William P

If there is no supernatural "afterlife", then why not choose to remain alive? The feel-good hippy crap of "returning to the Earth" is an intellectually vapid answer that substitutes quasi-spritual ideals for the metaphysics of the religious, and I thereby do not want to hear that bs. Really, why not choose cryonics as a rational, scientific POTENTIAL to extend life, if oblivion is the only option to life? Do you fear the future as some great unknown that would be full of hardships, like having a job and paying rent forever in a wholly imaginary, bleak and desolate landscape of robot overlords? Do you fear the sci-fi world of strange aliens and weird technology? Perhaps Amish life is for you today. Join the great and powerful Luddites and be free of science and opression. Worship an atom bomb with other mutants.... Or, perhaps you're just too lazy to look up a cryonics group online, fill out their paperwork and be forced to contemplate the uncomfortable topic of mortality?

It seems that many space travel enthusiasts support the concept of interstellar travel through the use of hibernation or cryonics technologies. This seeming willingness to jump aboard a star-liner for adventure on far worlds is clearly at odds with the actual number of people signed up for cryonics as a vehicle to see such a future. Today's wanna-be space colonists, while interested in future tech, ignore the opportunities directly under their noses for reaching their bright and glorious intersteller worlds. Why is this so? Any astronauts want to explain why being a cryonaut in the future is good, but signing up for it today is not occurring?

With biotech unraveling the genome, it may be mere decades before most injury, disease, illness and infirmaty is cured. In the workplace the consequences of being physically very well are profound. Lazy workers, disabled or aged workers, injured workers and others no longer exist. Few if any excuses exist for failure to perform at optimal capacity with regard to any work task. Will sheer stupidity become a protected class as a "pre-existing condition" or will it be the basis for termination based upon rational safety concerns? Will young people become the new discriminated-against class for lack of experience that older worker have or will those years of experience become unacceptable threat factors to allowing older workers to continue in an industry? Will workers without mental enhancements (cybernetic implants to provide instant knowledge databases, biochemical enhancements to improve memory, artificial organs to extend memory and recall, and more) be necessary for jobs?

Looking for a place to download the WB's misguided effort at making a Dark Shadows series. The pilot made in 2004 was never aired and the concept was cancelled. All reports indicate that it was a monstrosity of an effort. Still, I have a friend seeking it and would love to find a link. Thanks mucho all!

Please answer given these parameters: It is understood that you'd be granted youth and health for the duration (excepting the occassional accident which is unavoidable). I don't want crappy "overpopulation leads to environmental decay" as it is clear that much of humanity will eventually be able to and will choose to leave the Earth for the high frontier. I am also not looking for religious excuses. Real reasons of why you fear an indefinately long and healthy and youthful lifespan.

Cryonics, the option of having your body frozen in an experiemental medical procedure that may result in revival in the future, is easily funded through life insurance and is hence quite cheaper than traditional funeral arrangements at a few thousand dollars versus tens of thousands left to the survivors to shoulder. Yet, few people choose this futuristic option, prefering to rot with worms than see an interplanetary, futuristic civilization of tomorrow. Weird and kinda inexplicable, eh?

Dogs with cybernetic enhancements allowing them to ave self-awareness and intelligent thoughts: the technology to enchance human consciousness and awareness is coming. Applied to animals, along with a dose of genetic engineering and we may soon not be the sole intelligent species on this planet. A new set of self-directed, sentient beings may forge their destinies by our side. Canines, mankinds most loyal and trusted symbiotic companions, are a logical choice for this. Phantom 2040AD portrayed this 20 years ago in a science fiction cartoon on during Saturday mornings. So, how about it? Want a sentient dog?

Whether Captain America frozen in ice or boys from Brazil, stories of Nazi cryonics reviving the past abound in science fiction. What was the actual state of cryogenic temperature technologies during the WW II era? Would it have been feasible for the Germans to have created underground Alpine bunkers able to freeze and preserve super-soldiers for a future war?

While Walt Disney was not cryonically preserved in a state of human suspended animation, in a hypothetical parallel world where he was so preserved at cryogenic temperatures, what do you think his first words upon awaking to the future would be? Family Guy already did this once, so no using their humor here.

Hypothetical question: Scientists discover a preserved cache of amber from a tree-like plant that lived for over 300 million years and pumped out sap. It has trapped blood sucking & scavaging insects from every epoch of evolution. These insects bear dna from most every animal that has existed over the ages. The dna is identified as to each species it came from and techniques to reproduce this life exist. What species do you choose to have cloned and bring back into this world? Miniature wooly mammoths would be my choice for a pet. Kids would love them like the Flintstones. Your choice?

