First of all, my friends aren’t interchangeable. It’s already a big step for me to be willing to make a presorted cryonics-friendly friend as a substitute for getting my entire existing cohort of companions on board, or even just one. Second of all, waiting until after revival introduces another chain of “ifs”—particularly dreadful ifs—into what’s already a long, tenuous chain of ifs.
Of course they aren’t. I’m just saying that I’d prefer making new friends to death, and that despite the fact that I love my friends very much, there’s nothing that says that they are the “best friends I can ever make” and that anybody else can only provide an inferior relationship.
Second of all, waiting until after revival introduces another chain of “ifs”—particularly dreadful ifs—into what’s already a long, tenuous chain of ifs.
Once again, between the certitude of death and the possibility of life in a post-friendly-singularity world, I’ll take the “ifs” even if it means doing hard things like re-building a social circle (not something easy for me).
I’m just having a really hard time imagining myself making the decision to die because I lost someone (or even everyone). In fact, I just lost my uncle (brain cancer), and I loved him dearly, he was like a second father to me. His death just made me feel even more strongly that I want to live.
But I suppose we could be at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to these kinds of things.
I guess I’m just more dependent on ready access to deeply connected others than you? This sounds like a matter of preferences, not a matter of correctly turning those preferences into plans.
If you need friends post suspension you can pay for my suspension (currently my budget goes to X-risk) and I will promise to spend a total of at least one subjective current human lifetime sincerely trying to be the best friend I can for you unless the revived get a total of less than 100 subjective human lifetimes of run-time in which case I will give you 1% of my total run-time instead. If that’s not enough, you can also share your run-time with me. I will even grant you the right to modify my reward centers to directly make me like you in any copy running on run time you give me. This offer doesn’t allow your volition to replace mine in any other respect if the issue is important.
You’re on. Alicorn, would you be so kind as to arbitrate? We need you to evaluate which of these three categories Michael’s offer fits in to:
Deeply Disturbing
Helpful
Just ‘somewhat’ disturbing all the way through to indifference.
Would ‘slightly amusing’ count as helpful if it served to create slightly more confidence in the prospect of actively seeking out the friendship the potentially cryonically inclined?
Yep, disturbing. “Deeply” might be pushing it a little. But a) I’ll have to mess with my budget to afford one suspension, let alone two, and while I’d chip in for my sister if she’d let me, people I do not yet know and love are not extended the same disposition. b) There’s presently no way to enforce such a promise. c) Even if there were, that kind of enforcement would itself be creepy, since my ethics would ordinarily oblige me to abide by any later change of mind. d) This arrangement does nothing to ensure that I will enjoy MichaelVassar’s company; I’m sure he’s a great person, but there are plenty of great people I just don’t click with. e) I do not like the idea of friendships with built-in time quotas, I mean, ew.
You’re forgetting the part where they revive you only when there is a cure for whatever you died from. You may be revived long before or after they are revived. And if that happens, there’s also the chance they can die again and not be stored before you’re revived. You’d probably have to give instructions to hold off on revival, otherwise, risk the missed connection.
First of all, my friends aren’t interchangeable. It’s already a big step for me to be willing to make a presorted cryonics-friendly friend as a substitute for getting my entire existing cohort of companions on board, or even just one. Second of all, waiting until after revival introduces another chain of “ifs”—particularly dreadful ifs—into what’s already a long, tenuous chain of ifs.
Of course they aren’t. I’m just saying that I’d prefer making new friends to death, and that despite the fact that I love my friends very much, there’s nothing that says that they are the “best friends I can ever make” and that anybody else can only provide an inferior relationship.
Once again, between the certitude of death and the possibility of life in a post-friendly-singularity world, I’ll take the “ifs” even if it means doing hard things like re-building a social circle (not something easy for me).
I’m just having a really hard time imagining myself making the decision to die because I lost someone (or even everyone). In fact, I just lost my uncle (brain cancer), and I loved him dearly, he was like a second father to me. His death just made me feel even more strongly that I want to live.
But I suppose we could be at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to these kinds of things.
I guess I’m just more dependent on ready access to deeply connected others than you? This sounds like a matter of preferences, not a matter of correctly turning those preferences into plans.
If you need friends post suspension you can pay for my suspension (currently my budget goes to X-risk) and I will promise to spend a total of at least one subjective current human lifetime sincerely trying to be the best friend I can for you unless the revived get a total of less than 100 subjective human lifetimes of run-time in which case I will give you 1% of my total run-time instead. If that’s not enough, you can also share your run-time with me. I will even grant you the right to modify my reward centers to directly make me like you in any copy running on run time you give me. This offer doesn’t allow your volition to replace mine in any other respect if the issue is important.
I’d bet karma at 4 to 1 odds that Alicorn finds this proposal deeply disturbing rather than helpful.
You’re on. Alicorn, would you be so kind as to arbitrate? We need you to evaluate which of these three categories Michael’s offer fits in to:
Deeply Disturbing
Helpful
Just ‘somewhat’ disturbing all the way through to indifference.
Would ‘slightly amusing’ count as helpful if it served to create slightly more confidence in the prospect of actively seeking out the friendship the potentially cryonically inclined?
Yep, disturbing. “Deeply” might be pushing it a little. But a) I’ll have to mess with my budget to afford one suspension, let alone two, and while I’d chip in for my sister if she’d let me, people I do not yet know and love are not extended the same disposition. b) There’s presently no way to enforce such a promise. c) Even if there were, that kind of enforcement would itself be creepy, since my ethics would ordinarily oblige me to abide by any later change of mind. d) This arrangement does nothing to ensure that I will enjoy MichaelVassar’s company; I’m sure he’s a great person, but there are plenty of great people I just don’t click with. e) I do not like the idea of friendships with built-in time quotas, I mean, ew.
“Deeply” seemed unlikely given that ‘deeply disturbing’ would have to be reserved in case Michael had seriously offered his services as a mercenary to carry out a kidnapping, decapitation, and non-consensual vitrification.
But it is so efficient! Surely Robin has made a post advocating such arrangements somewhere. ;)
So I guess that’s a “push” on the original terms of the bet, falling between “helpful” and “deeply disturbing”.
Yes, bookkeeper loses his overheads. That’s what the bookie gets for accepting bets with ties.
Now, Robin, there’s a person who regularly deeply disturbs me.
You’re forgetting the part where they revive you only when there is a cure for whatever you died from. You may be revived long before or after they are revived. And if that happens, there’s also the chance they can die again and not be stored before you’re revived. You’d probably have to give instructions to hold off on revival, otherwise, risk the missed connection.