Comment on Less Wrong Q&A with Eliezer Yudkowsky: Ask Your Questions

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:27:21 GMT

An over-generalisation of self-preservation instincts certainly seems to be part of it.

On the other hand, one of my interests is in the spread of ideas. Without cryonic medalions, cryonic bracelets, cryonic advertising and cryonic preachers there wouldn't be any cryonics movement. There seems to be a "show your friends how much you care - freeze them!" dynamic.

I have a similar theory about the pyramids. Not so much a real voyage to the afterlife, but a means of reinforcing the pecking order in everyone's minds.

I am contrasting this signaling perspective with Robin's views - in part because I am aware that he is sympathetic to signaling theories in other contexts.

I do think signaling is an important part of cryonics - but I was probably rash to attempt to quantify the effect. I don't pretend to have any good way of measuring its overall contribution relative to other factors.

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