|
Post by phantomvirus on Nov 24, 2008 11:46:43 GMT -5
Ok, I think its high time for a new thread. Ok this one is on technology that is almost ready, cryogenics. For those who don't know, it basically means freezing the body so you can be alive in the future. Right now their is no technology that can freeze the body. However, there is technology that can freeze the brain. There is the possability that people with a in curable disease that will kill them like cancer or AIDS can have their heads frozen until a cure is found. Also they hope that also by that time a new body can be "cloned" since they are only a head There are some ethical problems with this as in these people are trying to cheat death, also this could be seen as a possible immortality. Also, millions of dollars are being used for research for this subject. Money that could be used for better purposes, like medical research. Lets get some thoughts together shall we This is about cryogenics, not cloning, so stay on subject! I'll say my personal view later. Sorry for this thread being so long... Remember: You Can't Stop the Virus!
|
|
|
Post by ineedhelp}N{ on Nov 24, 2008 12:34:47 GMT -5
well i did read an article once that they are trying to get a 'work around' for the freezing procedure so that they can study incurable diseases such as cancer. Personally im for it in that way, as cancer is a very vicious disease which i know first hand as my aunt has it all over her body, my dad has it, his dad and mum had it and so on. So sure from that medical research standpoint im all for it. However im NOT for it at the same time, simply because you will get all these rich jerks doing it to as you said 'cheat death'
Its kind of like the question everyone im sure by now has heard "whats the secret to immortality or everlasting life?" well once its fullproof id say the rich jerks will answer that question with "oh im getting frozen." Sure money could be used for 'better purposes' but as the same time governments completly take the piss (excuse my french) out of people and money by throwing it away on the most stupid of things. For example here in the UK they were going to bring into play Biometric ID cards which 'cant' be faked what so ever. Cant remember the exact cost by say it was £1 billion now its 3 times that and to me thats a complete waste of money.
So yeah you can say the money can be used for something better and something more meaningful but doesnt mean it would be
|
|
|
Post by ShoMeTheMoney]>USK<[ on Nov 24, 2008 16:48:05 GMT -5
I have no problem with this whatsoever. People are not cheating death seen as how they won't be alive while they are frozen. And by alive i mean living life, having experiences, learning, growing. If people want to sacrifice a certain time period of their life for antoher, so be it i don't care. They will die eventually. And those people that do have diseases, they can be frozen until there is a cure found, then they can actually live a real life. Not one in fear of when they are going to die, or in constant pain.
The money argument is nice but if it's not spent on this it is spent on stem cell research or some other controversial research. It's no difference to me.
|
|
|
Post by Silent_Treatment on Nov 24, 2008 17:14:38 GMT -5
Yea, I don't see how it is immortality unless you are cloning new body parts to replace old/malfunctioning ones, which would be a different topic altogether. Besides, even at the limit of current life expectancy, most people are already losing much of their mental capacity. Something would have to be discovered about improving mental deterioration before we can really worry about endless replacable body parts.
I personally think cryo would be cool. I would love to just pause my life now and wake up in 30 years to play some Unreal Tournament 20 or whatever they are up to by then (and whatever Matrixy hardware they are using). Of course, all of my knowledge would be more or less useless job-wise as the technologies would have totally changed. I would pretty much be back to stocking shelves. (or maybe "antique" PC repair!!)
ST
|
|
|
Post by binerexis on Nov 24, 2008 18:51:45 GMT -5
Sorry to not really contribute but wasn't the main problem the defrosting and not the freezing? I thought that the problem was that small pieces of ice were forming on/in the cells which meant the cells were destroyed when thawing was attempted.
|
|
spike
Junior Member
Posts: 88
|
Post by spike on Nov 24, 2008 21:30:30 GMT -5
I see it as cryogenics or being frozen is no different than being incinerated or cremated after death. It's just what the person choses and should be left at that.
|
|
|
Post by binerexis on Nov 25, 2008 11:20:04 GMT -5
I see it as cryogenics or being frozen is no different than being incinerated or cremated after death Except that they want to be brought back to life.
|
|
|
Post by Tsumetai on Nov 25, 2008 13:31:17 GMT -5
A: It's nowhere near ready.
B: It's not very plausible.
C: There's nothing wrong with attempting to achieve immortality.
