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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>Those of you interested in immortality,
societies belief systems and cryonic suspension</FONT> <FONT
size=2>might want to take a look at my paper</FONT> <FONT
size=2>"</FONT></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>Cryonics: Background, Overview, and Bioethical
Implications</FONT><FONT face=Arial>" <A
href="http://www.nanoindustries.com/feature/cryoethics.html">http://www.nanoindustries.com/feature/cryoethics.html</A> .
</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>P.S. for those
of you who have been following my animation progress, I have new works here (the
rotary has been Drexler and Freitas approved - I'm very excited about
that): </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><A
href="http://www.nanogirl.com/museumfuture/index.htm">http://www.nanogirl.com/museumfuture/index.htm</A> .
These will be easier to download if you have a high speed
connection.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>Gina</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=riel@surriel.com href="mailto:riel@surriel.com">Rik van Riel</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org
href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">ExI chat list</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=wta-talk@transhumanism.org
href="mailto:wta-talk@transhumanism.org">World Transhumanist Association
Discussion List</A> ; <A title=sl4@sl4.org
href="mailto:sl4@sl4.org">sl4@sl4.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, November 20, 2004 10:01
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [extropy-chat] Yehuda
Yudkowsky, 1985-2004</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>On Thu, 18 Nov 2004, Eliezer
Yudkowsky wrote:<BR><BR>> I heard my grandmother's words and thought: she
has been through this<BR>> before. This isn't the first loved one my
grandmother has lost, the way<BR>> Yehuda was the first loved one I'd
lost. My grandmother is old enough<BR>> to have a pattern for dealing
with the death of loved ones; she knows<BR>> how to handle this because
she's done it before. And I thought: how can<BR>> she accept
this? If she knows, why isn't she fighting with everything<BR>> she
has to change it?<BR><BR>You need to accept reality; whether or not to fight
it is a<BR>decision to make after having accepted reality. I
would<BR>guess that everybody will have picked their own things they<BR>want
to change in reality, but nobody has tried to change<BR>absolutely
everything.<BR><BR>Some people want to change capitalism, others want to
change<BR>healthcare, many people are content to change just their
own<BR>family and make a difference in their children's upbringing.<BR>The
number of people who have chosen to change mortality is<BR>probably much
smaller...<BR><BR>In order to change reality, you need to have traction
with<BR>it, accept contact with it, etc.<BR><BR>> What would it be like to
be a rational atheist in the fifteenth century,<BR>> and know beyond all
hope of rescue that everyone you loved would be<BR>> annihilated, one after
another, unless you yourself died first? That is<BR>> still the fate
of humans today; the ongoing horror has not changed, for all<BR>> that we
have hope. Death is not a distant dream, not a terrible tragedy<BR>>
that happens to someone else like the stories you read in
newspapers.<BR><BR>Not sure about the fifteenth century, but with the
advent<BR>of biology and natural selection I realise that one day<BR>the
carbon atoms in my body will need to be recycled for<BR>use in our
descendants.<BR><BR>Would I want to live forever?
Maybe.<BR><BR>Would I want to live forever if it meant holding up<BR>evolution
and the spreading of life ? No.<BR><BR>For me, it is the totality
of life that is special.<BR>That peculiar ordering of matter and energy that
spreads<BR>consciousness through the universe.<BR><BR>Some things are more
important than my own life. I still<BR>would like a very long lifespan,
but immortality might<BR>prove to be a drain on life
itself...<BR><BR>Rik<BR>-- <BR>"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code
in the first place.<BR>Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as
possible, you are,<BR>by definition, not smart enough to debug it." - Brian W.
Kernighan<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>extropy-chat
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