It's true that we don't have any experience telling us we will survive if we sign up for cryonics, so there's no way to even estimate its chances of success.
We do however have lots of experience making it very clear we are definitely dead if we don't.
My point was not so much about cryonics perse, but with the fact that most of the example 'heuristics' and many of the ones posted, are not heuristics at all - but more like little 'wisdoms'.
I understand the reasoning of the procryonics. But heuristics are not about reasoning - they are about experience. The interesting point of some heuristics is that we do not not really understand this reasoning -- we just see the correlations. But if there is no experience, no correlation, there is no heuristic.
Even the examples that actually have some evidence are pro...
We use heuristics when we don't have the time to think more, which is almost all the time. So why don't we compile a big list of good quality heuristics that we can trust? (Insert eloquent analogy with mathematical theorems and proofs.) Here are some heuristics to kick things off:
Make important decisions in a quiet, featureless room. [1]
Apply deodorant before going to bed rather than any other time. [1]
Avoid counterfactuals and thought experiments in when talking to other people. [Because they don't happen in real life. Not in mine at least (anecdotal evidence). For example with the trolley, I would not push the fat man because I'd be frozen in horror. But what if you wouldn't be? But I would! And all too often the teller of a counterfactual abuses it by crafting it so that the other person has to give either an inconsistent or unsavory answer. (This proof is a stub. You can improve it by commenting.)]
If presented with a Monty Hall problem, switch. [1]
Sign up for cryonics. [There are so many. Which ones to link? Wait, didn't Eliezer promise us some cryonics articles here in LW?]
In chit-chat, ask questions and avoid assertions. [How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie]
When in doubt, think what your past and future selves would say. [1, also there was an LW article with the prince with multiple personality disorder chaining himself to his throne that I can't find. Also, I'm not sure if I should include this because it's almost Think More.]
I urge you to comment my heuristics and add your own. One heuristic per comment. Hopefully this takes off and turns into a series if wiki pages. Edit: We should concentrate on heuristics that save time, effort, and thought.