X-Message-Number: 1589 Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 02:41:09 -0500 From: Alexander Chislenko <> Subject: CRYONICS: Re: Ideas a threat? Paul Wakfer writes: >... To believe >that any ideas, at any place, at any time, constitute a threat to >anything, is a philosophically fundamental misunderstanding of the >nature of freedom. What about giving an idea to a baby that this poison pill can be sweet, or suggesting to Hitler that this nuclear bomb design can work better, or showing an XXX-rated movie to an innocent child? Since ideas can be translated into practically anything else, and *every* conscious action (bad ones included) starts with an *idea*, if anything can be something, so can an idea. I would say that the very idea that any idea is harmless is the greatest idea-threat you can find - it works like AIDS, lowering one's natural defences of *free* intelligent selection among the alternative ideas. Failure to realize it, IMO, represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of ideas. In an attempt to connect the above text to cryonics, I'd say that with all my hopes that this misunderstanding will vanish in a near future, I can expect that its carriers would be considered a walking historical curiosity, and the future Museum of Ancient Thought can help cover their revival costs - ahead of correct, but boring thinkers! :-( ;^) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Alexander Chislenko | | Cambridge, MA | (617) 864-3382 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1589