Notes From The Fringes of Longevity Advocacy

Matt, my Significant Other, is a fellow engineer and quirky-geeky sort, and he’s been very supportive of my continuing involvement in activities relating to life extension, transhumanism, etc.  However, he isn’t really the “activist” type, and doesn’t tend to get irate like I do about things like death and discrimination, or gleeful to the point of running around in circles about how awesome being alive is. 

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Posted by Ronald Havelock  on  02/15  at  12:53 PM

Regarding your post "Existence is Wonderful Feb 14, 2007. Matt is absolutely correct that life extension and cryonics are two entirely seperate topics. However, cryonics is entirely dependent on the assumption that efforts to extend life more or less indefinitely will eventually prove successful. At your age, in your late 20's, you still have the luxury of hope that discoveries and advances in medicine during your natural life time, which you might realisticly project to be about 50 years, will extend to such an extent that your own life and maybe Matt's life will be thus extended well beyond those 50. Unfortunately I cannot entertain the luxury of such a hope as I am now in my early seventies. Thus I have only one slim shot which is suspended animation via cryonics. I am signed up with the Cryonics Institute of Clinton Michigan for that reason. I have also begun to write a book on cryonics which emphasizes the point that Matt made to you, and I would be glad to share a summary of that material with you if you would be interested. Ronald G. Havelock, Ph.D, O.D.(currently residing in Waianae, Hawaii)

Posted by AnneC  on  02/17  at  02:31 AM

Ronald, thank you for commenting.

With regard to cryonics depending on an assumption that rejuvenation will eventually be possible -- I'd term it more of a hope than an assumption (since I don't think we can assume much at all about the future with any particular certainty; rather, all we can do is try to optimize our actions so as to help increase the probability of the future we want to develop actually developing).

That said, I am always very pleased to hear from people who would, by today's definitions, be termed "senior citizens" taking an active interest in cryonics and longevity. That's wonderful that you are signed up, and your attitude seems refreshingly rational (e.g., you're not in denial of the probable necessity of cryonics, nor defeatist about the potential that you might live to enjoy the future).

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