[extropy-chat] Which Cryonics option is optimal?

[Chris Hibbert]

> I intend to sign up for cryopreservation with Alcor in the near
> future, but I'm not completely decided on which option I would prefer:
> Neuropreservation Option (head only) or full-body (head + body). 

I'm signed up for whole-body suspension.  I like my body; if it can be 
rejuvenated, or used as a model for a new version, I'd like something 
similar.  I also believe that there's something behind the phrase 
"muscle memory".  I think part of what we know how to do and do well is 
a cooperative endeavor between body and mind.  The vagaries and 
randomness of development in the womb and during childhood make minor 
differences to which nerve ends control what abilities.  Reconnecting 
randomly might require a completely new process of learning how to 
operate the body.  Giving me a brand new body, (even one specified by my 
own DNA) would require a lot more learning than bringing me back with my 
brain connected to the wiring it has already learned how to operate.

A few months ago, Alcor sent its whole-body members a letter saying that 
the vitrification procedure they have developed is only known to work 
for neuro-only patients.  They believe that it produces much better 
preservation, and recommended that whole-body members consent to 
allowing them to determine whether a neuro-only procedure would produce 
a better preservation at the time of suspension.

I agreed, and signed their consent form.

Preserving my brain is much more important than simplifying the revival 
and reconnection to the rest of my body.  If it doesn't hurt my chances 
of revival, I'd prefer to have my body available.  If the body can't  be 
saved without endangering the preservation of the brain, the brain comes 
first.

> My inclination right now is to tentatively sign up as a Neuro, but to
> hopefully purchase a life insurance policy that will barely cover a 
> full-body, in case I change my mind later.

That seems workable.  If price is an obstacle, then certainly, do what 
you can afford now.  If you become convinced at some point that your 
body is worth saving, change the paperwork with Alcor.  If death comes 
as a surprise, you get whatever option you last paid Alcor for.

Chris
-- 
All sensory cells [in all animals] have in common the presence of
... cilia [with a constant] structure.  It provides a strong
argument for common ancestry.  The common ancestor ... was a
spirochete bacterium.
   --Lynn Margulis (http://edge.org/q2005/q05_7.html#margulis)

Chris Hibbert
hibbert at mydruthers.com
Blog:   http://pancrit.org