CryoNet #32646 - #32650

CryoNet - Tue 22 Jun 2010

    #32646: Aw: CryoNet #32644 [robomoon]
    #32647: Who pays LJ & MM to air cryonics' dirty laundry?? [Finance Department]
    #32648: My Blunder [Melody Maxim]
    #32649: Fwd: My Blunder [Melody Maxim]
    #32650: competence [Charles in Arizona]

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Message #32646
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:55:10 +0200 (CEST)
From: [email protected]
Subject: Aw: CryoNet #32644
References: <[email protected]>

Yes, it's required that psychologists figure this widespread intuition about "spirits" and the afterlife. Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt if philosophers learn to understand something better too. Cryonics and psychology, that's an old missing link. There are still scientists who want to create nanobots for the repair of defunct neurons while they even don't know some simple functions about the brain that can be studied from the psychological behavior of creatures. Very strange.

Nerves me I'm discussing this instead of an expert. However, I'm practically involved in psychology since I was in psychotherapy myself, had to take psychopharmaceutics, and kept reading in books and magazines about the treatment of mental illness to learn about some of the defunct parts of my own brain.

If there would be a great reanimation trust, it might become handy to finance the development of nanotech for the repair of the brain (just cryopreserved or genetically persistent against retarding senescence). Thus, even the brains of some simple mortal beings like me would only profit from this (improved therapies, etc.). While the nanobots are unavailable yet, one can bet that all the necessary steps for an understanding of the brain's functions should be accomplished anyways, espc. due to psychology.

Cryonics providers are planning for centuries. But an accrediting organization for them will often try quicker incentives like the development of software for an increase in AI during the next few decades. There's been talk about the importance of a brain/computer interface over the years and I'm sure, there will be many improvements in software without any requirements for expensive upgrades on the hardware-side.

Psychology works to figure the religious preferences from people who need communications for cryonics in all levels of society. Not anyone can be happy without religion, just get it with existentialism, escapism as a scientific follow-up of early and original (!) Dianetics (no, I'm no sect/cult member), and modern forms of psychoanalysis!
>
> Subject: Re: Religion & Cryonics
> From: David Stodolsky <[email protected]>
> Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:01:46 +0200
> References: <[email protected]>
> 
> On 20 Jun 2010, at 11:00 AM, CryoNet wrote:
> 
> > So cryonicist philosophers need to understand this widespread intuition
> about "spirits" and the afterlife, and understand why it is intuitive, and
> what the alternatives would be, and how to explain them to the general
> public.
> 
> It isn't philosophers, but psychologists who study intuitions. Terror
> management theory gives a pretty good explanation:
> 
> <http://cosmism.blogspot.com/2010/05/existentialism-today-terror-management.
> html>
> 
--



-- 
WM 2010: Top News, Spielplane, Public Viewing-Termine, E-Cards und alles, 
was der Fan sonst noch braucht, gibt's im Sport-Channel auf arcor.de.
http://www.arcor.de/rd/footer.wm2010

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Message #32647
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:05:35 -0500
Subject: Who pays LJ & MM to air cryonics' dirty laundry??
From: Finance Department <[email protected]>

--001636e0b9b5f0fd7004898fd3e5

Who paid Larry Johnson to wear wires into Alcor, and who now pays Melody
Maxim to work for LJ?  (Well, must be LJ himself, whom she reports to).

Reports to, as evidenced by a post in the CryoNet queue yesterday which got
deleted by its maker as it was obviously a colossal blunder on her part.  It
was originally posted as #3 in the queue after she had posted it without the
forwarding as #2 in the queue, which actually made it into CryoNet as
Message #32645.  She had obviously intended to email it to LJ, but it went
to [email protected] instead.

"I think my Cryonet post, below, will support the portion of your book,
where you described Alcor's "Organ Procurement Team" name tags." she says to
her idol.  Wow.  And all along we thought she objected to things like
misrepresenting oneself as a perfusionist, for the right reasons and the
good of cryonics.  Instead it is clear she is doing all of this to support
LJ's sensationalist and defamatory book.

She was distraught enough, apparently, not to bother to correct the word
"medial" to something more meaningful, in any of this.  Here is the
blundering post:

*************************************************************
X-Message-Number: 3

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:48:17 +0000 (UTC)
From: Melody Maxim <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Misrepresenting Staff Members as Medial Professionals

------=_Part_401606_1764844494.1277052497360

I'm still making a stink about Kelly claiming to be a perfusionist. I think
my
Cryonet post, below, will support the portion of your book, where you
described
Alcor's "Organ Procurement Team" name tags.

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Melody Maxim" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2010 12:46:21 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Misrepresenting Staff Members as Medial Professionals

I think it damages the credibility of cryonics organizations, to represent
staff
members as medical professionals when they are not. In fact, I am often
tempted
to argue it is a form of consumer fraud. It doesn't take much common sense
to
know that people interested in cryonics, who view photos of people appearing
to
be performing surgical procedures, while dressed up in medical garb ....

