From: Peter C. McCluskey (pcm@rahul.net)
Date: Fri Dec 13 1996 - 09:17:43 MST
70023.3041@CompuServe.COM (Paul Wakfer) writes:
>
>On Mon, 9 Dec 1996 08:22:38, "Peter C. McCluskey" <pcm@rahul.net> wrote:
>> If I can double my money in 5 years by investing in semiconductor
>>stocks, might it not be better to donate $2000 to cryonics then
>>than $1000 now?
>
>Not if 5 years from now you are *dead* (ie. cryopreserved so poorly that your
>mental faculties are not recoverable) when the $1000 you and others could have
>invested might have been just enough to advance the science of cryopreservation
>so that you are recoverable instead.
You can imagine conditions under which it turns out to have been a
mistake. So what? Are you unable to imagine conditions under which
your strategy is equally mistaken?
You sound obsessed. While it it probably a good thing for someone
to be obsessed with cryopreservation research, your apparent expectation
that others share your obsession is likely to hinder your fundraising
efforts outside of the core group of cryonicists that you have already
reached. Imagine how you would feel if someone told you that you were
insane not to contribute to cancer research or airplane safety research.
>>If I am healthy enough that I will probably survive until uploading
>>is possible, might it not be better to conserve my wealth and
>>wait 5 years before deciding whether there is an uploading-related
>>investment that will help me more than a cryopreservation investment?
>
>Statistically, you are correct concerning your likelihood of needing
>cryopreservtion in the next 5 years. Individually, do you really want to take
>that chance with something as important as your *life*?
Yes. I see no way of removing all risks to my life within the next decade,
and that particular risk seems small compared to other risks, such as the
risks associated with not being wealthy enough to protect myself against
risks that I can't currently forsee.
(In case I wasn't clear enough, I was referring to donations to cryonics
research. I recently signed up with Alcor. However, I think that a year
ago I was insufficiently wealthy that it was wise of me to postpone signing
up).
-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter McCluskey | | "Don't blame me. I voted pcm@rahul.net | http://www.rahul.net/pcm | for Kodos." - Homer Simpson pcm@quote.com | http://www.quote.com |
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