4 ms·

The real trick is being somebody that a future generation will go to the trouble of defrosting.

shiroiushi 2y ago
That's a fool's errand. The trick is to make sure your body is continually controlled by some kind of computer that will wake you up when a set of conditions is met, so you don't need to rely on future humans. You also need to make sure your cryopod is stored someplace where troublemakers won't find it and turn it off. The best thing I can think of is putting your cryopod in a lava tube on the Moon, powered by a small nuclear reactor or maybe a large RTG.
- lukan 2y ago
  "The best thing I can think of is putting your cryopod in a lava tube on the Moon, powered by a small nuclear reactor or maybe a large RTG." And then hope nothing critically fails for centuries ... Unless we have perfectionized robots by the time you go into the cryopod, you might as well bet on humans. And if we "perfectionized robots", that do not fail all the time, we already would have a very different world.
  - kolinko 2y ago
    You could have multiple failsafes, and after a part of them fail, you dehibernate automatically. We have systems that work well with such approach - planes being the most notable example - multiple redundancies, and when sth critical fails, you land asap. Works most of the time.
    - lukan 2y ago
      And then you wake up on the moon in a lava tube too early with a partly failing system and hope that everything else still somewhat works? With current technology level I definitely would rather bet on humans.
      - shiroiushi 2y ago
        Looking at current human society, I don't think that's a very good bet. If you wake up too early in a lava tube on the Moon, you then use the tools and spare parts you hopefully were smart enough to pack and repair your cryo-pod and then go back to sleep.
    - krisoft 2y ago
      > you dehibernate automatically You what now? :) I think you watched too many scifies and started to believe that the plot devices are reality. “Hybernation” is a thing in movies because the writers wanted to write stories involving humans and long space travel. It is not a working technology in reality. It might become one day, but your RTG powered cocoon is not going to invent and perfect it for you while you are asleep.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Robots? We're talking about cryopods here, not something that needs a robot where you need to operate accurately in 3D space. It just needs an electronic control system to monitor conditions and control some machinery, similar to a washing machine or microwave oven. We already know how to make redundant computer control systems, like for aircraft. It's not that hard. They don't "fail all the time" either. Sure, your crappy Windows computer does, but no one with a brain uses that for anything safety-critical.
    - lukan 2y ago
      And you would trust that thing "similar to a washing machine" to run perfectly well for centuries? And not that hard? Are you aware of Murphy's law? Basically, give anything enough time and all the possible things that can go wrong, will go wrong. So your windows powered cyopod breaks after 1 year at most. And your embedded tiny verified OS manages 100 years, hurrey. But dead is dead.
- hawski 2y ago
  You wake up in the middle of the moon and then what?
Jach 2y ago
If we found a crypt of a hundred well-preserved mummies from a few thousand years ago who for all we could tell were basically peasants in their lifetimes, not grand or interesting people, and we had the ability to revive them into the modern world, I still think we would. The "interest" factor of future generations reviving cryonics customers when it's possible to do so is like the weakest factor in trying to predict whether cryonics will work at all.
- lukan 2y ago
  Because one crypt and some humans would be a curiosity. But a cluster of crypts containing thousands or even millions of those old weird people who will be likely just a burden to a way more advanced society? I am sceptical.
- science4sail 2y ago
  That's probably a motivating factor for defrosting your first few hundred/thousand mummies, but would the "interest" factor still be there for the millionth mummy?
  - Jach 2y ago
    I think it would. No, probably not the highest priority for the society doing it, but something that would continue along regardless. A quick google tells me that over 11,000 dinosaur fossils have been found so far, people still seem interested in finding more. But there are other reasons besides direct interest of the present society, especially at that scale. A few: interest of those having been revived now wanting to revive their waiting friends/family/time-mates, humanitarian reasons (Europe alone has absorbed millions of refugees in the last several years), and, turning a little from pure thought experiment of mummies to currently frozen people, potential contractual reasons. (Though notably Alcor only has a couple hundred frozen corpses/brains, and less than a couple thousand members signed up for the procedure.)
- zrn900 2y ago
  > were basically peasants in their lifetimes, not grand or interesting people What are you saying - the lives of ordinary people are the holy grail in archaeology and history as they are more difficult to investigate and construct. A king's remains and belongings tell you little about the actual society.
wruza 2y ago
The real trick is the world being a better place.

