X-Message-Number: 9354 From: Stephen Bogner <> Subject: Re: Possible topic for discussion: growth of cryonics Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 08:29:37 -0700 I would also like to see more discussion about the growth rate of cryonics. There ought to be a number of measures that could be extracted from available data (and may already have been, although I have not seen such an analysis). For example, the correlation's between the growth of the cryonet mail list and signups or inquiries to cryonics organizations. If there is enough data it might even be possible to measure the positive/negative impact of the various flame wars that break out here from time to time... It might also be interesting to try to correlate the growth rate over the next few years with sales figures from James Halperin's "The First Immortal". I have been inspired to a higher and more open level of participation because of this book, and perhaps a measurable number of others will feel the same way. It would be particularly valuable to understand the demographics at work here. When I first encountered cryonet I was encouraged by the (usually) intellectual and reasoned discourse, but even more so by the participation of people that I knew and respected from other activities and organizations that I had been involved with or encountered over the years. If, as I hope and suspect, the demographics of the cryonics movement show that it is dominated (with spectacular exceptions) by people who are considered to be "well adjusted" "independent thinkers" - perhaps even cultural, social, and technical "leaders" in areas outside of cryonics - then perhaps it will be easier for people to accept the intellectual foundations and cultural legitimacy of the movement. The needs for acceptance (and the fear of ridicule) are extremely powerful "memetic" themes that can generate both motive force and inertia - sometimes with enough power to overwhelm even fundamental imperatives such as self preservation. If one wants to think about a "calculus of motivation", then the influence of demographics on the momentum of the cryonics meme will clearly be a significant term in any relevant equation. By paying close attention to growth rates and demographic trends within the cryonics movement the community ought to be able to discern mechanisms that it can influence that will accelerate the diffusion of the cryonics meme within the broader society. This should feed back into the cryonics organizations in the form of increased participation rates. ... Stephen Bogner, P.Eng. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9354