Cryonics

[ciphergoth]

I'm considering signing up with the Cryonics Institute. Are you signed up? I'd be interested to hear your reasons why or why not. It does of course sound crazy, but when you press past that initial reaction to find out why it's crazy, I haven't heard a really satisfactory argument yet, and I'm interested to hear what people think. There are many reasons it might not work, but are there reasons to think it's really unlikely to work? How likely does recovery need to be for it to be worth it?

Comments

[calum]

I think the simple answer is..

Is it worth it, to you, to spend that sort of money on a longshot.. as opposed to leaving that money to someone you care about, or an organisation you care about.

I do think its a longshot, but its not an impossibility

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Why is it that despite these proposed better uses of the money, we are prepared to get a curry delivered from time to time, but not to spend money on the possibility of billions of years more life? Why not draw the cost from the curry fund instead of the "saving the world" fund?

[calum]

Like I said.. thats your choice. $30,000+ is no small amount, but you can choose whether its worth it for you. I wouldnt do it, but if it makes sense to you, why not.

Doesnt make sense to me, personally - but you think quite differently about some things, so I can see why it would to you.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

So if it were much cheaper, like £10-20 a month, you'd be much more tempted to sign up?

[calum]

Actually, no, personally, I wouldn't. I believe something leaves your body when you die, and I cant imagine that you could bring someone back to life years later. But that's my spiritual perspective, and I dont expect others to agree with it - if I didnt feel that way, £10-20 a month would make a lot more sense than $30,000 on death.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I'm not really competent to debate what the implications of this belief are so I won't push this, but whatever it is that you believe leaves people doesn't leave them when their heart stops, so why do you think it would leave a cryopreserved person?

[calum]

I guess Im not competant to say that it does leave a cryopreserved person..

I've seen a few people die. I was pretty sure I could tell when that something left them. Other people present felt the same. It wasnt immediately when their heart stopped, etc.. So, maybe (assuming my belief is true here) you could prevent that by preserving them before it went?

I really dont know. Its just another factor in the gamble as to whether this is a good idea for me, personally.. And it leans me towards no.

[henry_the_cow]

Right now I'm not sure I'll have enough money to live comfortably when I retire, so if I put money aside it will be for that eventuality, which seems far more likely than cryo-resurrection. Then, when I die, I want to leave money to my wife and child,if they survive me.