Comments on: Have Mouth, Will Travel, Part 3: Inventing Cryonics http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/ Frederik Pohl Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:02:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Anton Sherwood http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/#comment-19903 Anton Sherwood Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:25:06 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=1236#comment-19903 Ralph Merkle's formula has charm: "We know what happens to the control group. They die, permanently. So do you want to be in the experimental group or the control group?" Ralph Merkle’s formula has charm: “We know what happens to the control group. They die, permanently. So do you want to be in the experimental group or the control group?”

]]> By: Curt Phillips http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/#comment-4370 Curt Phillips Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:20:39 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=1236#comment-4370 Interesting article on cryonics. I remember 35 years ago that the most obvious problem in making cryonics into a practical thing was the seemingly irrepairable damage caused to cellular membranes during the freezing process. It never occured to me then that advances in genetic studies during my lifetime would at least make it conceivable that DNA could potentially be reconstructed even after such cellular damage. It's actually a very John W. Campbell sort of solution to the problem, isn't it? You encounter an apparently immovable obstacle to the project; find a way around it by *thinking* in a new direction. Walt Disney rather famously had himself (or part of himself...) cryogenicly frozen after his death in the 60's, but do we know of anyone associated with the science fiction world who did the same, or who at least persued it with any degree of seriousness? Somehow it seems to me that Robert A. Heinlein might have been attracted to cryogenics. And though I don't suppose we know for certain what happened to L. Ron Hubbard's mortal remains, it wouldn't surprise me very much to learn that the Church of Scientology had Hubbard frozen. It might someday turn out to be very surprising indeed to see who really has the last laugh after all. Curt Phillips Interesting article on cryonics. I remember 35 years ago that the most obvious problem in making cryonics into a practical thing was the seemingly irrepairable damage caused to cellular membranes during the freezing process. It never occured to me then that advances in genetic studies during my lifetime would at least make it conceivable that DNA could potentially be reconstructed even after such cellular damage. It’s actually a very John W. Campbell sort of solution to the problem, isn’t it? You encounter an apparently immovable obstacle to the project; find a way around it by *thinking* in a new direction.

Walt Disney rather famously had himself (or part of himself…) cryogenicly frozen after his death in the 60′s, but do we know of anyone associated with the science fiction world who did the same, or who at least persued it with any degree of seriousness? Somehow it seems to me that Robert A. Heinlein might have been attracted to cryogenics. And though I don’t suppose we know for certain what happened to L. Ron Hubbard’s mortal remains, it wouldn’t surprise me very much to learn that the Church of Scientology had Hubbard frozen.

It might someday turn out to be very surprising indeed to see who really has the last laugh after all.

Curt Phillips

]]> By: theophylact http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/#comment-4238 theophylact Fri, 29 May 2009 15:03:27 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=1236#comment-4238 You really have to listen to this installment of This American Life, in which we find out how things really worked out: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1291 You really have to listen to this installment of This American Life, in which we find out how things really worked out:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1291

]]> By: Stefan Jones http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/#comment-4210 Stefan Jones Thu, 28 May 2009 18:31:12 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=1236#comment-4210 Cryonics was to SF in the 60s what the Singularity was to SF a few years ago: A suddenly popular notion that is used both *in* stories and is the *subject* of them. A commenter mentioned A World Out of Time in the last post. That story used cryonics to propel a 20th century guy (actually, his memories . . . his brain gets diced up to extract the info to reprogram a criminal) into a future where he can steal a spaceship. But cryonics isn't really the point of the story. Age of the Pussyfoot is more cryonics-centered, in that it is used to allow multiple deaths and resurrection. The nastiest, and probably most realistic, cryonics story was in one of Warren Ellis' Spider Jerusalem (Transmetropolitan) comics. Journalist Jerusalem tells the story of one of the resurrected corpsicles who wander the streets of the city in a perpetual future-shocked freakout. They live in a shelter, get handouts, and worst of all kind find anyone to listen and care. Cryonics was to SF in the 60s what the Singularity was to SF a few years ago: A suddenly popular notion that is used both *in* stories and is the *subject* of them.

A commenter mentioned A World Out of Time in the last post. That story used cryonics to propel a 20th century guy (actually, his memories . . . his brain gets diced up to extract the info to reprogram a criminal) into a future where he can steal a spaceship. But cryonics isn’t really the point of the story.

Age of the Pussyfoot is more cryonics-centered, in that it is used to allow multiple deaths and resurrection.

The nastiest, and probably most realistic, cryonics story was in one of Warren Ellis’ Spider Jerusalem (Transmetropolitan) comics. Journalist Jerusalem tells the story of one of the resurrected corpsicles who wander the streets of the city in a perpetual future-shocked freakout. They live in a shelter, get handouts, and worst of all kind find anyone to listen and care.

]]> By: DB http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2009/05/have-mouth-will-travel-part-3-inventing-cryonics/#comment-4183 DB Wed, 27 May 2009 15:19:53 +0000 http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/?p=1236#comment-4183 When Terry Carr read about cryogenics, his response was to write the story "Ozymandias", published in Again, Dangerous Visions. I haven't been able to forget that one ever since, and that's why the notion doesn't appeal. When Terry Carr read about cryogenics, his response was to write the story “Ozymandias”, published in Again, Dangerous Visions. I haven’t been able to forget that one ever since, and that’s why the notion doesn’t appeal.

]]>