X-Message-Number: 19446
From: Colin Jacobs <>
Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2002 18:27:35 -0700
Subject: CNN discussion of cryonics... ouch.

Hi,


I'm a long-time lurker (and Alcor member). Man oh man, cryonics is sure in the 
news these last few days - and what a disaster!

CNN had a little discussion on cryonics linked from their front page today:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/07/09/cohen.otsc/index.html


It's entirely negative. Phrases such as "it's a scam" and "so you sign your life
insurance policy over to them?" basically paint cryonics in as negative a light
as is possible; if you read 

just that, you'd think Alcor was conning little old ladies out of their 
insurance money and laughing all the way to the bank.


The "good articles, like this one at wired.com 
(http://wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,53709,00.html) are merely insultingly 
light-hearted and paint cryonicists as one step above the 
kind of folks who wear aluminum foil mind-ray-deflecting hats to bed. 


While I doubt it's really possible, I hope Alcor manages to mount some kind of 
PR damage control effort.


To be honest, it's starting to make me wonder... is there something I don't 
know? Did I read too little skeptical literature before signing up? Basically, I
figured that while the chances 

were small, they were nonzero and thus worth the gamble, given the essentially 
infinite payoff (not being dead and gone). This seems like a sound proposition, 
but I'm really surprised at 

the vehemence of the reaction in the press. As an avowed skeptic, I wonder, did 
I let the coolness of the idea overwhelm my scientific principles? Maybe the 
vision I had of waking up 

one day in a glowing white room, then being taken on a tour of "the future" 
Futurama-style weakened my critical faculties. :) 


After all, as an atheist I've always felt pity for those who couldn't cope with 
the idea of death without a pleasant fantasy of an afterlife, perhaps I'm guilty
of the same...

Colin

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19446