X-Message-Number: 4256
Date: 20 Apr 95 13:35:20 EDT
From: Saul Kent <>
Subject: Desperately Seeking Survival

Robert Horley contends that "there seems to be a deep seated belief
among many partcipants in the cryonics movement, that in order to
succeed, cryonics must be made as acceptable as possible to mainstream
public opinion and the scientific establishment." He then goes on to
say that "it is not necessary to be so zealous in our rejection of any
idea that has not come out of mainstream research (except for cryonics
of course)."

I do not understand what Mr. Horley means by "mainstream research". As
I see it, cryonics is an unothodox idea that is *based* upon mainstream
research. When I read Robert Ettinger's book The Prospect Of Immorality
in 1964, I was persuaded that cryonics is a viable idea by the evidence
he presented from mainstream research that cryonics could work. Without
that evidence I never would have become a cryonicist. My major concern
today is that the research hasn't been progressing nearly as fast as I
would like, and my number one priority is to personally fund and to
stimulate funding on the part of others for *more* mainstream research.

I certainly don't agree that, "in order to succeed, cryonics must be
made as acceptable as possible to mainstream public opinion and the
scientific establishment." I believe that, in order to have an in-
creasingly *better* chance of succeeding, we will have to develop
better methods of cryopreservation, which will lessen the burden of
reviving us on future scientists, and will help to persuade more people
that cryonics is a credible idea, which, in turn, will lead to the
growth and respectibility of the movement and more funding for more
research. 
  
I think the development of cryonics and other methods of life extension
will be destabilizing and potentially dangerous for a significant period
of time, as we move (as a race) from a mortalist to an immortalist
perspective, but I welcome the problems and risks of this period, which
I believe we are already in the early stages of. 

I think Mr. Horley has it backwards. I don't give a hoot about "respect-
ability", except to the extent that I believe it will help me to sur-
vive. I don't know anyone in cryonics who is more interested in re-
spectability than survival.  Does anyone?

Saul Kent


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