X-Message-Number: 32351
From: "John de Rivaz" <>
Subject: Fw: CryoNet #32339 Cryonics science
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 12:04:36 -0000

Although cryonics has some things in common with religion, it is not one. 
Neither is it evidence based science, because the only way to get the 
evidence is to cryopreserve and reanimate a human and then demonstrate that 
it is the same as the person cryopreserved. Part of the technology required 
to do that has not been developed yet. It relies on an enormous 
infrastructure that has yet to appear.

However that infrastructure can be observed evolving all around us. [ Could 
Maxwell, Hertz and Marconi have conceived what radio has become? Reeves 
never thought it practical to have digital radio and TV and digital 
recording devices as entertainment items. Therefore if any of these pioneers 
have been reanimated today they would be astounded by the progress their 
inventions and discoveries have made.]

Religions are based on someone having had a revealation from a higher power, 
usually God, but it can be from alien beings such as angels, or entities on 
other planets (eg Aetherius, as suggested by the Rev George King). Often the 
person with the revealation is not venerated until after his death, and 
therefore is incapable of discussing the divine communication. New followers 
are made to believe that the revealation is absolue truth. Faith (ie not 
requiring evidence) is always a virtue.

Evidence based science is what it says. People have theories or hypotheses 
and these are accepted as reality if different scientists in laboratories in 
different places can do experiments or make observations that verify them. 
They are open to modification or being replaced if further evidence comes to 
light. There is no virtue in faith.

Cryonics falls between the two. There is some evidence that it may work (eg 
freezing of embryos). But there is no direct incontrovertible evidence that 
it would work for a complete person. As it relies on future technology for 
the revival, it is not possible to obtain that evidence until too late for 
people living and dying today.

Being cryopreserved, therefore, is not an act of faith that reanimation will 
happen, but a judgement that it might happen.

-- 
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

----- Original Message ----- 
Message #32350
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:27:28 +0100
Subject: Re: CryoNet #32339 Cryonics science
From: yvan Bozzonetti <>
<del>
Cryonics is a religion, nothing more, may be a fallen one, that is, a secte.
<del> 


 Content-Type: text/html;

[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32351