X-Message-Number: 7340
Subject: Re: Prometheus Pledger on CNN 
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 14:53:30 -0600
From: Will Dye <>

I'd like to extend my congratulations to Mr. Halperin 
on his success in The Truth Machine, and the promising 
(optioned already!) progress with The First Immortal.  
IMO, a miniseries on cryonics will be a Good Thing.  

I'm still doing quite a bit of wrestling with anti-
cryonics memes.  I'm of the opinion that much of the 
resistance will quickly fade with increased exposure 
to the ideas, combined with positive stories from a 
_diversity_ of people who've signed up or have been 
suspended.  I realize that the history of this matter 
leaves plenty of room for doubt, but that's still my 
best guess.

My own experiences indicate that the stated objections 
people have are brought out _after_ the person has 
decided that cryonics is not a good thing.  I.e.  even 
though people drag out religious or scientific 
objections, addressing those objections _directly_ 
doesn't work because the stated objections are not the 
deeper reasons.  That's why refuting a particular 
objection only inspires them to search for another 
objection.  

It's tempting to simply regard the person as irrational, 
or develop a contempt for the ideology (religion, 
scientific group, whatever) that they keep turning to.  
But the best progress, in my experience, comes from 
gently refuting the arguments, while addressing as best 
as possible the deeper reasons.  Bogosity is a human 
characteristic, and we all share it.  Just in different 
places.  

What are the deeper reasons?  Well, it seems plausible 
that this depends on the person.  But (guessing here) 
I suppose that it boils down to a simple sense of 
conservatism when it comes to something as complicated 
and critical as death.  Other memes (dealing with 
death, sense of self, etc.) no doubt come into play, 
but I argue that they can all be categorized as a 
series of ways we've developed to deal with death.  
Cryonics throws a wrench into that touchy subject, so 
naturally (and sensibly) our conservative side is more 
likely to come into play.  

Consider the group of penguins standing at the edge 
of the water.  No one wants to be first to jump in 
(and with good reason - there may be predators down 
there).  Finally a few brave souls jump in, then a 
few more, and when others see that everyone else is 
going in, the rush is on.  

For those (like myself) who want cryonics to reach a 
much larger level of acceptance, let's hope that the 
eloquent Mr. Halperin produces a penguin.  

Some may catch the referece here:   :-)

	"What's on the telly?"

	"Looks like a penguin"

--Will


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=7340