[ExI] Nice Article on Brain Preservation

[John Clark]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2012  Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:

> Since cell membranes are well preserved by standard histological methods,
> why even investigate frozen tissue as an option?
>

I too have asked myself that question and don't have a good answer, but I'm
no expert on this matter.

> I like fixation for its ability to function regardless of a support
> infrastructure.


Yes, that is a clear advantage. With freezing there are 3 unknowns that
might prevent Cryonics from working:

1) Will the freezing process (I don't care about the unfreezing process)
induce turbulence in the fluids of the brain?
2) Will the brain really remain frozen until the age of Nanotechnology?
3) Will anyone in the age of Nanotechnology think we're worth the hassle of
reviving?

Plastination eliminates 2 of those 3 unknowns, although perhaps it adds
additional problems I don't know about.


> > I would still prefer to have my brain stored in a dedicated institution
> trying to protect it than to trust the overall environment out there.
>

I strongly agree, even a plastic infused brain is not invulnerable and a
friendly institution might be able to help with problem #3.

> Max's point about revival options is important: we do not just want to
> minimize damage during preservation, we also want to make the resulting
> product amenable to as many possible future revival technologies as
> possible.
>

I don't understand the distinction. Whichever method produces the least
amount of damage preserves the most information, and the more information
transmitted safely into the future the more options there would be for
anyone who thinks we're worth the trouble of reviving.

  John K Clark
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