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Surprisingly, the financial aspect of it is pretty manageable as explained by Max More (head of Alcor) [0]. Apparently if you have signed up for some kind of l

by fizixer 11y ago

Surprisingly, the financial aspect of it is pretty manageable as explained by Max More (head of Alcor) [0]. Apparently if you have signed up for some kind of life-insurance, you simply pay your regular insurance fee, and direct them to give it to Alcor for your preservation if you die. Or if you wish to pay in total, I've heard it's ~$80K for head only. And ~$200K for whole body. Once I can afford any of the above options, cryonics would be my top "burial preference". (Think about it, in the US, it's a fraction of the amount you get to spend in the final year of your life. You could choose to waste a lot of money during age 79-80 on a losing battle, or you could call it quits at 79, for which right-to-die needs to be legal, and spend a fraction on cryonics. Suffice to say, I'm a big advocate of right-to-die as well). [0] (Warning: loud intro) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xiX9mPB_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xiX9mPB_s

amalcon 11y ago
Just because that's what Alcor is asking for does not mean that they can actually deliver the service they promise for that amount. Frankly, I don't think any fixed amount is sufficient for a reasonable chance of a positive outcome. A lot can happen in a few hundred years. If you believe they are honest and competent (which I do), there are factors to consider entirely beyond their control. Even if we assume that there are still humans around to run Alcor, that energy prices haven't skyrocketed, that cryonics haven't been made illegal for some reason, and that some kind of war or natural or man-made disaster hasn't wiped out the facility, there's still a rather high chance that some future management of Alcor will be either dishonest or incompetent and ruin the whole thing. On a 200 year scale, I'd place the odds of that alone above 90%, even if I assume maximally effective present management. Again, this doesn't have any effect on the present benefits (hope, etc).
- Apofis 11y ago
  It's going to suck being part of the first batches of people before Alcor really figured out how to freeze people properly.

by fizixer 11y ago

amalcon 11y ago

Just because that's what Alcor is asking for does not mean that they can actually deliver the service they promise for that amount. Frankly, I don't think any fixed amount is sufficient for a reasonable chance of a positive outcome. A lot can happen in a few hundred years. If you believe they are honest and competent (which I do), there are factors to consider entirely beyond their control. Even if we assume that there are still humans around to run Alcor, that energy prices haven't skyrocketed, that cryonics haven't been made illegal for some reason, and that some kind of war or natural or man-made disaster hasn't wiped out the facility, there's still a rather high chance that some future management of Alcor will be either dishonest or incompetent and ruin the whole thing. On a 200 year scale, I'd place the odds of that alone above 90%, even if I assume maximally effective present management. Again, this doesn't have any effect on the present benefits (hope, etc).

Apofis 11y ago
It's going to suck being part of the first batches of people before Alcor really figured out how to freeze people properly.