X-Message-Number: 17137
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 19:19:05 -0700
From: Olaf Henny <>
Subject: Why not more cryonicists?
References: <>

IMOEO [In My Often Erroneous Opinion :)] the reasons why
many decline to even get informed about cryonics are as
follows:

-   We have *all* been subjected from early childhood on to very
persuasive deathist conditioning.  It started with the evil
witch, the evil stepmother or the evil queen in the fairy tales
(do I detect also some sexism? - I cannot remember one evil guy
in fairy tales for the very young originating in Europe, though
there are some evil viziers in 1000 & 1 Nights).
Furthermore about once a decade young children are exposed
to someone close in the family dying, (great-) grandparent,
parent, uncle etc.
The resulting trauma is mitigated by references to heaven and
eternal happiness, mostly out of traditional believes, which found
their origin in trying to explain "why God lets the best die" and in
an attempt to reduce the pain as well as to explain, why all those
prayers did not help. This deathist believe has been deeply
entrenched in all cultures and for good reason: Up 'til now
everybody, *in all cultures*, has died within 125 years of birth.
By all we have experienced in all history, death _is_ inevitable.
To grasp the concept of eliminating death, takes a whole lot of
independence of thought, which, although helped by education
and intelligence, often even the brightest brains cannot achieve,
due to the overwhelming power of conditioning they received
throughout their lifetime.   "I cannot refute your arguments, -
yet I find it impossible to believe them"

-   Most people do not consider the possibility of their own
death until they are confronted with the realization of their own
flagging energy.  By the time they notice it, they are already in
an advanced state of tiredness, their careers are running into a
dead end, they have difficulties with adjusting to the new
technologies, methods etc. for practising their profession and
they realize, that in order to live an extended live, they will
have to learn and study more than their present energy level
will allow them to keep up with.  Rather than admitting that to
themselves and others, they fall back into their comfort zone of
accepting death as inevitable and surround themselves with a wall
of denial against our reasoning.  They do not want "to talk about
it!"  They feel annoyed by us, because we remind them of their
present weaknesses, which they do not want to admit, so they come
up with overpopulation and other reasons, why they "have to die".
They do not realize, that they will have the same level of energy,
that they had as students in their twenties, probably more, because
they will be at their optimal function in all "circuits".  Unfortunately
they are rarely disposed, to listen to us long enough to explain,
lest they might appear gullible.

Just my opinion... [but correct and irrefutable :)]

Best,
Olaf

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