(bla bla.  rest is the same as in Message #32645)
*********************************************************

Cheers,

FD

--001636e0b9b5f0fd7004898fd3e5

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[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

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Message #32648
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:52:59 +0000 (UTC)
From: Melody Maxim <[email protected]>
Subject: My Blunder

I did, indeed, intend to forward my previous Cryonet post, (regarding unqualified persons identifying themselves as medical professionals), to Mr. Johnson, and accidentally forwarded it to Cryonet, instead. (Of course, I did not write anything I would be ashamed to say in public, or to admit to writing, even in a courtroom.) I've never made a secret of being supportive of Mr. Johnson. In my eyes, people who might be asked to pay $60K - $150K for cryonics services, or encouraged to leave bequests and/or trusts, to cryonics organizations, should know where their money might be going.

I was complaining about cryonics activities, for a long time, before Mr. Johnson, (whom I barely knew anything about, and had thought was deceased), showed up, with his book. To be honest, I was damn glad to see him, because I was tired of registering my complaints to such a small audience, comprised mostly of persons unlikely to recognize the full gravity of the situation, as well as a fellow medical professional, (especially someone who had been exposed to cryonics activities), would. I had been reluctant to go to regulatory agencies, for fear cryonics might be banned, altogether, and I, (perhaps, naively), thought Mr. Johnson's book would result in just enough attention, to get cryonics organizations to clean up their act.

On occasion, I have forwarded information to Mr. Johnson, in the hopes of assisting his attorneys in having him recognized and protected as a whistle-blower, as I believe he should be. He has never asked me to do so, and I certainly have never been paid, by anyone, for my public and/or private remarks, regarding cryonics activities, (other than when I was working at SA, of course). I think Mr. Johnson and his attorneys probably read most of my posts, without any encouragement. However, I do take the impersonation of medical professionals very seriously and when I saw a Suspended Animation employee publicly misrepresenting herself as a perfusionist, it reminded me of the "Organ Procurement Team" name tags Mr. Johnson had written about in his book. I rarely post on Cryonet, so I wanted to ma
 ke sure Mr. Johnson and his attorneys saw that particular post. If they make it to a jury trial, I am hoping the misrepresentation of laymen as medical professionals, in cryonics, will come under close scrutiny.

My complaints about cryonics are due to my total disgust in seeing people who have had so much time and money to invest, make a mockery out of medical procedures with which I am very familiar, when I feel they could easily have delivered so much more, many years ago. I feel very strongly about what I believe to be gross incompetence, coupled with a serious lack of ethics, amongst a small group of people who control a large portion of cryonics activities. If cryonics didn't have "dirty laundry," (FD's term), it wouldn't have to be "aired."

This is not the only occasion on which the anonymous FD has falsely accused me of being paid to write about cryonics. In making his accusations, I suppose it has never crossed FD's mind that the truth is, while I am not being paid to be supportive of Mr. Johnson, the person who accused Mr. Johnson of writing "400 pages of lies" has been the recipient of a substantial salary and benefits, for many years, courtesy of people funding cryonics activities, including some at Alcor.

It seems FD is proud of himself for slinging false accusations from behind an anonymous name, and gets his jollies from imagining I'm "distraught" if I misspell a word. That's okay with me...every time he posts false information about me, (sometimes not even bothering to disguise it as speculation), I just sit down and write another post, or send letters to regulatory agencies. If any of my letters ever get any attention, I hope all of you will take time to personally thank FD. ;)

(I'm just kidding...I don't do any such thing...I just thought it would be funny to say so.)

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Message #32649
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:13:01 +0000 (UTC)
From: Melody Maxim <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: My Blunder

Dear Larry, 


If FD had any idea how hard he makes me laugh, he'd change his pseudonym... 


...Just kidding, again...This isn't a mistake, and I didn't send any such message to Mr. Johnson. I'm sorry, but I'm really laughing so hard, tears are rolling down my face. It reminds me of the time I tried to send an email, to one SA co-worker, complaining about our manager manipulating two other co-workers, whom I referred to as "naive." Unfortunately, I sent my complaint to the manager, by mistake, and he obliged my invitation to tell the co-workers what I wrote. Went I got to the office that morning, those two people had a field day, taking turns screaming at me. As I told them, at the time, I was genuinely sorry for offending them, but I really did think them naive. One of them later agreed with me, in retrospect. It's one of those things that wasn't funny then, but is hilarious, now
 . (Actually, I think at least a couple of people found it pretty funny, then.) 


You guys take care...I don't care how much some of you hate me...I really think you don't stand the proverbial "ice cube's chance in hell," for as long as cryonics activities continue to be managed the way they have, for the last 40 years. In my mind, the "something" Alcor and/or SA are delivering isn't much better than nothing, and I believe with all my heart that it could be so much better. 


Melody 

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Message #32650
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:36:19 -0700
Subject: competence
From: Charles in Arizona <[email protected]>

From "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's
Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments" by Justin KRUGER,
David DUNNING, 1999.

"We believe focusing on the metacognitive deficits of the unskilled
may help explain this overall tendency toward inflated
self-appraisals. Because people usually choose what they think is the
most reasonable and optimal option (Metcalfe, 1998), the failure to
recognize that one has performed poorly will instead leave one to
assume that one has performed well. As a result, the incompetent will
tend to grossly overestimate their skills and abilities."
__

"ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge 

--Charles Darwin

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