Cryogenic freezing... for cranks? Or the optimistic?

[Broken Pope]

I tend to regret the fact our generation will never get to see the ultimate fruits of humanity's technological achievements.

We are probably one of the last few generations that will have to worry about aging and dying.

Any sense in having your body frozen for a few thousand years to see if they can revive you? They're already freezing ovums. If they can do it with one cell...

Anybody thinking of having themselves stored? Or is it for the loons? :hmmm:

[chris_uk_83]

It can't be done on something as large as a human. In order to successfully freeze and revive a creature you have to be able to flash freeze every cell in its body instantaneously, this causes the water to crystalise in such a way that it doesn't rupture the cell membrane and destroy the cell. If the freezing is done slowly then ice crystals break apart the cell, killing it. If enough cells are destroyed in this way the organism will die.

Since you can't flash freeze the inside of a human (or indeed any part of them inside about a 2mm thickness), due to the thermal conductive properties of flesh and bone we are destined to be killed by the freezing process. So if you're frozen alive, you're not waking up.

At the moment the biggest thing we have managed to freeze and then revive is a rather small spider.

Nice though it would be to see what happens to humanity it's unfortunately a pipe dream. Also, what makes you think that anyone would want to wake you up again?

[Gelgoog]

Also, what makes you think that anyone would want to wake you up again?

human time capsil? they could put you on display in a museum and people could laugh at how stupid 20th century man was

[KoS]

human time capsil? they could put you on display in a museum and people could laugh at how stupid 20th century man was

lol, I can just imagine them opening a Ted Williams exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY... featuring the great baseball player himself...

I personally think it's somewhat ridiculous... at least, at this point in time. Maybe in a few decades or a century or two we'll have the necessary technology to freeze somebody cryogenically and successfully bring them back to life at a later date. But to do it now would be foolish.

By the way, there's a rumor out there that Walt Disney had his body frozen in 1966, to be unfrozen when the cure for cancer is discovered. And it's just that - a rumor. He was cremated and his ashes were buried (at ground temperature) in California. But that is kind of fitting of the great imagination and optimism that Disney had, isn't it?

[boofhead]

human time capsil? they could put you on display in a museum and people could laugh at how stupid 20th century man was

It's just a newfound mummification process like the Egyptians had, with a different kind of hope involved. In my mind it's like a religion, as the entire process involves hope of a post-death resurrection. We don't tend to laugh at the ancient Egyptians, do we? We are fascinated. In a few thousand years when these cryo-idiots are forensically analyzed they may learn a lot about our DNA makeup, general health etc.

[Richard]

It's just a newfound mummification process like the Egyptians had, with a different kind of hope involved. In my mind it's like a religion, as the entire process involves hope of a post-death resurrection. We don't tend to laugh at the ancient Egyptians, do we? We are fascinated. In a few thousand years when these cryo-idiots are forensically analyzed they may learn a lot about our DNA makeup, general health etc.

Though these cryo-idiots (particularly more recent ones) are also vastly more well preserved than mummies. No one in this thread is really qualified to talk about such things I don't think; Cluny simply mocks everything, you angrily dismiss the concept, I don't have a degree in anything-ology, Chief Astook is linking to a company that wants your money...Chris appears knowledgable but probably just read up on wikipedia (sorry if you do actually know your stuff Chris, feel free to correct me)

Therefore this thread is currently fairly useless, as it's a matter that requires some pretty good understanding of the processes involved.

[Chief Astook]

Though these cryo-idiots (particularly more recent ones) are also vastly more well preserved than mummies. No one in this thread is really qualified to talk about such things I don't think; Cluny simply mocks everything, you angrily dismiss the concept, I don't have a degree in anything-ology, Chief Astook is linking to a company that wants your money...Chris appears knowledgable but probably just read up on wikipedia (sorry if you do actually know your stuff Chris, feel free to correct me)

Therefore this thread is currently fairly useless, as it's a matter that requires some pretty good understanding of the processes involved.

Mr. skeptical have you in fact thought of the logical thing about alcor.

they are researching cryogenics, therefore they ask for donations, in return you get to be a part of their research wether it works or not. Hmm doesnt all science require funding to research things?

its just like investing in what the new ipod is going to look like.

[Maverick]

Also, what makes you think that anyone would want to wake you up again?

