X-Message-Number: 26662 From: "John de Rivaz" <> References: <> Subject: Re: questions Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 10:39:12 +0100 It is reasonable enough for people to ask about what happens if they get a heart attack whilst alone etc., but the first thing to do is to sign up. If you haven't signed up, then it is guaranteed that you won't be cryopreserved. Of course there are circumstances where it still may not happen, it will never be totally safe. But neither is anything else totally safe. Similarly all these matters of identity, consciousness etc are interesting and need to be discussed. However we are what we are, even if our nature is not fully understood. It probably never will be totally understood. Cryonics is the best way known at the present time of preserving our identities -- whatever they are. I doubt whether a repeatable experiment can be ever devised that proves identity will not survive cryopreservation and reanimation. As far as I know one has ever suggested that total anaesthesia destroys identity. Maybe when anaesthesia was controversial sadistic surgeons could have used that argument to put people off it. Using such arguments today to denigrate the concept of anaesthesia would only occur amongst patients in hospitals for the criminally insane, I should have thought. -- Sincerely, John de Rivaz: http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy, Nomad .. and more Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26662