X-Message-Number: 9716
From: Transoniq Hacker <>
Subject: surveys, etc.
Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:52:01 -0700 (PDT)

One factor that doesn't seem to be discussed much here, probably won't
show up in surveys, and CERTAINLY won't be discovered by cryonicist's
introspection, is that most folks just really don't give a rat's ass
whether they live or die. Anyone who's been involved with this for any
length of time has certainly run into people who're convinced that it
probably WILL work, have no real religious reservations, and yet who
STILL just can't get up any real enthusiasm for the idea. This probably
seems a little weird - but we're the ones who are weird. Evolution
certainly doesn't care what happens to someone once they've procreated.
Jeeze, just look at the number of smokers - what is it, 30%, 40%? These
folks aren't figuring, "Well, nanotech will cure my cancer when it
happens..." They don't think that way. They "KNOW" it'll kill 'em - and
they still smoke. And this is just one type of self-destructive
behavior. Saul - if you're writing an ad for one of your supplements,
what works best - "Take this for the next 30 years and gain maybe
another 5" or "Take this and look better (feel better, have better sex,
yada, yada, yada..)"? People SAY they want to live longer, yeah, sure -
as long as it's not too much of an inconvenience or expense.

One (possible) way to maybe overcome a bit of this fundamental problem
is to figure out some way to market cryonics as something you get for
SOMEONE ELSE. People seem more concerned with other folks dying than
themselves. Again this might seem a little strange to a bunch of
individualists, but, hey - how many parents want their kids to smoke,
how many boomers wish their parents hadn't? ("Just hush up, mom and sign
the damn paper - do it for ME!" "Well, okay dear, if you really want me
to...")

Just a thought
Eric

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