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AngryParsley comments on Costs to (potentially) eternal life - Less Wrong
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I would be interested to hear from those who are actually signed up for cryonics. In what ways, if any, have you changed your willingness to undertake risks?
For example, when flying, do you research the safety records of the airlines that you might travel with, and always choose the best? Do you ride a motorbike? Would you go skydiving or mountaineering? Do you cross the road more carefully since discovering that you might live a very long time? Do you research diet, exercise, and other health matters? Do you always have at the back of your mind the thought: if I had a heart attack right now, what plans are in place for a controlled deanimation? And so on.
The same question applies to those who, whether or not they take cryonics seriously, do take seriously the possibility of radical life-extension coming soon enough to radically extend their own lives. How strenuously are you trying to stay alive and healthy long enough for your fragile vessel to reach the promised land?
ETA: bgrah449 writes in a comment below:
Someone who takes cryonics seriously and is signed up, already believes their life expectancy has gone up drastically. Or at least, drastically*probability of revival.
I don't think I have. Compared to most people I'm probably a bit of a risk-taker.
I don't research airline safety records. I ride a motorcycle. I haven't gone skydiving or mountaineering but both of those sound fun. I don't cross the road more carefully. I exercise (I've always enjoyed running), but don't diet (I've always enjoyed ice cream).
Unless I'm discussing cryonics with someone else I mostly don't think about it.
Most of this is just scope insensitivity and the availability bias: for instance, air travel is ridiculously safe, but airplane accidents are well publicized. Researching airline safety records is a little silly given how safe air travel is. I ride a motorcycle too, and it's much safer than it appears to some people, as long as you are properly trained, wear a helmet, and don't drink and drive. Same goes for skydiving or mountaineering.
I agree with you except for when it comes to motorcycles. Motorcycles are 4-5 times more deadly than cars in terms of death rate per vehicle and 30 times more deadly in terms of deaths per miles traveled. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety#Accident_rates ) Some of that is due to unsafe behavior by riders, but the fact is that a metal cage protects you better than a metal horse. Also, losing tire grip in a car means you slide. Losing grip on a bike means you fall.