CryoNet #32003 - #32005

CryoNet - Sat 26 Sep 2009

    #32003: Re: Wake from Cryonics [John de Rivaz]
    #32005: Kurzweil cultism: Immortality only 20 years away says scienti... [Mark Plus]

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Message #32003
From: "John de Rivaz" <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Wake from Cryonics
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:42:35 +0100

A bit of a quibble, but whereas it is perfectly true that Rudi Hoffman is
the biggest  cryonics insurance provider, this is only true because most of
the world's cryonicists live in the USA. He cannot act for those not in the
USA. He'd no doubt be very happy to, but the US insurance companies aren't.
I am not sure whether foreign companies would let him act for residents in
their countries - probably not.

Also in the message, it says that the law is against cryonics revival
trusts. Actually "the law" isn't for or against anything, it just adjusts
itself to maximise the amount of money its practitioners as a whole group
can extract from the economy. When a lot of money is flowing, it tries to
get this for its practitioners. [ref Dawkins, The Selfish Gene]

Future changes that may be essential for cryonics to progress is a different
way of administering society. That way could come through technology. If
there was a data processing system where citizens could enter a proposed
course of action and be told whether it is permitted or not, for free or
very low cost, then only those people who deliberately seek to flout what
civilisation expects of them, and gets caught, would need to have contact
with lawyers. (eg bank robbers, house breakers, extortionists etc).

Cryonicists are strongly motivated not to commit these offences. This is
because the longer you live the more likely you are to be caught. For
example, Zandor Kepiro was guilty of checking people's identity in Nazi
Europe with the result that those who failed his checks were killed (legally
as defined at the time, but subsequently illegally). He was finally caught
aged over 90 and sentenced to life imprisonment. [ref The Last Nazis, BBC TV
2009]

A computer based administration is still probably too difficult with modern
computers -- the task would be enormous. But computing ability is
progressing by leaps and bounds. Also such a system would enable legislators
to test silly laws for unintended consequences.

At present legislation is going the other way. Some laws in the UK and
probably elsewhere in Europe have the effect that perpetrators don't know
that they are breaking them until too late. One example is that if you
employ someone, even if just a household servant, who is an illegal
immigrant, you can receive a serious fine. It is not a defence to say that
you didn't know that they were an illegal immigrant. I think Mr Kepiro would
have felt familiar with that law.

-- 
Sincerely, John de Rivaz:  http://John.deRivaz.com for websites including
Cryonics Europe, Longevity Report, The Venturists, Porthtowan, Alec Harley
Reeves - inventor, Arthur Bowker - potter, de Rivaz genealogy,  Nomad .. and
more
----- Original Message ----- 
From: CryoNet
Message #32001
From: Mark Plus <[email protected]>
Subject: Wake from Cryonics

http://hplusmagazine.com/articles/forever-young/wake-cryonics

<del>

Wake from Cryonics Having written cryopreservation insurance policies for
nearly a thousand people, Rudi Hoffman is well established as the world's
leading cryonics insurance provider. As a certified financial planner, he
also has a long standing record of helping people leave money to their 
future
selves, and thus avoid the worry of being revived from cryopreservation to
discover that they are penniless in wonderland.

<del>

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Message #32005
From: Mark Plus <[email protected]>
Subject: Kurzweil cultism: Immortality only 20 years away says scienti...
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:34:31 -0700

In addition to the absurdity of the claim that anyone will become "immortal" by 2030, how does Kurzweil expect that ordinary people will come up with the money for all this futuristic healthcare, given the secular trend towards unaffordability? We need a law of accelerating real incomes just to pay for current healthcare.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6217676/Immortality-only-20-years-away-says-scientist.html

				Immortality only 20 years away says scientist
				
Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims humans could become immortal in as little as 20   years' time through nanotechnology and an increased understanding of how the   body works. 

					By Amy Willis

		Published: 11:23AM BST 22 Sep 2009
	
					The 61-year-old American, who has predicted new technologies arriving before,   says our understanding of genes and computer technology is accelerating at   an incredible rate. 

He says theoretically, at the rate our understanding is increasing,   nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be   available in 20 years time. 

Mr Kurzweil adds that although his claims may seem far-fetched, artificial   pancreases and neural implants are already available. 

Mr Kurzweil calls his theory the Law of Accelerating Returns. Writing in The   Sun, Mr Kurzweil said: "I and many other scientists now believe   that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogramme our bodies'   stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, ageing. Then nanotechnology   will let us live for ever. 

"Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work   thousands of times more effectively. 

"Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes   without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. 

"Heart-attack victims - who haven't taken advantage of widely available   bionic hearts - will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as   their blood bots keep them alive. 

"Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we   will be able to write books within minutes. 

"If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down   brain signals and take us wherever we want to go. Virtual sex will become   commonplace. And in our daily lives, hologram like figures will pop in our   brain to explain what is happening. 

"So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with   artificial limbs and organs."


			
 		 	   		  
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