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 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13782