As mankind depopulates Earth and few people are left behind, what kind of interesting things would you do over tens of thousands of years if you were suspended in cryonic stasis to be automatically awakened periodically to see the state of the Earth as one of the remaining caretakers of the planet? What fun would you / could you have? Genetics experiements? Raising other species to sentience? Reviving extinct flora and fauna? Tremendous engineering projects? Assume a cadre of worker bots to assist.

What are some of the famous, or infamous, persons of renoun who have been suspended in cryogenic temperature suspended animation?

Cryonicists, having been declared legally dead and issued a death certificate, will need to overcome this and other hurdles when returning to a civilized future. Marriage is clearly until "death do you part". As we are speaking of civil marriage, the civil declaration of death by certificate will terminate marriage, but not the underlying legal ties as parents and kin to family. Remarriage complicates the social fabric, but not necessarily the legal fabric. Death certificates can be amended. Perhaps a "revival" rider will be added to them to certify that such patients have returned from death? This would be within easier parameters than issuing new birth certificates or creating a whole new class of "rebirth certificates" that would require new forms of record keeping on state and county levels. Coupled with a court order, this seems the easist re-entry point into civil society. Other ideas? P.S. I'm not addressing this question to jackass nay-sayers, so stay away!

Ignorance of science often seems to turn people against science in a knee-jerk sort of manner. Technology, the application of science, benefits everyone on a daily basis in ways ranging from medicine, to eyewear, to information to defend individual rights, and more. Yet, technology, and the science behind it is often villified. This seems akin to situations wherein a celebrity is exhalted for their humanitarian efforts, but people pounce on the celebrity like vultures when one mis-statement is posted in the media. So, what do you think: is science "evil" incarnate and the cause for great trepidation about the next dawn?

Speculative fiction writers have long envisioned the potential of freezing people for long, dangerous space journeys to other worlds (both within our solar system and beyond). While the technology does not currently exist to freeze and thaw people properly, does the potential for such technology warrant a renewed look by private industry and by government researchers? Note naturally that nature provides for some animals to survive in subzero temperatures by freezing solid and thawing (including some frog species). Note also that the damage done is not from "cells exploding" as sometimes mischaracterized by opponents of cryonics, as vitrificiation and precludes this.

Fascinating. This question was and is placed in the philosophy category of the questions and was crafted, obviously as such to be a philosophical question. Yahoo did delete it as a violation. So, in this context, I again ask a fundamental question regarding the meaning of life and existance as noted above.

While death is considered by some to be inevitable, that is not necessarily the case. Using the past to predict the future is fraught with logical folly. While the premise that everyone has either died or is currently living holds true, it does not mean that everyone currently living is necessarily going to die. Life extension research, immortality "fans" and cryonicists all attempt to circumvent death. Extrapolations of tech progress by cryonicists lead to rational considerations that technology may reverse cryostasis and restore life. Immortalists believe that life extension research is approaching a point of successfully overcoming aging. Religious sorts often tout the immortality of a personal essence which will engage in another "after life". Assess the viability of these options in a logical context then rank and score them based upon success potential (death being 0 and other probabilities ranging to 10 on the scale). Incude traditional burial, cremation, etc....

This is about convenience and comfort tech. We all understand that cures for any and every disease and condition would be top priority, however, the mere fact that we have not overcome every infection or disability has never stopped the consumer market from coming up with new toys and gadgets. So, given that, what neat toys, gadgets and tech goodies are you wanting now? Flying cars? Commuter rocket packs? Holo-decks? Improved sliced bread? A better wheel?

Ground rules: Immortality through a "magic pill" system. No follow-ups or boosters needed. Immortality, in this context, shall mean young and healthy (not old or diseased). Many people would not choose the pill because they fear the uncertainty of life more than the fear the finality of death. Why choose to avoid the pill otherwise? What horrid evils will befall this world as immortal people cause the population to explode and the environment to fall into ruin... yada yada. Doom and gloom sayers, this is your chance to list the worst here. Create your hell on Earth. 3, 2, 1..start!

Libertarian have been astutely observed to be a rabble rarely unified in their cause. After all, wanting less government is already a hard-sell to the voters, much less the need for centralized party politics to allow Libertarians to achieve electoral victory. What carrots can be dangle before Libertarian to unite them in their efforts in order to achieve and then CONTINUE to build on success? What would entice YOU the Libertarian to become involved in the political machine like the dedicated DemiCans and RepubliCrats? Are electoral losses in a few races a sufficient discouragement for you to drop out and not participate, or could victories in other areas be "spun" in such a way as to energize the Libertarian base? Comments appreciate.