X-Message-Number: 4594
Date: 02 Jul 95 11:40:27 EDT
From: Michael Riskin <>
Subject: Fear

  Mr. Ettinger said that he observes cryonicist to be less fearful than
I do....and then goes on to mention several by name whose actions would 
seem to support his view. First of course, the few he mentions are
statistically too small to prove much, but more importantly, the fact that
some ride motorcycles or sky dive or fight the FDA or take entrepreneurial
risk is not an indication that they lack fear. In fact the opposite may
be true, and, many people "enjoy" being frightened. It creates a rush
that pushes a whole body and mind to aliveness, unless one responds to
fear by shutting down. Besides, I do not use "fear' in a negative sense,
one that is useful to our detractors as Mr.Ettinger suggests, but rather
that it is an evolutionary and rational emotional experience as a fuller
and fuller grasp of certain aspects of reality is accepted. Among the
least fearful people I know, I often see a phenomenon called "denial"
which serves to eliminate if not eradicate fear. This is the look I see
on the most devoted theists...Its' a one dimensional look of
peacefulness. The abiiity to face a machine gun nest doesnt deny the
experience of fear..it describes the manner in which one processes and
responds to here and now fact (or future possibility).  FEAR IS NOT A
FOUR LETTER WORD. When you take a risk you face both reward and failure.
Failure feels bad, period. Not immobilizing necessarily but bad. The 
risk one takes is not only the obvious one (I may make or lose my money
as an example) but also the risk of the emotional consequence. "I will
feel good , bad or indifferent as a result of this action or thought...is
it worth it?". If anyone thought I was insulting cryonicists in that
manner the opposite  is true...it was a compliment. It is the response to
ones' fear that is the great divider. I have ridden motorcycles in excess
of 130mph on the interstate...but not any more. Why not? Because the fear
of the consequence of a minor problem in the road beyond my control or
decreased ability to respond to it safely scares me enough to foresake
the pleasure I get from it. I wish I was more scared in general
translated as I wish I had a fuller grasp of the available reality around
me. Fear is an emotional warning sign just as physical pain is a warning
sign. They are both usually good things. People who dont experience
physical pain are at a great disadvantage. I also believe that people who
dont experience fear are also at a disadvantage.  


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4594