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His review appeared (but appears no longer) at ovo127.com. It is quoted in full above ('not my style'). My publisher declined to use it on the back cover of my book.

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The only review there says "Trevor Blake is the great underground thinker of the 21st Century." Where did Hanson's review appear?

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Try tinyurl.com/theuniqueone

Original post added close parenthesis to the url. Above should work. Thank you!

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Broken link.

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Professor Hanson practices what he preaches. He gave me the first review of my book "Confessions of a Failed Egoist" (tinyurl.com/theuniqueone)

"I read and then skimmed your book, but couldn't relate to it. I prefer clear and important claims to be analyzed, while you mostly seemed to ramble and free associate. Sorry, just not my style at all."

Engaged!

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I'd call these memorial services rather than funerals. After all, the star of the show is called a patient, not the dear departed.

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Hmm, I think most people don't have any expectations at all over things they can't see, whereas in social sciences they do have strong expectations. If so then mechanics will be a good example.

In mechanics it is often the case that people have false intuitions about things importantly different from ones they've already seen. Does this make it harder to believe physics in such topics?

The first time I was told about gyroscopes I found it hard to believe/understand it. Likewise I found it took a while for me to believe non-newtonian fluids acted as I was told.

I'm no longer convinced this is simply a lack of examples effect though.

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Wouldn't popular support/acceptance be the deciding factor in whether or not a future society will choose to honor the cryonics contracts? Will they choose to convert the trusts if a new financial systems is introduced? Will they refrain from usurping the trusts for health care expenses of future people, or to scramble resources in the event of a major catastrophe/war?

I don't doubt companies like Alcor are doing everything they can, but ultimately a future society could easily declare contracts signed in 2015 to be legally or effectively void.

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For several years recently, we were in place with a team prior to legal death in over 80% of cases. That figure dropped somewhat over the last year for various circumstantial reasons. But there really is a lot you can do to improve your odds. For instance, we currently have a new, terminal member who is planning to relocate from England to Scottsdale in his final weeks. Difficult to do, but excellent idea. In 2014, 7 of our 13 patients made sure they were in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area in time for cryopreservation.

Fair enough re: Kim Suozzi. But consider that the time-to-surgery was still very brief. Her biggest problem was her brain tumor. Also, and very important, we learned from that case and will NEVER again allow a gap in nursing care that leads to a delay in pronouncement. It would be easy for us to blame the delay in a failure to abide by the promise made to us by the nursing service, but I would rather take on the full responsibility and not rely on such promises in future.

Yes, broader social acceptance does make a difference. We have been making remarkable strides in that direction, as evidenced by the overall tone of media coverage, and the degree of cooperation from doctors, hospitals, hospices, and medical examiners. And we can do better if we keep working at it.

For those thinking in terms of financing revival... that's a topic it's too late for me to discuss in detail. I just want to note that Alcor has a separate Patient Care Trust that is designed to last for as long as it takes. We have never yet had to draw on the principal, even though policy (and prudence) says we can up to 2% per year. With even a modest real return, we should have a lot of resources available to fund repair and revivals decades from now. Some members make further provision through individual Asset Preservation Trusts.

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They believe physics on the authority of physicists. Do you want comparable intellectual authority for social scientists? Is that what this is about?

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But that problem should also apply to other specialized fields like physics. Yet it doesn't; few people disbelieve physics because they've never personally seen a changing magnetic field induce an electric current.

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You often write from the point of view of applying the commonplaces of social sciences to other topics.

One way this can seem less than trustworthy to a layman is when those commonplaces aren't supported by an obvious example the layman can think of. (Suppose we note it is universal that societies that promote left-handedness also promote baldness. I can't think of such a society quickly, so I have no quick sanity-check on the claim).

I'd be interested to know if you can think of commonplaces like this where no such obvious example or other stylised fact presents itself to you.

Because such claims are less easy to convince people of we should expect theories based on them to be a) more reliable and b) less persuasive. I expect there is some gain to be made here by marginal adjustments to the theories we focus on.

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Good blog post. 7/10 stars, would recommend.

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I will definitely read your book the way you describe.

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This keeps coming up but relies on mistaken assumptions. Cryonics does not need to be popular (although I expect it will be eventually). Alcor has been around for over 43 years, and doesn't require support from society as a whole. It's our mission to bring our patient back -- not for "society" to do so -- and we plan to have the resources to do so. I also disagree that "it is not likely" that you will be cryopreserved quickly enough. Certainly, circumstances vary greatly, but you can do plenty to improve your chances of a quick response, and we get better over time at getting to you quickly. How much time do you think is needed before the procedure must start?

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Indeed, and even after successful reanimation the person will still die eventually

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