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I'm disappointed by the slow progress in cryo-suspension. It seems like it should be possible, and would be very useful on earth too. You could just hop however
by tlb 4y ago
I'm disappointed by the slow progress in cryo-suspension. It seems like it should be possible, and would be very useful on earth too. You could just hop however many years into the future. It'd have fascinating social implications if people could do that.
The main problem is apparently that ice crystals grow and damage cell membranes. Surprising that that should be so unsolvable.
- tgv 4y agoWhy should it be possible? We weren't built for that. The stories about the bodies that have actually been frozen are horrifying. And I don't see the use, apart from personal curiosity. But imagine yourself waking up, 200 years in the future (if anyone would be willing to thaw you): you're an old, penniless, and clueless body without papers, adding extra weight to a world that has its own problems. People will still be people, so you're not going to like it.
- tlb 4y ago"We weren't built for it" isn't really an argument. There are so many counterexamples of things we weren't built for but are popular. It lets you make a bet on the future being better. Wouldn't a guy who froze himself 100 or 200 years ago be mightily impressed by today's level of technology and prosperity? The bet can go badly, of course. The world might get worse. But it's a reasonable bet to make if you believe in continued progress.
- tgv 4y ago> Wouldn't a guy who froze himself 100 or 200 years ago That would have been 1823. No electricity, no cars, no running water, let alone computers and digital payment, and probably a pretty different dialect. He would be homeless. Imagine being someone like Rockefeller ending up between homeless immigrants and gangs. No matter how much progress society has made, that person wouldn't enjoy it.