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Has anyone had weird experiences with Alcor?
Answer by SynapticJan 12, 202260

Putting aside the specifics about Alcor for a moment, what about this would this make you want to drop out of Cryonics entirely? There are other options.

  1. Cryonics Institute is another reasonable organization.
  2. Oregon Cryonics has fairly cheap choices if that is your concern.
  3. You could try to advocate for better options and/or wait for others to emerge before “giving up”.
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Conflict in Kriorus becomes hot today, updated, update 2
Synaptic4y60

This is from Wikipedia and doesn't really explain the full context. Cryonics in the 1960s/early 1970s was an absolute failure, but within the US, they learned hard lessons since then. Alcor and Cryonics Institute are both non-profits and seem like pretty stable organizations. If you disagree about that please let me know why. 

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Cryonics signup guide #1: Overview
Synaptic4y100

A relevant data point is that, as of a few years ago, I believe Mike Darwin wrote that he was still signed up with Alcor. As he pointed out, despite the problems with existing organizations, cryonics is the only game in town for avoiding death. 

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Reflections on the cryonics sequence
Synaptic4y50

Thank you for all of your work on doing this. I really appreciate it. 

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#3: Choosing a cryonics provider
Synaptic4y30

Sure there is plenty of evidence. 

Here is a good starting point: http://chronopause.com/chronopause.com/index.php/2011/02/23/does-personal-identity-survive-cryopreservation/index.html

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#2: Neurocryopreservation vs whole-body preservation
Synaptic5y100

I think nanotech is "magic" in the same way that uploading is "magic". Neither exists but there's no good reason to think that either wouldn't be possible imo. 

What am I missing about this? 

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Why the outside view suggests that longevity escape velocity is a long time away and cryonics is a much more feasible option for those alive today: signal-boosting a comment by Calm-Meet9916 on Reddit
Synaptic5y20

Sadly, Bederson’s evidence is mostly anecdotal and therefore not very trustworthy.

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Anti-Aging: State of the Art
Synaptic5y10

However, several of the parameters would be likely to be unaffected by increased funding: 

  • Cryonics is continuously legal
  • Cryonic revival is permitted

On the contrary, I very much expect that more funding would help with these factors. The success of cryonics is limited by sociopolitical factors, and the more people who have buy-in, the more likely people are to be protected when in long-term cryopreservation. 

The intention of my post was not to encourage reductions in funding into cryonics; rather, to increase awareness among LessWrongers readers about anti-aging. 

This is an admirable goal. =) 

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Anti-Aging: State of the Art
Synaptic5y10

I strongly support anti-aging research. I'm not clear on what your criticism is of cryonics. Perhaps I missed where you explained why you think that cryonics will not work? For example, where in the Drake equation does your probability differ from Steve Harris's or Mike Perry's? 

Also, you point out the large number of organizations and companies involved in aging research. Surely the fact that there are way fewer in cryonics means that it is has merit from an underfunding perspective? 

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I'm looking for alternative funding strategies for cryonics.
Answer by SynapticJun 30, 201940

You might get better responses at New Cryonet or r/cryonics. The cryonics community doesn't seem to be very active here.

It's a tricky question and depends a lot on your circumstances.

First, there are often cheaper options available. For example, CI is cheaper than Alcor. See https://www.reddit.com/r/cryonics/comments/8ymikj/oc_how_much_does_is_cost_to_preserve_a_brain/

If you have a terminal illness and don't have enough money for even cheaper options like CI, you can try to get in touch with the Venturists, who might be able to vouch for your situation and coordinate a fundraiser (they have done this in the past). Their website seems to be down but I think they are still active: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721065012/http://www.venturist.info/

Best of luck. I'm really sorry for your situation. It's a shame that cryonics is ridiculed and stigmatized and as a result the costs are much higher and this kind of situation is so hard to coordinate.

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30Interest in Biostasis: Much More Than You Wanted to Know. (Results from the ACX 2021 Biostasis/Cryonics Survey)
4y
1
32Why the outside view suggests that longevity escape velocity is a long time away and cryonics is a much more feasible option for those alive today: signal-boosting a comment by Calm-Meet9916 on Reddit
5y
5
15Why I think worse than death outcomes are not a good reason for most people to avoid cryonics
8y
29
12Can we decrease the risk of worse-than-death outcomes following brain preservation?
10y
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36Mike Darwin on animal research, moral cowardice, and reasoning in an uncaring universe
13y
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10Brief response to kalla724 on preserving personal identity with vitrification
13y
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26Mike Darwin on the Less Wrong intelligentsia
13y
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7Umbilical cord stem cell banking for future medical use
14y
4
23Mike Darwin on Kurzweil, Techno-Optimism, and Delusional Stances on Cryonics
14y
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33Mike Darwin on Steve Jobs's hypocritical stance towards death
14y
78
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