X-Message-Number: 3930
Date:  Tue, 28 Feb 95 17:33:04 
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: College cryonics lectures


To CryoNet
>From Steve Bridge, Alcor
February 28, 1995

In reply to:  Message #3916
              From:  (Joseph J. Strout)
              Subject: Campus speakers?
              Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 11:53:03 -0800 (PST)

     Mr. Strout asks about whether campus talks are generally given, 
whether they are effective, and if there is anyone on-line here who can 
give such a talk at UCSD (which I assume is University of California at 
San Diego).

     Several of us on CryoNet have given public talks on cryonics, to 
audiences from grade school through senior citizens.  I have given dozens 
of these talks myself over the years, including to college students, and I 
know that Bob Ettinger, Mike Darwin, Ralph Merkle, Steve Harris, Keith 
Henson, Carlos Mondragon, Brenda Peters, Jim Yount, Dave Pizer, and Derek 
Ryan also have done many.  And I'm probably forgetting some people.

     Matching the right speaker with the right audience can sometimes be 
tricky, although most of us can handle most audiences.  For instance, I am 
adept with general audiences and students; but do not have the technical 
background to do as well in front of a neurology convention. If I needed 
someone to talk to nanotechnologists or computer people, I might think 
first of Ralph Merkle (a Xerox nanotechnology researcher).  To a group of 
pathologists, Steve Harris (an M.D.).  Both would be interesting in a talk 
to a neuroscience department, although they might give very different 
presentations.  Bob Ettinger and Mike Darwin would also do fairly well 
with neurologists (again with much different talks than either Merkle or 
Harris), although both have cut back severely on the number of 
presentations they do.

     Then there are the political considerations.  There are several 
different cryonics groups.  Since none of us want the rival organizations 
to have the jump on us, there is a tendency for several of us to volunteer 
for things like this, and each of us would emphasis our own organizations 
in our talks.  As far as I am aware, there is no totally "non-partisan" 
cryonics speaker out there yet.

>I would think that this would be a
>inexpensive and particularly compelling way to reach a good pool of
>potential customers.  

     "Inexpensive" can be defined in many ways.  If I take a day or two 
out of my life to fly somewhere to give a free talk for 25 random people, 
this is VERY expensive in terms of my time and what else I could have done 
with it.  The price of the flight can be less significant.  I wouldn't be 
surprised if the people named above have given a total of over one 
thousand group talks about cryonics, yet there are well under one thousand 
suspension members total in all of the cryonics organizations.  Short-
term, this is not very cost-efficient.

     Yet, some valuable people were brought into cryonics because of 
public talks they heard.  Every opportunity to have the ideas heard 
*might* be the one that brings in the next dedicated researcher or wealthy 
benefactor.  And, especially with young people, new ideas planted today 
might bear fruit a decade later.  That has always been our idea, although 
I admit that so far the statistical evidence is pretty slim for this in 
cryonics.

>     College students, we may also suspect, might be more receptive to 
>what is still a new idea (to most people) than the average American would 
>be.  On the other hand, I suppose most college students are not yet 
>sufficiently concerned about their deaths to do anything about it.

     Right on both counts.  Also college students are poor, busy with 
studies, and being bombarded with dozens of new ideas, lifestyles, and 
career possibilities -- not to mention the distractions of sex, drugs, and 
rock'n'roll.  Most college students are ready to say what a neat idea this 
is; but much less ready to give it their full attention or take action.  
(As a counter-balance to this, there are a number of full-time students 
who are sign-up cryonicists; although most of them are older, "back-to-
school" types.)


>Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing opinions on the notion of campus
>talks in general, and whether anyone could be persuaded to come speak
>at UCSD in particular (in particular, that I may help arrange it).

     I'd be happy to come to SD sometime for a general audience talk, and 
I suspect some others would also.  Some of the above names might be 
willing to talk to your neurosciences department.  Most of us would be 
much more willing to come your way if some benefits could be added:

1.  Expenses being paid.

2.  If it is a general college crowd, charge a couple of bucks each and 
pay the speaker a fee.  This might even make the speaker look more 
important and draw a bigger audience.

3.  Arrange for the speaker to be interviewed by the local college paper, 
the best city paper, and local TV and radio while they are visiting.  It 
exposes many more people to the ideas and increases the cost-effectiveness 
of the trip.

4.  Promise to do some real publicity for the talk.  Nothing is more 
depressing than to spend a lot of time preparing for a presentation, then 
speaking to three people because the organizer had a term paper due and 
couldn't get around to notifying the newspapers, radio station, etc., that 
the program was being offered.  This includes you personally inviting 
people you know would be interested and possibly arranging an advance 
newspaper or radio interview over the phone to plug the talk.


     Now, I didn't exactly make your life easier with these suggestions; 
but just think how much more "interesting" it's going to be!


Steve Bridge

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