X-Message-Number: 18583
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 14:41:23 -0800
From: Kennita Watson <>
Subject: Re: Enclaves
References: <>

Toby Christensen wrote:
> For a start,  the cultural enclave I  was referring to  
> would be in Australia;  at least that is where I would want to live!

I sigh when I read things like this from cryonicists.  To me
they display a regrettable lack of vision, optimism, and
tolerance.

I can understand the psychological phenomena involved in 
nostalgia for a certain time in the past, a certain place on
the planet, a certain state of existence that one imagines 
and is missing.  But unless one cultivates retrograde 
cultures in every climate, physical and intellectual, that
cryonicists inhabit, the task defies completion.  

Another point:  if you live (pre-suspension) into the 2010s, 
2020s, or beyond (as rapidly-developing technologies may
enable you to do), your conception of what you would want the 
enclave to look like will change.  If your physical ills are
cured and your youthful body restored in 2015, you may well
prefer your 2015 wrestling body and venues to those you had
(or wanted) access to in the 1990s.  And others will prefer
different times, places, etc.

We don't have enough cryonicists to form *one* enclave yet
(though Dave Pizer et al. are working on that), much less
a large variety of them.

I suggest that by the time cryonic reanimation comes about,
we will have both nanotechnology and virtual reality that is
nearly indistinguishable from natural reality.  Enclaves 
will be unnecessary when you can try out bodies, 
environments, decades, etc. at will.

Myself, I want to try living on every continent (actually, 
in every major city and a lot of small towns), without the
1990s/2000s inconveniences of diseases, allergies, travel
restrictions, financial worries, and so on.  Wrestling?  
Sure, I'll try wrestling.  But I also want to try flying a
fighter jet, working on the space station, training 
Bengal tigers, doing Chinese calligraphy, water skiing, 
and who knows what all!

But I won't eat Vegemite! :-P  :-)
> 
> A cultural enclave presents a chance to get things right; 
> no crime, no brutality, no drugs.

I'm tearing my hair, and have deleted much text, not 
starting a flame war on that "no drugs" comment.

> A country based on respect for life, liberty and the 
> pursuit of happiness. 
  
I'll leave it at this:  each person has his or her own 
conception of what it means to pursue happiness, and 
those conceptions often have irreconcilable differences.
This is another reason behind my contention (given the 
current and projected size of the cryonics community) 
that virtual reality is a more feasible means to the 
end of the "unique 'small town'".  In VR, your small
town could be unique to you and just the way you like
it, until you decide you like something different.

"Pleasantville" meets "Vanilla Sky".
-- 
May you live long and prosper,
Kennita
--
Kennita Watson          | Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
     |   None but ourselves can free our minds.
http://www.kennita.com  |           -- Bob Marley, "Redemption Song"

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=18583