X-Message-Number: 9681 From: "Scott Badger" <> Subject: The Growth Issue Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 00:18:06 -0500 Though not qualified to critique it, I'd like to say kudos to Jim Halperin for his generous and creative proposal. Looking forward to seeing you at Barnes & Nobles on the 22nd, Jim. One other side issue before my main point. Saul Kent asked for feedback on his essay from seasoned cryonicists as well as neophytes. Being of the latter persuasion (and not signed up yet), I would characterize my initial reaction by saying that I felt considerably more skeptical and pessimistic about cryonics and my chances for reanimation. Thus, I felt less inclined to sign-up for cryonic services. I thought, "What's the point?" Yes it's my only chance but you made it sound like I have a better chance of winning the lottery . . . and I never play the lottery. You wanted my initial reaction, that was it. I continued to follow the postings, however, and my spirits gradually lifted a bit. Still, what hope I still have has more to do with your predictions that 21CM will develop better protocols. I hope more of my optimism returns. The main issue I wanted to address regards the conversations on why people don't sign up for cryonics services. While I believe it has been very valuable to toss around hypotheses for explaining slow membership growth in cryonics, ultimately these questions can only be answered by conducting an actual survey. I keep waiting for someone to make a reference to some previous survey which addressed this issue but I haven't noticed any such references. Well, if it hasn't been done it needs to be. It wouldn't be that expensive if we used the internet and did a bulk e-mailing describing the study and directing the subject to a web page where s/he could complete a questionaire designed to measure attitudes and opinions. Then we could more or less settle this on-going debate. I think we would get a lot of individuals who would respond because they'd think it would be interesting to do so. We can use many of the proposed *reasons* in recent postings to develop survey items. And I realize that people using the internet are not representative of the general population but it's getting more representative than it used to be. Besides, a survey such as the one I'm conceiving of would likely pique the interest of many and may even result in some sales. I have a Ph.D. in Psychology, an MBA in Marketing, and have worked enough with HTML to come up with some rough ideas. It wouldn't be until later this summer though. Comments? Scott Badger Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9681