X-Message-Number: 13782
Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 07:36:42 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: more on my definition

Hi everyone!

I note that at least one poster agreed with my definition of cryonicist.
But at least one other did not.

I hold with my definition, though the other (who was NOT signed up for
suspension) did come up with some subtilties. The main issue is that of
what happens to cryonicists who have made suspension arrangements but
live in a setting in which those arrangements may not be implemented
due to distance, loss of funding, or some other difficulty.

Well, I would still consider such a person a cryonicist, even if they
find themselves working in the Congo for a high proportion of their 
time. The distinction is not whether or not someone is actually 
suspended (though rare, I can see that happening to someone who is
not by my definition a cryonicist) but whether or not someone has made
an honest effort to arrange things so that he or she WILL be suspended.
And if you find that you must work in the Congo, then there are still
things you can do --- such as organizing your life so that you can 
leave ASAP if you become seriously ill, and watching out for attempts
to capture you and keep you in prison. The effort must be honest; just
what that means in any particular case may vary a good deal. But even
in the Congo, if you haven't done the first steps, which is signing
up for suspension, then any further steps will mean nothing at all.

And as for myself, the fact that I am a suspension member of Alcor
should be well known. Some other points might not be so well known:
although many things about Alcor displease me, I did NOT go off and
join the alternative society Cryocare. My major reason came from my
previous experience with BACS (now ACS): the notion of splitting off
the suspension agency from the rest of the society did not do ACS
very much good at all... and that was exactly the course that Cryocare
wanted to take. At some time doing that will become "a good idea",
but ACS had too few dedicated cryonicists to do it, so much so that
some members of its board then weren't themselves cryoncists, at
least by my definition. It remains far from clear that making such
a split is a good idea even now (yes, I know that some in Alcor now
want to do the same). 

And for the person who disagrees with my choice of definition, I
will say this: there is a big distinction between someone who believes
that doing X is a good idea, and someone who actually goes off and does
X. The first deals at most with dreams and ideas, while the second
must necessarily deal with REALITY. And yes, Reality is a hard master,
be the only one.

		Best and long long life to all,
		  (even those not now cryonicists),

			Thomas Donaldson

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