X-Message-Number: 9632
Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 12:23:58 +0200
From: "D. den Otter" <>
Subject: A contest to stimulate research

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message #9628
> Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 01:53:08 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Charles Platt <>


>> James Halperin suggests free storage of DNA or brains as a promotional 
incentive.
 
In Omni magazine, Alcor offered a complete signup-and-suspension, free
of charge (via the Omni Immortality Contest). All you had to do was
write a single page explaining why you wanted to win the prize. 
 
News of the contest reached several million people in addition to the 
core readership of Omni (about 500,000 at that time, I believe). The
contest was featured on the front page, and five interior pages
discussed the merits of cryonics.
 
This massive publicity attracted fewer than 400 essays.

I conclude that "freebies" do not sell cryonics--at least, not very
successfully. I assume that this is because cryonics is still a
fledgling technology. As such, it has not acquired monetary value in
people's minds. Consequently a discount may not mean very much.<< 

------

So people don't care about cryonics, but I'm quite sure they care 
about *$$$$$*. That's why a contest of a different kind (as described
in an earlier post) might be a good idea: offer a substantial award
to anyone who can come up with a considerable improvement to 
the field of cryonics ( like achieving reliable vitrification, designing 
better field gear, a revolutionary dewar etc.). The details can be
worked out according to the personal preferences of those involved,
but the main point here is that you lose nothing if no (good) inventions
are forthcoming (the contestants must fund themselves), while you
might possibly gain *everything* if the contest is a success. The
winner gets money and possibly scientific acclaim, while the 
cryonics community gets better service -- everybody wins. 

This isn't meant to replace the organ-donor scheme or any other idea
btw, but more like something that might be tried while the debate over
how possible funds should be allocated etc. goes on (this could take
a while, I reckon ;-) 

--DdO

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9632