orthonormal comments on Against Cryonics & For Cost-Effective Charity - Less Wrong

10 Post author: multifoliaterose 10 August 2010 03:59AM

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Comment author: multifoliaterose 10 August 2010 06:04:46AM *  10 points [-]

Getting a heart transplant has instrumental value that cryonics does not.

A heart transplant enables the recipient to continue being a productive member of society. If the recipient is doing a lot to help other people then the cost of the heart transplant is easily outweighed by the recipients' productivity.

By way of contrast, if society gets to the point where cryopreserved people can be restored, it seems likely that society will have advanced to the point where such people are much less vital to society.

Also, the odds of success for a heart transplant are probably significantly higher than the odds of success for cryorestoration.

Edit: See a remark in a post by Jason Fehr at the GiveWell Mailing List:

Think of Bill Clinton, who has now had a heart bypass as well as a cardiac catheterization at age 63. The world will almost certainly be better off having Bill Clinton around for a few more decades running his foundation, thanks to all that cardiovascular research we've been discussing.

I don't think that having Bill Clinton cryopreserved would be nearly as valuable to society as the cardiovascular operations that he underwent were.

Comment author: orthonormal 10 August 2010 03:12:17PM 9 points [-]

If the recipient is doing a lot to help other people then the cost of the heart transplant is easily outweighed by the recipients' productivity.

So, then, should prospective heart transplant recipients have to prove that they will do enough with their remaining life to benefit humanity, in order for the operation to be approved?

I think you're holding cryonics to a much higher standard than other expenditures.

Comment author: RichardChappell 12 August 2010 08:34:46AM 1 point [-]

should prospective heart transplant recipients have to prove that they will do enough with their remaining life to benefit humanity, in order for the operation to be approved?

Distinguish personal morality from public enforcement. In a liberal society our personal purchases should (typically) not require anyone else's permission or "approval". But it still might be the case that it would be a better decision to choose the more selfless option, even if you have a right to be selfish. That seems just as true of traditional medical expenditures as it does of cryonics.

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