Cryonics: Can I Take Door No. 3?

Chris_Roberts

If you don't believe in an afterlife, then it seems you currently have two choices: cryonics or permanent death. Now, I don't believe that cryonics is pseudoscience, but it's still pretty poor odds (Robin Hanson uses an estimate of 5% here). Unfortunately, the alternative offers a chance of zero. I see five main concerns with current cryonic technology:

There is no proven revival technology, thus no estimate of costs
Potential damage done during vitrification which must be overcome
Because it cannot be legally done before death, potential decay between legal death and vitrification
Requires active maintenance at very low temperature
No guarantee that future societies will be willing to revive

So I wonder if we can do better.

I recall reading of juvenile forms of amphibians in desert environments that could survive for decades of drought in a dormant form, reviving when water returned. One specimen had sat on a shelf in a research office for over a century (in Arizona, if I recall correctly) and was successfully revived. Note: no particular efforts were made to maintain this specimen: the dry local climate was sufficient. It was suggested at the time that this could make an alternative method of preserving organs. Now the advantages of this approach (which I refer to flippantly as "dryonics") is:

Proven, inexpensive revival technology
Apparently the process does not cause damage itself
Proven revival technique may overcome legal obstacles of applying before legal death
Requires passive maintenance at low humidity (deserts would be ideal)
Presumably lower cost makes future revival more likely (still no guarantee, but that is a post in itself)

There is one big disadvantage of this approach, of course: no one knows how to do it (it's not entirely clear how the juvenile amphibians do it) or even if it would be possible in larger, more complex organisms. And, so far as I know, no one is working on it. But it would seem to offer a much better prospect than our current options, so I would suggest it worth investigating.

I am not a biologist, and I'm not sure where one would start developing such a technology. I frankly admit that I am sharing this in the hope that someone who does have an idea will run with it. If anyone knows of any work on these lines, or has an idea how to proceed, please send a comment or email. Or even if you have another alternative. Because right now, I don't consider our prospects good.

[Note: I am going on memory in this post; I really wish I could provide references, but there does not seem much activity along these lines that I can find. I'm not even sure what to call it: mummification? Probably too scary. Dehydration? Anyway feel free to add suggestions or link references.]

There is no proven revival technology, thus no estimate of costs
Potential damage done during vitrification which must be overcome
Because it cannot be legally done before death, potential decay between legal death and vitrification
Requires active maintenance at very low temperature
No guarantee that future societies will be willing to revive

So I wonder if we can do better.

Proven, inexpensive revival technology
Apparently the process does not cause damage itself
Proven revival technique may overcome legal obstacles of applying before legal death
Requires passive maintenance at low humidity (deserts would be ideal)
Presumably lower cost makes future revival more likely (still no guarantee, but that is a post in itself)

You didn't say destructive technologies you said "technologies of power" implying that the technological and scientific domains in this hypothetical future world would be stifled or non existent in order to prevent humans grasping power for themselves and threatening the reign of this "post human technocracy". This sounds like subjugation to me. You also say they would "decide what would become of the rest of us". This also sounds like complete totalitarian domination of the "old style human beings". Considering that the ideal world for me would be an egalitarian society in which everyone is afforded the same indispensable rights and liberties, where the power balance is roughly equal from person to person or where the leadership is transparent in its governing and is not afforded liberties others are not this does not sound like a utopian society.

I'm not backing the prevention of investigation into these "destabilising technologies" as you have christened them. I think that the expansion of knowledge in every domain is desirable though we should work out better ways of managing the consequences of such knowledge in some cases. But I am kind of confused as to why you think that relinquishment now is unacceptable (not that i'm advocating that it is acceptable) but that in the future you would welcome the idea that humans would be policed in order to prevent the development of technologies that could threaten the existence of the elite post humans or any independent innovation. Isn't that analogous to a hypothetical example of present day humans policing or preventing technologies that could threaten their existence in the future?However you reject this strategy as relinquishment. If you think this is an unsustainable method now then why do you think it will be a viable solution in the future? Do you think that it would be more acceptable because it would be easier to enforce in a more strictly policed and less tolerant society. Do you object to "relinquishment" on an ideological basis or a pragmatic basis?

Also I'm not sure we need the distinction between the two kinds of problems: global warming, lack of resources (food/ energy) and over population are all problems that would continue to exist without longevity and would be exacerbated by longevity. Colonisation of space is a separate issue, it isn't a problem as such except in that it is not currently possible. So some may find it problematic in this respect.

I didn't just mean political power or power over people. Consider the "power" to fly to another country or to talk with someone on the other side of the world. Science and technology produce a lot of powers like that. The advance of knowledge to the point that you could rejuvenate a person or revive someone from cryonics implies an enormous leap in that sort of power.

Total relinquishment doesn't work because it requires absolutely everyone else to be persuaded of your view. If just one country opts out and keeps doing R&D, then relinquishmen... (read more)