X-Message-Number: 9465
From: Ettinger <>
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 14:00:58 EDT
Subject: Platt's Broken Limb

Cns0412.98b
PLATT'S BROKEN LIMB

How could Charles Platt, a person of above average intelligence, put himself
so far out on such a shaky limb, which has now broken under him? 

Recall: The Cryonics Institute sheep head work was repeated and evaluated by
Dr. Yuri Pichugin and Prof. Gennadi Zhegunov in the Ukraine, reported in THE
IMMORTALIST in August, September, and November of 1994. Results were
characterized as relatively good, with no cracking.

Charles said, and repeated many times, that this work did NOT repeat the CI
procedure, but rather used ramped-up concentrations of glycerine, which we did
not. (This was a gross libel of the Ukrainians, since it implied first that
their report materially misrepresented the facts, and second that they had not
honored their assignment, which was precisely to follow the CI procedure as
closely as possible.)

After I had repeatedly challenged him with the record, Charles finally
admitted that he did not know as a fact what he had emphatically and
repeatedly referred to as fact, but "believed" that somewhere there was
documentation that the Ukrainians had used ramped glycerine. 

Now (April 12, Cryonet #9462) Charles seeks vindication, or/and to change the
subject, by noting that the April 1995 issue of THE IMMORTALIST includes a
report that Pichugin tried ramping up glycerine in A DIFFERENT EXPERIMENT THE
FOLLOWING YEAR. The report in April of 1995 refers to work in February of
1995. The reports in 1994 related obviously to earlier work, the first
commissioned work, to repeat and evaluate the CI sheep head work.

Is Charles losing his concentration? Does he think readers will be so easily
fooled? Did he imagine I would let this new gross misstatement pass? Does he
think that, by throwing in enough confusion, he can leave readers in doubt?
Puzzlement.

As I said before, Charles already, before today, by his own admission,
repeatedly asserted as fact what he did not know to be fact (and wasn't). It
will be only mildly interesting to see if now he has a change of heart on this
topic, but at least other readers should find this particular issue settled.

Many other points in recent posts by Platt and Darwin need answers, which will
be supplied in due course. But I want to restrict this post to just this one
point, because that makes it a little harder for Platt to dodge and try to
change the subject yet again.

How about it, Charles? Are you ready to admit (1) that you asserted as fact
what you did not know to be fact (that the Ukrainians failed to repeat the CI
sheep head work), and (2) that you have no evidence that they did not repeat
the CI sheep head work? 

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9465