X-Message-Number: 22847
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 10:07:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Half baked

I see that Cryonet is going through one of its half baked
phases. These always last longer than would seem possible.

Regarding the relocation of cryonics in some other nation
(a half-baked idea that has been raised periodically for more
than a decade--maybe more than two decades--with no actual
results whatsoever), I will take this fantasy a little more
seriously if I see a minimum of 5 (five) cryonics activists
actually making serious plans, supported by serious money, to
move to any other nation and commence operations there. I
will take it more seriously still if I see even 1 (one)
possibly terminal patient express serious intentions to move
to any nation that is considered more friendly to cryonics
than the USA. Bear in mind that historically, it has been
difficult to persuade terminal patients to relocate near a
cryonics facility *within* the USA (not impossible, not
unprecedented, but difficult). People do not like to die
thousands of miles from their home, family, and friends, and
who can blame them?

Also one might consider that in Britain, where a substantial
number of cryonics activists are located, there is still no
fully equipped facility (no storage, for instance) and the
capability that does exist was put together largely through
the generosity and engineering skills of just one man (Alan
Sinclair). I'm not belittling the help that Alan received,
which was substantial. I'm just saying that without his
capital and initiative, I doubt it would have happened.

Starting a cryonics organization is as tough as, or tougher
than, starting any small business which requires substantial
capital, skills, and labor. In fact, cryonics is unusually
labor-intensive, requires an exceptional range of skills, and
of course never makes a profit. Relocating such an operation
in a foreign country just multiplies the difficulties.

All of this, needless to say, should be INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS,
and the pie-in-the-sky theorizing about establishing cryonics
in other countries is at best a doubtful use of one's time
and at worst is actually deleterious to the provision of
cryonics services in this country, since it distracts us from
the hard problems and intense needs that we have here. I
don't think it's coincidental that the wishful thinking has
coincided with a time of exceptional challenges among US
cryonics organizations. How lamentable that instead of
addressing these challenges there is an impractical yearning
to get away from it all by going someplace else. This reminds
me of space enthusiasts who imagined that their social
dysfunctionality could somehow be accommodated in L5
colonies.

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22847