X-Message-Number: 1352
Date: 24 Nov 92 13:32:47 EST
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS Alcor Critical Review

 
Thanks to Ralph Whelan and Steve Bridge for their friendly 
responses to my suggestion for some sort of critical-review 
publication. (I suggest it could be called, in fact, The 
Alcor Critical Review.) Thanks also to a couple of people who 
wrote to me direct, in favor of the idea. 
 
To Steve: 
 
Obviously, there are times when people have a need to make 
strong feelings known fairly quickly, and there are other 
times when everyone is pretty much content, or at least 
quiescent. This being so, the schedule of the newsletter 
should perhaps be intermittent, responding to demand. I don't 
agree that it would be too slow to satisfy someone with an 
important complaint. Cryonet gives instant gratification, of 
course, but if one wants the whole Alcor membership to be 
aware of something, a newsletter is the only option. 
 
To Ralph: 
 
I don't blame you for being angry about Mike Darwin's 
posting. In your position, I would be angry too. Obviously, 
you cannot discount the slurs and aspersions directed at work 
that you and Tanya and others at Alcor have done. I have 
already told Mike that I regret he has not only burned his 
bridges, but dynamited the foundations, so that rebuilding 
may not be possible in some cases. At the same time, if you 
want me to say, "You're right, things that Mike complains 
about were worse when he was there," I can't do that, because 
I wasn't around and I don't have the facts. Therefore, even 
if it irritates you, I have to sit on the sidelines in that 
respect. 
 
What I can say is that as a journalist (as well as a 
cryonicist) I have witnessed you and Tanya and Keith and Hugh 
doing your jobs on a daily basis, and also during a 
suspension. I was reassured by what I saw. Sure, it would be 
nice if someone had had five years of medical school or a 
couple of years out on the street as an Emergency Medical 
Technician. Maybe Alcor will eventually find someone with 
that kind of background who is willing to work for cryonics. 
In the meantime, however, I see you following the best 
available suspension protocol conscientiously and with some 
dedication, and Alcor looks good compared with other cryonics 
providers. 
 
Thanks for your encouragement for some sort of Critical 
Review, and I will indeed send you a proposal. Obviously this 
thing has to be done right; it must tread a path between 
honesty and name-calling. There must be some sort of 
editorial presence, but no suspicion of censorship. And so 
on. I'll send my proposal to you, and I will post it on the 
net, when I've had more time to think about this. 
 
--Charles Platt

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1352