X-Message-Number: 9561
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 11:06:49 -0400
From: "Andrew S.Davidson" <>
Subject: The Failure Of The Cryonics Movement

Saul Kent's description of the moribund state of cryonics seems
sound but I am less convinced by his diagnosis and prescription.

I am not a cryonics insider and so just have a well-informed
lay view.  It seems to me that the current problems which Saul
sees as critical are not well known to the general public -

* ischaemic damage (whatever that is)
* cracking
* freezing damage at the cellular level

My perception is that the general public supposes that whole body
freezing is already a practical proposition and is already being
performed on a significant scale (those crazy Californians).  My own
perception is that cryonics is already a well-proven technology for
such human components as sperm, eggs and kidneys.  Scaling this
up to the brain doesn't seem like a big deal to me and I doubt that
less-informed folk think differently.

So, even if current freezing techniques were improved by vitrification
and so forth, I can't see that this would greatly increase the take-up
of cryonics.  Surely, the key break-through which is required to impress the
man-in-the-street is the _revival_ of a frozen human being.  Anything
less is unlikely to do - one can already demonstrate the revival of
lesser frozen animals.

The real mystery to me is why seriously rich folk do not make this
arrangement for themselves when they already put some effort into
estate planning and the preparation of wills.  Perhaps the new
generation of Silicon Valley nerd-millionaires will be more interested?
The key seems to be finding the right target group - ordinary folk
just don't want to know, irrespective of the methods used.

Anyway, Saul's current strategy of developing related businesses and using
the profits to improve cryonic techniques seems excellent and I applaud
his efforts to date.  Might I ask why his Life Extension group does not
already market cryonic suspensions to its current customers - they seem
like promising prospects.

Andrew

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