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What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

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Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#111

I thought the idea is the brain is going to be scanned and uploaded to the Matrix.

I think that’s the most likely successful outcome.

1) human mind can be simulated

2) human consciousness is totally dependent on physical connections of brain neurons

3) something like nanobots are able to determine the frozen brain connections despite the damage of being frozen

4) some organization is curious enough to do the work to bring you back

5) live your second life, hopefully in some type of humanoid android and not your great-great-great-grandkids PlayStation 25

The likelihood of all of that happening is probably pretty low. But you have 0% chance of coming back if you don’t get frozen.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#112
post #70

I find the whole concept hilarious. There's an implicit assumption that someone in the future will be bothered to resurrect a frozen body, then resurrect them from death (since they already died before being popsicle-ified). And even if they could be bothered, the thawed would be a lab experiment, owned by whatever corporation pulled off the magic. And if magically they came out of the ordeal functional and free, the…

Reminds me of an old movie called "The Asphyx" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Asphyx

Since everyone is sharing related films, might I recommend Dennis Potter’s "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus", which deals directly with this theme?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaoke_(TV_series)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Lazarus

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#113
post #94
post #62

unfortunate that the author didn't bother to distinguish between the effects of state-of-the-art cryopreservation by vitrification and the older cryopreservation procedures that produced the massive fracture damages they mention an awful lot of the article seems to be about how weird it is for people to study things carefully and try to do things that are not known to be possible, with the implicit subtext that being…

Didn't go so well for Kim Suozzi. https://www.alcor.org/docs/alcor-case-report-a-2643.pdf

Sure, and experimental things fail all the time. Doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying. Learning from failures is how progress is made.

I'm skeptical of this cryonics stuff, but I can see the appeal: even if the chance of being eventually revived is a tiny fraction of 1%, if money isn't an issue, why not? If humanity doesn't destroy itself over the next century or two, it might be fun to see what the future is like.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#114
post #113
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't go so well for Kim Suozzi. https://www.alcor.org/docs/alcor-case-report-a-2643.pdf

Sure, and experimental things fail all the time. Doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying. Learning from failures is how progress is made. I'm skeptical of this cryonics stuff, but I can see the appeal: even if the chance of being eventually revived is a tiny fraction of 1%, if money isn't an issue, why not? If humanity doesn't destroy itself over the next century or two, it might be fun to see what the future is like.

Ok, but this is what people pursuing perpetual motion say, too. Meanwhile, the fundamentals of what's being attempted here are pretty implausible. Not all scientific advancements pattern match to the conventional journal article track on which most science is done today, but the oddball projects are signaling something.

I don't like getting super deep into these threads, because my normal tendency will be to nerd out on all the reasons I think Alcor is kind of shady, but I'm acutely aware that there are real people involved here and these situations are always incredibly sad. I really just want to chime in to push back on the idea that "modern" cryonics have the problems worked out; I think it's kind of likely that the insurmountable problems here are fractal.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#115
post #102
post #70

I find the whole concept hilarious. There's an implicit assumption that someone in the future will be bothered to resurrect a frozen body, then resurrect them from death (since they already died before being popsicle-ified). And even if they could be bothered, the thawed would be a lab experiment, owned by whatever corporation pulled off the magic. And if magically they came out of the ordeal functional and free, the…

Humanity has tended to become more compassionate over time. It would have been unthinkable centuries ago that people donate money, time and effort to help those in distant lands; now it's commonplace. A frozen body from the past would be primitive and foreign to people in the future, but there are all manner of charities devoted to helping those (including helping with "id, taxes, all the fun stuff") who are primitiv…

> It would have been unthinkable centuries ago that people donate money, time and effort to help those in distant lands

In 1847 the Choctaw nation sent money to Ireland to help with the famine.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#116
post #62

unfortunate that the author didn't bother to distinguish between the effects of state-of-the-art cryopreservation by vitrification and the older cryopreservation procedures that produced the massive fracture damages they mention an awful lot of the article seems to be about how weird it is for people to study things carefully and try to do things that are not known to be possible, with the implicit subtext that being…

Don't let the idiots get you down - the world is, and has been, becoming friendlier to little niches of people over time. The smart weirdos have been kicking butt for a long time now (at least the ones that can get to a friendly enclave) and this is set to grow exponentially.

And if you're still pessimistic, consider this. A person I otherwise rabidly disagree with once said "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". Well, military power is also now accruing to those with the best ideas (see all the drones and cyber-war lately).

The world is slowly turning into nerd paradise!

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#117
post #69

Something I find fascinating about living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that Cryonics has had occasional bursts of interest around here dating back to the 1970s... which means there are genuinely warehouses out here that have had frozen human bodies sitting in them for 40+ years at this point! I keep hoping to score a tour of one some day.

That's assuming the companies managing those bodies/warehouses haven't gone bankrupt and chucked the bodies in a dumpster in that intervening 40 years

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#118
post #94
post #62

unfortunate that the author didn't bother to distinguish between the effects of state-of-the-art cryopreservation by vitrification and the older cryopreservation procedures that produced the massive fracture damages they mention an awful lot of the article seems to be about how weird it is for people to study things carefully and try to do things that are not known to be possible, with the implicit subtext that being…

Didn't go so well for Kim Suozzi. https://www.alcor.org/docs/alcor-case-report-a-2643.pdf

No post body was provided.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#119
post #45
post #10

Years ago when I was in medical school, I concluded to improve quality of life, no matter how finite, is a better endeavour than to prolong it. There's something tremendously philosophically satisfying to recognizing that death is just the recycling of life so that new life can happen.

A very predictable line of thought to have in your twenties

If there’s enlightenment to be had, don’t withhold it.

Re: What happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

#120
post #67

So here is one of my current fav. conspiracy theories AND it involves Elon. Remember the first payload of his "Falcon Heavy" rocket - some tesla or other? Had a tailor's dummy in a space suit strapped in the front seat. That was a real person in the suit who had paid for the most effective, reliable and longest lasting cryogenic freeze available. No maintenance power required. Will continue to be frozen even if the e…

The recent conspiracy I read is that Elon might be making clones of himself. The last post Ye (Kanye) mades was a symbol that had a star of David with a swastika in it. And Elon personally kicked him off twitter immediately. But that's actually a symbol for this cultish religious group. "Raëlism teaches that an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim created humanity using their advanced technology. It claims th…

Elohim, God on high.
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