X-Message-Number: 5761
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 13:11:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Ben Best <>
Subject: Mike Darwin's Achievements

   Since I was at the Alcor Festival all weekend (and left Toronto
*early* Friday morning), I did not see Dave Pizer's CryoNet posting
of last Thursday until today -- and no one mentioned it to me 
while I was at Alcor.

   It was my intention only to give Mike Darwin due credit -- it 
was NOT my intention to take credit away from anyone else. The 
fact that Mike Darwin deserves credit does not mean that credit
is not due to Jerry Leaf, Hugh Hixon, Robert Ettinger or anyone
else. However, none of these other gentlemen are coming to meet
Toronto cryonicists on the coming weekend. Therefore, I wrote of
Mike Darwin's achievements and not of theirs. I believe that I
kept fairly close to the facts. I believe it is a true statement
that Mike has "personally cryopreserved far more people than 
anyone else."

   I also said that Mike "was instrumental in formulating policies
which helped make Alcor the largest cryonics organization." I can
see why Dave would think this "implies that Mike gets most of the 
credit for advancing cryonics and advancing Alcor during a certain
period of time" -- but it didn't SAY that. Even if I THOUGHT that,
I wouldn't have SAID it. And I certainly don't want to argue the
point. I did not have an opportunity to talk to Dave during the 
weekend and I regret that others too may have been harboring the
thought that I was detracting from the achievements of others in
my attempt to write of Mike's achievements. 

   I really do want to get along with as many of my fellow cryonicists
as I can, and I make more than my share of mistakes in saying things 
that rub people the wrong way -- because I say so MANY things! I hope
to transcend my mortality, but I am still a "mere mortal".

                        -- Ben Best ()


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