That's a fool's errand. The trick is to make sure your body is continually controlled by some kind of computer that will wake you up when a set of conditions is met, so you don't need to rely on future humans. You also need to make sure your cryopod is stored someplace where troublemakers won't find it and turn it off. The best thing I can think of is putting your cryopod in a lava tube on the Moon, powered by a small nuclear reactor or maybe a large RTG.

lukan 2y ago
"The best thing I can think of is putting your cryopod in a lava tube on the Moon, powered by a small nuclear reactor or maybe a large RTG." And then hope nothing critically fails for centuries ... Unless we have perfectionized robots by the time you go into the cryopod, you might as well bet on humans. And if we "perfectionized robots", that do not fail all the time, we already would have a very different world.
- kolinko 2y ago
  You could have multiple failsafes, and after a part of them fail, you dehibernate automatically. We have systems that work well with such approach - planes being the most notable example - multiple redundancies, and when sth critical fails, you land asap. Works most of the time.
  - lukan 2y ago
    And then you wake up on the moon in a lava tube too early with a partly failing system and hope that everything else still somewhat works? With current technology level I definitely would rather bet on humans.
    - shiroiushi 2y ago
      Looking at current human society, I don't think that's a very good bet. If you wake up too early in a lava tube on the Moon, you then use the tools and spare parts you hopefully were smart enough to pack and repair your cryo-pod and then go back to sleep.
  - krisoft 2y ago
    > you dehibernate automatically You what now? :) I think you watched too many scifies and started to believe that the plot devices are reality. “Hybernation” is a thing in movies because the writers wanted to write stories involving humans and long space travel. It is not a working technology in reality. It might become one day, but your RTG powered cocoon is not going to invent and perfect it for you while you are asleep.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Robots? We're talking about cryopods here, not something that needs a robot where you need to operate accurately in 3D space. It just needs an electronic control system to monitor conditions and control some machinery, similar to a washing machine or microwave oven. We already know how to make redundant computer control systems, like for aircraft. It's not that hard. They don't "fail all the time" either. Sure, your crappy Windows computer does, but no one with a brain uses that for anything safety-critical.
  - lukan 2y ago
    And you would trust that thing "similar to a washing machine" to run perfectly well for centuries? And not that hard? Are you aware of Murphy's law? Basically, give anything enough time and all the possible things that can go wrong, will go wrong. So your windows powered cyopod breaks after 1 year at most. And your embedded tiny verified OS manages 100 years, hurrey. But dead is dead.
hawski 2y ago
You wake up in the middle of the moon and then what?

Jach 2y ago

If we found a crypt of a hundred well-preserved mummies from a few thousand years ago who for all we could tell were basically peasants in their lifetimes, not grand or interesting people, and we had the ability to revive them into the modern world, I still think we would. The "interest" factor of future generations reviving cryonics customers when it's possible to do so is like the weakest factor in trying to predict whether cryonics will work at all.

lukan 2y ago
Because one crypt and some humans would be a curiosity. But a cluster of crypts containing thousands or even millions of those old weird people who will be likely just a burden to a way more advanced society? I am sceptical.
science4sail 2y ago
That's probably a motivating factor for defrosting your first few hundred/thousand mummies, but would the "interest" factor still be there for the millionth mummy?
- Jach 2y ago
  I think it would. No, probably not the highest priority for the society doing it, but something that would continue along regardless. A quick google tells me that over 11,000 dinosaur fossils have been found so far, people still seem interested in finding more. But there are other reasons besides direct interest of the present society, especially at that scale. A few: interest of those having been revived now wanting to revive their waiting friends/family/time-mates, humanitarian reasons (Europe alone has absorbed millions of refugees in the last several years), and, turning a little from pure thought experiment of mummies to currently frozen people, potential contractual reasons. (Though notably Alcor only has a couple hundred frozen corpses/brains, and less than a couple thousand members signed up for the procedure.)
zrn900 2y ago
> were basically peasants in their lifetimes, not grand or interesting people What are you saying - the lives of ordinary people are the holy grail in archaeology and history as they are more difficult to investigate and construct. A king's remains and belongings tell you little about the actual society.

wruza 2y ago

The real trick is the world being a better place.