X-Message-Number: 8653
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 23:29:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: More on Bill Gates

In response to the recent post here referring us to Bill 
Gates' opinions on cryonics, I went to the relevant URL and 
took a look. Since the amount of text is small, there's 
nothing wrong with quoting it verbatim (indeed, I don't 
understand why the person who placed the original post didn't 
do so). 
 
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     Q: ...if I were a jillionaire I would fund research into 
     some kind of cryogenic process. It would be cool to 
     launch my preserved body into space, coast around the 
     universe for a few billion years. You never know, right? 
          --Christopher Oakley () 
 
     A: A friend sent around a very funny article about guys 
     who charge to keep your body frozen. You get discounts 
     if you pay for two bodies or if you freeze just your 
     head! 
 
     The idea that someday a frozen body will be revived is 
     sort of pseudo-science, but there are people who take it 
     seriously. 
 
     Maybe when I'm closer to death's door I'll go strange or 
     something, but right now I have no plans along these 
     lines. 
 
     Incidentally, I'm not sure why you'd want to launch your 
     corpse into space. If you want to be revived, you should 
     keep it down here on earth, I think. 
 
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Contrary to the hopeful statements about Gates that I have 
seen from time to time, this makes it very clear that a) he 
does not take cryonics at all seriously, b) he does not see 
death as a realistic or imminent prospect for him personally, 
and c) he has no interest in funding any research into this 
kind of endeavor till he is "closer to death's door," at 
which point of course it would be too late. 
 
Gates seems to be classically typical of most wealthy people, 
who seldom show any interest in cryonics. 
 
--Charles Platt 

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