I’d like to state that I’m neutral on the subject of cryonics, I’m only posting this to play devils advocate, if not to stir up the debate a bit. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. English isn’t my first language.
To make groupthink testable, Irving Janis devised eight symptoms indicative of groupthink (1977).
(My interpretations may be flawed, feel free to point out any flaws in my logic)
Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
Cryonics = eternal life in the future, relatively high financial risk, relatively low risk of being revived. The risk is still worth if if you could possibly be alive again.
Rationalizing warnings that might challenge the group’s assumptions.
Reanimation in the future might be expensive, reanimation might not be possible, Alcor may go bankrupt, Conciousness may not be transferable.
Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
The diehards of the group seem to take no hesitation to call another person outside of their name if they simply do not agree with those who support cryonics.
Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, disfigured, impotent, or stupid.
“If you don’t sign your child up for cryonics you’re a lousy parent”
Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of “disloyalty”.
Not so much pressure as people questioning those who aren’t yet sold on cryonics just yet, or those who don’t believe in it all together.
Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
This obviously can’t be proven, I’m assuming some have omitted statements from their replies to this article to avoid conflict.
Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
I’m not so sure if there is an illusion of unanimity, seems that everyone is in agreement that cryonics is a logical/rational choice. This maybe be an illusion, I don’t know.
Mind guards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.
Hello Eliezer.
I’d like to state that I have no intentions of attacking anyone discussing this topic. I’m only trying to stir up friendly debate.
I’d like to state that I’m neutral on the subject of cryonics, I’m only posting this to play devils advocate, if not to stir up the debate a bit. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. English isn’t my first language.
Cryonics = eternal life in the future, relatively high financial risk, relatively low risk of being revived. The risk is still worth if if you could possibly be alive again.
Reanimation in the future might be expensive, reanimation might not be possible, Alcor may go bankrupt, Conciousness may not be transferable.
The diehards of the group seem to take no hesitation to call another person outside of their name if they simply do not agree with those who support cryonics.
“If you don’t sign your child up for cryonics you’re a lousy parent”
Not so much pressure as people questioning those who aren’t yet sold on cryonics just yet, or those who don’t believe in it all together.
This obviously can’t be proven, I’m assuming some have omitted statements from their replies to this article to avoid conflict.
I’m not so sure if there is an illusion of unanimity, seems that everyone is in agreement that cryonics is a logical/rational choice. This maybe be an illusion, I don’t know.
Hello Eliezer.
I’d like to state that I have no intentions of attacking anyone discussing this topic. I’m only trying to stir up friendly debate.
This appears to be a duplicate posting, and you should probably delete it.