X-Message-Number: 19956 Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 10:31:49 -0700 From: Mike Perry <> Subject: Re: Evolutionary Psychology and the Scarcity of Signups > > another possible cause of the scarcity of people signing up for cryonics: > > they are afraid of losing status by choosing this "weird" thing. > >A contra argument to this is that fact that some people are willing to do >almost anything to "get in the news" or "get on the tv". This suggests that signing up for cryonics could, in some circumstances, be a way to gain status rather than lose it, so people might actually sign up on that basis. Ultimately and ironically, it would be to favor their reproductive success, that is, to further the process of putting their replacements on the earth, not to save their lives. (Again, they may not be consciously aware of this as a motive, and it may also be infeasible as a way to actually generate more offspring; nature's built-in motives do not necessarily conform to reality.) Well, I'd like to see people sign up even on that basis, if no other is possible. But I am skeptical that very many will choose cryonics if that is their main reason, or if they do, will stick by their decision once they have made it and not drop their arrangements after a time. Mike Perry Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19956