CryoNet #33027 - #33030

CryoNet - Fri 5 Nov 2010

    #33027: Nano-swimmers and cooling blankets [benbest]
    #33028: ethics vs. individual goals [Ettinger]
    #33029: Molecular Nanotech: implementation questions [Mike Perry]
    #33030: Re: Off topic article...but potentially relevant "New Moralit... [David Stodolsky]

Rate This Digest: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33027%2D33030

Administrivia

To subscribe to CryoNet, send email to:
    [email protected]
with the subject line (not message _body_):
    subscribe
To unsubscribe, use the subject line:
    unsubscribe
To post a message to CryoNet, send your message to:
    [email protected]
from the same address to which you are aubscribed.
Send questions, comments, or feedback to [email protected]
with "CryoNet" or "cryonics" somewhere in the Subject line.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33027
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:17:29 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: Nano-swimmers and cooling blankets

   Neither a desktop nanofactory nor glucose
oxidation can adequately explain how
untethered nanobots could operate at
cryogenic temperatures.

  On another subject, a UK funeral service
company is offering cooling blankets as
a quicker means of cooling and preserving
corpses, which Barry Albin's company is
considering incorporating into its core
business.

http://flexmort.com/Covercool.aspx

It would not be nearly as efficient as an ice bath
with circulating water, but it could be useful for
quick deployment in cryonics where an ice bath
would take longer to set up.

    -- Ben Best

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33027

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33028
From: [email protected]
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 11:31:20 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: ethics vs. individual goals

Rudi Hoffman praises the work of Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate, the gist  
being that individuals acquiring fortunes through good business ideas are  
morally superior to altruists.
Well, Brook is president of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, and  
while I don't know to what extent he actually follows Ayn Rand, as a 
philosopher  she didn't have a clue. As I recall, her first premise is "Man is 
man." If that  doesn't discredit her as a philosopher, I don't know what would.
 
But the main problem is the distinction between ethics (or  interpersonal  
morality) and individual motivation. I wrote  Youniverse from the standpoint 
of the individual, and showed that ALL  motivated behavior (which is only a 
fraction of all behavior) stems from the  desire to maximize one's own 
satisfaction over time. Sometimes this conflicts  with ethics, although less 
often than you might think, because obviously we all  depend on society and  
need to take society's welfare into account, as well  as our own 
predispositions, which may not be easily reformed.
 
Anyway, if any newcomers are interested, the 2009 version of  Youniverse is 
out there, Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Universal  Publishers. It has lots 
of answers, as well as new questions.
 
Robert Ettinger
Our moral code is out of date
By Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate, Special to  CNN
September 16, 2010 3:26 p.m. EDT

Editor's note: Yaron Brook is  president of the Ayn Rand Center for
Individual Rights and a columnist at  Forbes.com; Onkar Ghate is a senior
fellow at the center. Brook is one of the  speakers at The Economist's 
"Ideas
Economy: Human Potential" conference in  New York.
(CNN) -- Human progress requires good  ideas.


 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"

[ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33028

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33029
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:19:09 -0700
From: Mike Perry <[email protected]>
Subject: Molecular Nanotech: implementation questions
References: <[email protected]>

I am one of those who is optimistic about the ultimate feasibility 
and success of molecular nanotechnology as envisioned by the likes of 
Drexler and Freitas. But what I wonder is how much is being done 
toward implementing these ideas. Vaguely I understand that Zyvex 
Corp. was interested in building a general-purpose assembler, though 
I don't know if they still are focused on this goal very much. But 
basically, has anyone tried to seriously think about how you would, 
in step-by-step fashion, go about getting from where we are now to 
the scenarios of Drexler and/or Freitas? Has anyone attempted to 
start down this path? If so, what obstacles did they encounter, etc.?

MP

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33029

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message #33030
Subject: Re: Off topic article...but potentially relevant "New Moralit...
From: David Stodolsky <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 08:49:09 +0100
References: <[email protected]>

On 4 Nov 2010, at 10:00 AM, CryoNet wrote:

> Our moral code is out of date
> By Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate, Special to CNN

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that any moral guidance can be derived from this instrument (channel) of propaganda. 


> September 16, 2010 3:26 p.m. EDT
> 
> Editor's note: Yaron Brook is president of the Ayn Rand Center for
> Individual Rights and a columnist at Forbes.com; Onkar Ghate is a senior
> fellow at the center. 

While it is not widely known, Ayn Rand greatly admired a serial killer and used him as a model for her leading character. Promotion of this nonsense on a List supposedly devoted to extending life is an indication of profound ignorance, to say the least. Randian fundamentalists are opposed to life extension.


Someone who wishes to make intelligent statements in this area ought to take an intro. course in ethics or read something like:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Causing-Death-Saving-Lives-death/dp/0140134794

Causing Death and Saving Lives: The Moral Problems of Abortion, Infanticide, Suicide, Euthanasia, Capital Punishment, War and Other Life-or-death Choices

A useful review: If you are studying ethics as part of an ethics course, or you just want to be able to read newspapers without necessarily being swayed by every rant, this book will help obtain your own perspective on the controversial issues. It really is worth every penny.


Prof. Glover's analysis , might also contribute something to the endless discussions on identity that never reach any conclusion on the List:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Philosophy-Psychology-Personal-Identity/dp/0140146504/

I: Philosophy and Psychology of Personal Identity

In this book the author of "Causing Death and Saving Lives" tackles questions of personal identity. He looks at such issues as whether adults are the same as when they were children and whether individuals can create their own personality and character.


dss

David Stodolsky
[email protected]  Skype: davidstodolsky

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33030

----------------------------------------------------------------------

End of CryoNet Digest
*********************