[ExI] Cryogenics Faith or a Belief?

[Lee Corbin]

John Grigg writes

> Terry wrote:
> > The changes in climate that cause drought cause the migration of
> > primates from one place to another to look for food. In turn these
> > events cause the domino effect leading to the present conflict/ wars
> > between the affluent and less affluent nations.

Look on the bright side, Terry. It's been over sixty years since any
large powerful nation on Earth struck another one as hard as it could.
This is truly a remarkable improvement worth celebrating!  A real
historical first. August 9 should be a world-wide holiday.

> > The probability of this happening is high and imho cryogenics is a
> > belief akin to a religious belief if we cling to it as the only solution to
> > the preservation of the human race.

John rightfully scoffs at this:  (well, except that John is to nice a guy
to really scoff at anything anyone says..... I'm trying to read between
the lines  LOL!)

> Cryonics as a solution for the need to preserve the human race in case
> of impending extinction? LOL  Where did you get that idea?  Cryonics
> as it is practiced today (and in the near future) will not be as an escape
> vehicle for humanity!  It takes a decent social and economic infrastructure
> to support a cryonics facility.

Absolutely. On the most charitable reading, Terry might be saying that
cryonics is the only preservation of human beings considered one-by-one
as they die, but like John, I doubt that this was all that Terry meant.

> Also, I don't think cryonics should be compared to religion or seen as
> competing with it.  

Certainly not,  I agree totally. In this wise, cryonics is best described as
a scientific hypothesis. No one I've ever heard says that cryonics is salvation
because some angel told them so, or that it's got the backing of a deity.
On the contrary.  You'll also never find a cryonicist---unlike the religious
types---ever claiming to know that it will work  with 100% probability.

> A handful of scientists with rather limited funds have worked very hard
> to get cryonics where it is now (and it still has a long ways to go).  

Not to mention a lot of dedication and hard work by people exactly
like John Grigg!  Thanks so much, John!

Lee