Re: Some Questions for everyone on the list (Mac's replies)

Alintelbot@aol.com
Tue, 31 Aug 1999 02:15:28 EDT

Here are my answers to that cryo-quiz. (Do I get an "A"?)

--Mac

>1. In any way does cryonics provide the same sort of psychological
>comfort that religion provides for some people? Have you just replaced
>heaven with the future?

I haven't "replaced" anything, since I've never thought the "Heaven Hypothesis" had much going for it anyway. In a strange way, the implications of cryonic suspension are rather daunting! So no, I don't think of cryonics as escapist, personally; I think of it as I would any other legitimate life-prolonging procedure, like going on a special diet or having a tumor removed.

>2. Since you plan to live forever, what are your long term goals?

I want to visit other planets, hopefully meet extraterrestrial intelligences, all of that stuff. It almost sounds quaint, doesn't it? And I suppose there will always be those who rationalize my enthusiasm for cryonics as a heaven-substitute, as posited in the first question. I really don't care.

>How do you look at life differently than somebody who expects to live a
>short life span?

I think in terms of reaching out, colonizing other worlds, perfecting this strange domain we call "inner space"...essentially making our world conducive to reason and not the dumb, reflexive paradigms we have going now. Others seem much more content (even eager) to "go with the flow," and of course I'm doing this as well, to some extent. But I certainly wish to minimize this sort of thing, and realize/utilize freedom to its maximum.

>2. Are any of you afraid of your bodies falling into the wrong hands
>after your frozen? It is possible that you might be reanimated as some kind
>of lab animal.

It's something to think about, but worth the risk. I could go into more depth, but I'll desist; this could easily be a thread in itself.

--Mac Tonnies