X-Message-Number: 7514
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 11:35:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Research vs. Jam Tomorrow

I agree wholeheartedly with Brian Wowk's message re PR and research. But 
I prefer to express it in a more colloquial way.

Years ago, I told a friend of mine about cryonics--a science-fiction
writer who enjoys thinking about the future, and is a smart man. After
thinking it through, he said something like this: 

"You're like a bunch of space enthusiasts selling tickets on the first
passenger flight to Alpha Centauri. But you don't even own a space ship.
No, it's worse than that: you don't even know how to build one. In fact,
using today's science, it's IMPOSSIBLE to build one. You're just hoping
that some nice people in the future will do it for you." 

Well, there you have it: the viewpoint of someone who should be 
predisposed to be FRIENDLY toward the idea of cryonics.

Personally, when my life is at stake, and the only alternative is
oblivion, I am willing to spend a few hundred dollars per year and hope
that those nice people in the future will help out. 

But this is a very weak argument. It would be far more plausible if I
could say to my friend (extending his analogy), "You're right, but we are
actively pursuing research right now that will enable us to build the
space ship." It would be even better if I could say, "We already have a
vehicle that will take us as far as the planets, and small modifications
should enable interstellar travel." 

This is why I have come around to the view that recruiting more members 
in order to fund research is the opposite of what we should be doing. 
Successful research will be the best possible recruitment tool--far 
better than ENGINES OF CREATION, which was the best recruitment tool in 
the past.

--Charles Platt
CryoCare


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