X-Message-Number: 18362 Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 13:15:12 -0500 From: "Raphael T. Haftka" <> Subject: John Grigg's bet John Grigg wrote: >We made a bet that if nano-replicators are in homes by 2030, she will have >to treat me to dinner at a nice restaurant! And if not, than I'm the one >footing the bill! > >Julie will be 57 by the year 2030, and I will ancient, too!! Since I am 57 now, I wanted to share my experience, so that John and others may consider scaling down their expectations. I became interested in Cryonics more than 40 years ago, but at the time, I considered it only a "backup" option. It was the dawn of the space program, and I was sure that in 40 years we will have spaceships moving at speeds close to the speed of light. I majored in aerospace engineering because my most realistic hope of jumping 200 years into the future (when I thought medical advances would increase our life span to 1000 years) was to fly a spaceship close to the speed of light. My first backup was the hope that we will make contact with an alien advanced civilization that will allow us to realize these medical advances much sooner. Cryonics was something that would serve if all else failed. So, John, advances in technology sometimes take longer than expected. Today, I would estimate that we need about 100 years for human travel close to the speed of light. On the good side, we can expect some nice surprises along the way. Forty years ago I could not even dream of the internet. Rafi Haftka Rafi Haftka Tel: Home (352-466-4432 Work (352)-392-9595 Fax: (352)-392-7303 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=18362