Reworded. Apparently this comment was very unclear. Original in italics below.
See the comment below: My primary reason for signing up for cryonics was because I got sick of the awkwardness, in important conversations, of trying to explain why cryonics was a good idea but I wasn’t signed up for cryonics.
The secondary considerations, though they did not swing the decision, are probably of much greater relevance to readers of this blog.
I have found that it’s not possible to be good only in theory. I have to hold open doors for little old ladies, even if it slows me down for a few precious seconds, because otherwise I start to lose my status as an altruist. In other words, I have found that I must be impractical in some places in order to maintain my ability to be practical in other places.
Cryonics strikes a blow against Death. It is not only of selfish significance. You can do it because you believe that humanity needs to get over this business of dying all the time, and you want to do yourself what you advocate that others do.
I don’t advocate that anyone sign up for cryonics in place of donating to the Singularity Institute. But it might be wiser to sign up for cryonics than to go out to a fancy dinner. It should come out of the “personal/aesthetic” account, not out of the “altruistic” account (yes, Virginia, you do have mental accounts; money is fungible to Bayesians but you are not one).
Original:
I did once think that. But I found out that it’s not possible to be good only in theory. That I still have to hold open doors for old ladies, even at the cost of seconds, because if I breeze right past them, I lose more than seconds. I have to strike whatever blows against Death I can. And, I have to be able to advocate for cryonics because it’s part of a general transhumanist philosophy and some senior transhumanists assume “you’re not taking it seriously” unless you’re signed up.
Your mileage may vary. I’d advise you to agonizingly trade off cryonics against eating out or going to movies, and not worry about trading it off against your donations to the Singularity Institute. (Yes, money is totally fungible in theory, but not in practice.)
Reworded. Apparently this comment was very unclear. Original in italics below.
See the comment below: My primary reason for signing up for cryonics was because I got sick of the awkwardness, in important conversations, of trying to explain why cryonics was a good idea but I wasn’t signed up for cryonics.
The secondary considerations, though they did not swing the decision, are probably of much greater relevance to readers of this blog.
I have found that it’s not possible to be good only in theory. I have to hold open doors for little old ladies, even if it slows me down for a few precious seconds, because otherwise I start to lose my status as an altruist. In other words, I have found that I must be impractical in some places in order to maintain my ability to be practical in other places.
Cryonics strikes a blow against Death. It is not only of selfish significance. You can do it because you believe that humanity needs to get over this business of dying all the time, and you want to do yourself what you advocate that others do.
I don’t advocate that anyone sign up for cryonics in place of donating to the Singularity Institute. But it might be wiser to sign up for cryonics than to go out to a fancy dinner. It should come out of the “personal/aesthetic” account, not out of the “altruistic” account (yes, Virginia, you do have mental accounts; money is fungible to Bayesians but you are not one).
Original:
I did once think that. But I found out that it’s not possible to be good only in theory. That I still have to hold open doors for old ladies, even at the cost of seconds, because if I breeze right past them, I lose more than seconds. I have to strike whatever blows against Death I can. And, I have to be able to advocate for cryonics because it’s part of a general transhumanist philosophy and some senior transhumanists assume “you’re not taking it seriously” unless you’re signed up.
Your mileage may vary. I’d advise you to agonizingly trade off cryonics against eating out or going to movies, and not worry about trading it off against your donations to the Singularity Institute. (Yes, money is totally fungible in theory, but not in practice.)