possible ways, and repair them in the
correct way.  And even if such nanomachines were available, it is
difficult to imagine that the cost of such a procedure, even if the
technology was quite mature, would be low enough that a person's funds set
aside for revival would be sufficient.
	d. If cloning and nanotechnology hold the only promise of a sane
and pain-free recovery, it seems to argue for not being suspended at all,
or at least for neuro over whole body suspension.
	e. Given that cryonicists don't want to be autopsied, this may
well exclude the person from inclusion in many experimental treatments
(e.g., for cancer).  This tips the scales yet a bit further toward not
signing up. 

	Until recently, I had been leaning toward signing up with a
cryonics organization.  But the above line of thinking has swayed me
toward not doing so.  I would welcome a response that might sway me
back. 

Marty Nemko, Ph.D.
Internet: 
voice: 510-655-2777
fax: 510-653-2748

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