X-Message-Number: 11386
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 20:21:06 -0800
From: Olaf Henny <>
Subject: Discussion of Resurrection - a Reality Check

Hi everybody:

I have been quite baffled by the recent discussion on the moral pros and
cons of resurrecting people who have never been preserved.  With all the
 miracles' I do expect from future science, this is one, that I am sure, it
will not be able to accomplish.

We may well be able to gather enough genetic information from some of those
long dead to construct identical replicates, but all we would have is a
clone.  

The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary: resurrection 1. The act or an
instance of rising from the dead 2. ... 

I take that to mean to bring back to life the *same* person with the *same*
memories and the *same* life experience. In order to accomplish that, you
would have to provide to the clone exactly the same historic and family
environment, which the original experienced.  In other words you would
first have to provide all the persons s/he grew up with, so they would act
and react the same as the originals did, in order to exert the same
influence.  In order to accomplish that each person in his/her environment
would in turn... - you guessed it: Lucy here we come and it does not stop
there.  

Let's face it Albert Einstein born in the 1960s might have become an MBA or
worse, a lawyer instead of a physicist and mathematician.

You think you are "resurrecting" Aunt Emily with her easy anecdotes and
sage advice, who was always understanding and quick at wit, and after a bit
more than a decade you have rambunctious teenager on your hands, with all
kinds of offbeat ideas and an overwhelming urge to shock you.
Of course, she cannot remember any of he things you did together and is
frankly intimidated by the expectations you set in her.  She will certainly
resent your calling her "aunt". :)

Now, if Aunt Emily was cryopreserved, and revived at a restored age 20 or
so, she will still have all her wisdom, although she suddenly flusters you,
because she has turned into a gorgeous chick. She will (hopefully) still
remember all your mischief, she has covered up for you, when you grew up; -
and she may even let you call her Aunt Emily. :-)

Best, 
Olaf

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