Good question. We already have too many people on this Earth, if the number continues to grow and people live longer in the future, why on Earth would they bother waking up old relics?

[Cluny the Scourge]

Good question. We already have too many people on this Earth, if the number continues to grow and people live longer in the future, why on Earth would they bother waking up old relics?

And it isn't as though you're going to have any skills or knowledge that will be of any use to anyone in the future. You'll be a dinosaur - a fossil. A nothing. A joke. A fool who thought that he would grace the future with his unwanted corpsicle presence as a courtesy and that they would be ecstatically happy to greet him, possibly making him a space-pilot like Buck Rogers or something, and asking him to make love to all their women to infuse DNA uncontaminated by all the radiation from World War 3.

If I had responsibility for such frozen corpses as a citizen of the Terran Republic circa 2750 AD, I would have them all destroyed. How could I, as a bureaucrat loyal to the High Law-Giver, justify the waste of resources implicit in any other action?

[Cluny the Scourge]

If you're going to spend a vast sum of money on having yourself frozen and stored for hundreds of years on the basis of the assumption that humanity will one day develop some kind of fantastical technology that will make revival possible, why not just assume that humanity will one day develop a means to transfer consciousnesses forward in time into new bodies.

This latter assumption is as improbable and 100% less expensive.

[Redem]

If you're going to spend a vast sum of money on having yourself frozen and stored for hundreds of years on the basis of the assumption that humanity will one day develop some kind of fantastical technology that will make revival possible, why not just assume that humanity will one day develop a means to transfer consciousnesses forward in time into new bodies.

This latter assumption is as improbable and 100% less expensive.

Time travel is a far more improbable idea than being able to repair the damage caused by freezing, and then to resuscitate the person.

[Chief Astook]

why not take a look at an actual source

http://www.alcor.org/

[Broken Pope]

why not take a look at an actual source

http://www.alcor.org/

I read the link. Obviously not the most impartial of souces, but it made sense.

To paraphrase: death occurs when tissue-damage becomes irreversible. In the last 100 years, that has put the timing of brain-death back by some minutes. There is no physical law that prevents an organism that has shut down from being restarted and techniques now exist to prevent the formation of ice-crystals in animal cells when they are flash-frozen.

So basically; watch this space. :hmmm:

[Richard]

There is actually some really interesting stuff on that site http://www.alcor.org/FAQs/faq02.html#stops

Still, I can't seem to find anything on how they intend to revive people. They have the preservation downpat though it seems. Though I do feel bad for the poor first people who were "preserved" in the 60s, they're likely pretty damaged by the sounds of it.

[Cluny the Scourge]

Though I do feel bad for the poor first people who were "preserved" in the 60s, they're likely pretty damaged by the sounds of it.

You mean you feel more bad for them than for anyone else who's dead?

[Captain Arrrgh!]

You mean you feel more bad for them than for anyone else who's dead?

Those cats are going to be so screwed up when we revive them. They'll be dancing the watuzi, wearing pokadot bikinis, and calling everone
daddy-o.

[Richard]

You mean you feel more bad for them than for anyone else who's dead?

Yes, because these ones actually spent $50,000 on it.

[portugal11]

ill wait for nanotechnology to improve

[Captain Arrrgh!]

I don't know about you scurvy dogs, but I"m leaving nothing to chance.
I've got my homemade cryogenics kit in my closet. When I'm ready I'll just inject myself full of 3000 cc of novocaine.

It's just a newfound mummification process like the Egyptians had, with a different kind of hope involved. In my mind it's like a religion, as the entire process involves hope of a post-death resurrection. We don't tend to laugh at the ancient Egyptians, do we? We are fascinated. In a few thousand years when these cryo-idiots are forensically analyzed they may learn a lot about our DNA makeup, general health etc.

Really good analogy, Boof.

[BFMPsychoXCORE]

I'm seriously trying to get it done... Ya know I may only be 16 yrs old... But I Don't want to live in the times we do... I just want to be frozen and woken up in about 100 years or so...
Yea I might not have any good reason for all this but I don't necissarily need one... I mean the world to day is soo corrupt and out of control everyone just needs an escape and I think this is mine... Because at my age I can't leave the country or anything so why not just be frozen? Its a great idea for me and I just need some help achieving it...