X-Message-Number: 1740 Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 11:05:31 -0700 From: (Kenneth Tolman) Subject: Re: cryonics: #1734-#1736 It seems to me that marketing cryonics in competition with religion is a poor idea, unless some religion takes cryonics up as a flag. Marketing cryonics as a supplement to religion is more workable. Cryonics can never claim to bring immortality... even if cryonics has a 100% chance of success, there will be a finite probability of destruction during every time interval and this will bring on ultimate death. The sum of any finite probability of destruction going to infinity of time yields a probability of 1.0. (Much like flipping a die with any number of sides forever will eventually bring up a 1 with a prob of 1.0) If one reduces the probability every time interval, (adds another face to the die) then the probability of destruction falls below 1.0, but still does not ensure immortality. I think cryonicists should face that they will probably die forever at some point, and that cryonics is really a fantastic life extension mechanism. To assume otherwise is self deluding and leads to discussion and advertising which will turn possible prospects off. Cryonics <> immortality Cryonics == expanded experience [ Kenneth, concerning religion I think that we actually agree (or nearly agree) but you don't realize it yet. My suggestion is that we have several competing resolutions for the same "root meme": outrage against death. Cryonics provides one resolution and some religions provide other resolutions. In that sense they are competitors. Recognizing religious resolutions as competitors in our marketing strategy is not at all the same as deciding to market cryonics head-to-head against them. As I pointed out several times, competing head-to-head against an established competitor does not work. That is why my religion-related marketing proposals did NOT market cryonics in competition with religion. In one case the proposal was to market cryonics strictly as a health preservation service and in the other case as an enhanced way to *practice* the religion rather than as a competitor to it. Oh, by the way, when I say "resolution" I do not necessarily mean a solution that really works. I just mean that it satisfies the person enough that he/she does not go looking for another resolution. - KQB ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1740