X-Message-Number: 7136
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 19:59:49 -0800
From: (Olaf Henny)
Subject: Re: CryoNet #7129 and #7131
CryoNet - Mon 11 Nov 1996
#7129: Re: Future wealth [John de Rivaz]
#7131: investments for assets whilst frozen [Garret Smyth]
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>In Message #7129
>Date: Sat, 09 Nov 1996 17:59:10 +0100
>John de Rivaz <> wrote
>Subject: Re: Future wealth
>
>Robin Helweg-Larsen <> asks about real estate. This is a
>problem I have mentioned from time to time. Unfortunately the legal
>profession and their political supporters have a stranglehold on real
>estate transactions and it would be very difficult to arrange protection of
>one's real estste for hundreds of years whilst in suspension. If there is
>some way it can be transferred upon legal death to the Reanimation
>Foundation for transfer back after reanimation this could have important
>implications.
Yes, tax- and others (see below)
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In Message #7131
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 1996 23:19:11 -0500
Garret Smyth <> wrote:
Subject: investments for assets whilst frozen
>...I can't help noticing that there are those cryonicists (or "would be"
>cryonicists) that can't help but dream about having lots of lolly without
>working for it so here's my two penneth (compound interest not having been
>taken into account)...
>
>goods will generally be easy to copy, unless they have scarcity value, say
>as antiques (but fakability may be a problem here), or because they use
>rare elements such as gold. Gold may not be of much value because it may
>have little use and there may be better ways of collecting it. Perhaps from
>space, or from the sea. I hear that there is gold in solution in sea water.
>A tiny amount per litre, but given the total volume of the seas, there is
>lot altogether.
I don't think the major problem is in which vehicles to invest in; there
diversification in investment types (always a good idea) as well as
institutions (advisable due to the extraordinarily long period of investment
and the possibility, that *your* institution may not survive).
The prime problems are:
1. To retain ownership after your "death":
The laws now all require, that ownership of all your assets will be
reassigned to your heirs. If you will not identify any, the 'ever
helpful' government will do it for you.
2. To prove your identity after revival (if 1. can be resolved):
I suppose the most secure way would be by registering your genetic code
and hope like hell, that nobody can learn to duplicate it in the long years
until your revival.
3. The incentive for tampering is enormous:
If you placed a deposit of $100,000 and it compounds at 10% for 50 years
the value will accrete to $11.739 million and to over 30 million after only
another 10 years.
The only solution I can see, that will help us maintain possession of our
assets, is to have the general statutory definition of "death" altered, to
acknowledge cryopreservation as a living "state" of a temporarily
incapacitated individual. Such acknowledgment would indeed also opening the
way to timely cryopreservation in case of serious degenerating illness such
as Alzheimer's as well as simply allowing patients to be cryopreserved
before s/he breathes his/her "last breath".
This will of course not happen, unless there are millions of individuals
signed up, thus representing a sizable political force.
These millions will not sign up until there is some scientific evidence
indicating a reasonable chance for viability of the progress. I.e. we
*need* the Prometheus Project to succeed, as a first major step toward
proving, that at least the most important organ to preserving individuality
can be frozen to the liquid nitrogen temperatures necessary for indefinite
duration of cryopreservation.
When Paul Wakfer started soliciting pledges this tiny cryonics community
responded admirably, by pledging for 30% of the funding requirements in the
first couple of months or so. Unfortunately it appears, that the ready
resources, that cryonicists could scrape up are exhausted, at least for the
time being, and the fundraising drive has hit a plateau.
*_It_is_clear_,_that_we_ have_to_go_beyond_our_small_group_
to_find_additional_funding_*.
Like most of us, I do not have the answer to this problem, but a suggestion
on how we may find this answer: We need a brainstorming/communication
effort, in which we unabashedly throw out ideas, in the hope, that others
can improve upon them (if anybody had 'polished' solutions, we would know
about them by now). We need to ...
*identify groups who are open-minded toward cryonics and find ways to
approach them*
Here is my two-bit contribution: Science fiction readers have been
conditioned to expect cryopreservation "sometime in the future". They must
be reached and informed of the serious scientific research plans on
cryopreservation Now and revival prospects through nanotechnology. This
might be achieved with the help of sci-fi writers, who add a paragraph or
two in the credit section of their next book. We could start by identifying
writers who have used cryonics in any of their novels and approach them. I
myself have read about cryonics years ago, then much later heard something
about a "kooky group in Ontario" "who actually charged believers to be put
on ice" ...and forgot all about it until, while 'surfing' a few months ago I
decided on a whim to look up "cryogenics". End of *my* story.
Is there anybody out there, who can add some meat to my suggestions or come
up with other half baked ideas, which others may build on to come up with
something useful in reaching larger audiences??? Not one single person at
NASA could even think of designing a space mission by him-/herself. Any
attempt would be even more ridiculous, then my above suggestion, but the
*team* succeeds almost every time.
Olaf Henny
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Most of us have planned beautiful romantic evenings: candlelight, delicious
food, fine wine, seductive music..., but has *anybody*
ever put the Kleenex where it can be reached easily?
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Greed is a very positive motivating force. Without it (the desire to
possess) man would still not have captured the fire, and would probably
still be swinging from the trees in some of the warmer regions of this globe.
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