X-Message-Number: 5565 From: Randy Smith <> Newsgroups: sci.cryonics Subject: Re: Cryomania, an introduction... Date: 10 Jan 1996 08:44:54 GMT Message-ID: <4cvua6$> References: <4ch85p$> <4cmd83$> <> (Brad Templeton) wrote: >I expect that one big difference between youth and adults is attitudes on >death. > >I mean that by far the most common objection I hear when explaining >cryonics, once you get past explaining how it might work, is, >"But why do you want to live forever? It's part of the natural order >to die." > >It is indeed part of the natural order to die, and in this newsgroup >people have already discussed that issue to death, but I'm coming to the >conclusion that, in many cases, like religion, there are just some people >who believe this and some who don't, and there's not a lot of crossing >of the line to be done. > I've noticed that bit about not"crossing the line" when I've tried out the idea of cryonics on other people. It seems that once people develop a set world-view, it's very hard to change that, especially with respect to a previously immutable idea like death. You have to wonder what separates cryonicists from the vast majority. I recently read a interesting book , _Cryonics_, by Sheshkin. The author also talked about the iconoclastic psychological makeup of cryonicists, but she never really tried to analyze what sort of common influences the cryonicists had. Now, as for myself, I read alot of science fiction as a youth. I've long since given it up, but I think the exposure helps me see the possibilities here. I wonder how many other cryonicists have that in common. >This is not surprising. Mortality is such a horrible concept that >societies and philosophies have naturally attempted to adapt to it and >to accept or embrace it. It's a big cause of what you might call "the >religion thing." With good reason. Prior to cryonics, railing against >the inevitability of death was even more fruitless than railing against >taxes. It would drive you nuts to constantly fear it, instead we learn >simply to accept that it's coming and make the best we can of the life >we have. > >It's very hard to undo the lifetime of training that makes us do that. That's why it's important, I feel, to get the message out to kids before their view of life is set in concrete. In some ways Hollywood is already doing this for us. When I spent a class period on cryonics with my 7th graders last year, at least half of them were already familiar with the idea from a recent movie, _Demolition Man_. The movie, while not exactly Oscar material, was not that bad, and was really second cousin to your basic video game, aimed more or less at kids. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=5565