X-Message-Number: 9580
Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 07:18:00 -0400
From: "Andrew S.Davidson" <>
Subject: Why Don't People Sign Up For Cryonics?

Saul Kent wrote:

>        I would like to hear others on this forum give their 
>opinions on the number one reason people don't sign up for 
>cryonics.  I not only want to know why you think people don't sign
>up, but I'd like you to state your evidence for this belief.

I think the quality of the freezing process is not a significant factor.  Much
more significant is one of the items you list:

>  4)  It is not possible to restore people to life after "death".


People know that you can already freeze people - they could do themselves in 
their
home freezer.  What they don't know is that you can be revived and cured
after thawing.  This is especially true of a lingering death from old age or
cancer.  A sudden death from a heart attack or stroke is a more plausible case
for recovery but this is not the sort of thing you can or do plan for.


Another strong factor must be the perception that freezing is an impossibly 
expensive

procedure - only for the likes of Walt Disney and Elvis Presley - not within the
reach of ordinary folk.  This seems to be the biggest flaw of most press
coverage - journalists like to hype up the expense of the process.  For an =

example, see this week's New Scientist which has a large article on the current

state of cryobiology including an interview with Hugh Hixon.  One point I 
noticed

was the statement that you need ~ $100,000 "up front" to be frozen - this would 
tend
to deter most folk.


Finally, note that I, myself, have not signed up.  In my case, it's a lack of 
confidence
in the current organisations (the people not the process) and a general feeling

that I have plenty of time (~30 years) to make arrangements.  A good salesman 
could

probably beat down my procrastination but no-one is banging on my door trying to
make

that sale.  In fact organisations like Alcor seem to do the opposite - they 
emphasise

the problems and lack of certainty.  This may help avoid persecution by the 
authorities and

press but is no way to win business.  In my field, companies like IBM, Oracle 
and Microsoft

didn't get rich by selling folk high quality products - their strength was high 
quality
marketing.

Andrew

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9580