D: Yes, the problem with cryonics is the formation of ice crystals which damage cells and protein, effectively turning you're body into mush upon defrosting.
E: Don't you dare go into the "the money could be used for better purposes" thing. There's a certain industry that rakes in an obscene amount of cash, tax free, that's wholy unnecessary. That substantial sum of money could certainly be put to better uses.
F: is for "Fox".
G: While cryonics is more of a private industry, I'm all for the government spending money on research and human advancement. In fact, that's one thing I think they should spend money on. The government could get more money by simply eliminating unnecessary programs like the "war on drugs" or the "faith-based initiative".
|
|
|
Post by binerexis on Nov 26, 2008 7:27:10 GMT -5
I can't really think of any real scientific uses for cryogenics. All I can really think of which is useful/effective is the freezing of donated sperm.
|
|
|
Post by Furtive}Nachos{ on Nov 26, 2008 10:23:56 GMT -5
HEY WALT DISNEY IS FROZEN!
Basically it is this... at todays day and age... I would not want to be cremated. why? cuz then your turned to ash and cant come back.
I enjoy my life... if I die early i would like to be frozen so if there is any time where i can come back i would like to...
absolutely no on here should be talking about money wasted on this because it is for science. No one in the world held a decent dispute against the large hadron collider which cost billions of dollars, so i dont want to hear it....
|
|
rnz
Junior Member
Dragons rule, Griffons drool
Posts: 88
|
Post by rnz on Nov 26, 2008 12:53:37 GMT -5
Personally im more neutral about cryogenics, but im not against it at all. Theres nothing wrong with cheating death, and its prolly painful as hell so i doubt rich people would actually do it. And i doubt it would be a million dollars toward a better purpose, the government already spent trillions to a failing one. And why would it be government funded? If its private funded, then theres nothing wrong with it being put to a potentially useless purpose.
Oh and i doubt this would really be cheating death anyways, because u would kinda be alive, but u wouldn't be awake to live that extra time you are frozen, so you would technically only be 'alive' for the time that you are awake.
also if you are frozen, it would be kinda odd, because prolly when you wake up a lot of things will have changed that you may have missed, such as family stuffs. Sad.
|
|
|
Post by Tsumetai on Nov 26, 2008 21:24:05 GMT -5
For the record, rnz, it's illegal to freeze someone who is currently alive. People who opt to be frozen do so after they are dead. Basically, the instant you're pronounced dead by a doctor or coroner, you're rushed to be frozen in a giant thermos, and your body filled with anti-freeze. Cryogenics is a post-death option, like burying, cremation, or donating your body to science; not something done to living people.
While I wouldn't want to be frozen when I die, let's face it, if you're burned or buried, you're not coming back, so cryogenics offer a small chance at survival. A very small chance, mind you, but it's better than wasting space in a cemetery for no good reason.
Personally, when I die, I want my body donated to science (for those who don't know, that usually means your body will be donated to universities so that aspiring medical students and surgeons can practice on you). The idea of your body being dissected like a frog in a science class is very unappealing to most, but I assure you, you don't feel a thing. I don't want to waste valuable land in a cemetery, and I don't want to be burned up for nothing, I like the idea that, even after I'm dead, I can benefit man-kind. I'm also an organ donor, and my blood type is O-, which means my blood is practically the equivalent of platinum in the donation world.
|
|
|
Post by phantomvirus on Nov 29, 2008 11:16:49 GMT -5
Wow, glad to know everyone’s feelings on the subject. I actually agree with Tsumetai about wanting to donate my body to science. Whether you believe your soul goes somewhere or that when you die you just cease to exist, you don't need that body any more. I wish I could have my bones displayed in some biology class or anatomy class but unfortunately they don’t allow that anymore What would really be cool is that I wish that before they dissected me they put something into my body like a cell phone to scare the snot out the student who opens me Anyway, RNZ does have a point because if you did get defrosted and survive, everyone you knew would be long gone. Yah, you'd be able to enjoy things with the future like holographic gaming or cars that run on nitrogen but still, its hard to realize that everyoen single person you knew before was gone. With the money issue, I didn't say that the money would be used for some better purpose; I was just using it as an example, nothing more. I agree with everyone else, if it didn't go into cryo, it would just go somewhere else that’s useless. Anyway, that’s all for know Remember: You Can't Stop the Virus! P.S Foxes are awesome!
|
|