Why have we not perfected cryogenic freezing for humans yet?
Cryogenic preservation is currently working just fine. You can get cryogenically preserved right now if you'd like (you'll need to have the money to pay for it and a nonviolent means to bring about clinical death without brain damage, such as an exit bag; a chilled environment to induce hypothermia would probably be best).
The difficulty is, of course, reversal of the process. Currently the preservation technology is focused on preservation of brain cell structure; unfortunately simply freezing causes irreversible damage to this structure since we are mostly water and water expands as it freezes, causing irreversible cell damage. So, instead, the water in the body and brain is supplemented with cryoprotectants, so that the water becomes vitrified instead; in other words it stops moving and "time stops" for the body and brain, but the water molecules do not form crystals and expand. They just stop moving.
The issue is that these cryoprotectants are themselves toxic. Work is underway to reduce their toxicity and improve preservation methods, but cryogenicists generally believe that in the future, the technology will be available to repair the damage done by the cryoprotectants, possibly by way of nanorobotics.
Experts seem to believe cryogenics patients will follow a "last in, first out" sort of pattern, where the technology to reanimate eventually catches up to the current technology to preserve at that time. It will then proceed in reverse; as new and more advanced ways of safely reanimating patients become available, older and older (in terms of when they were preserved) patients will be "woken up."
That said, difficulties aside, most cryogenics experts agree that everyone being preserved today has a reasonable chance at coming out of it. So, I would not seriously suggest willfully undergoing cryopreservation as a healthy individual, but if you think you might be dying soon, set it up!
You will either be surprised, or you will be nothing ^_^ you can't lose!
Damn, that saved me a ton of work actually reading into what exactly it is and does. :D Thanks!
It kind of reminds me of the space problem where if we try sending something today at current top speeds to other planets, the current top speeds are so shitty that waiting for better tech is more worth it as possible future speeds may just pass the rocket that was sent 20 years ago in no time.
So you're saying the later we go cryo the better as the methods of doing that may have improved so they'll damage less of you? But that may be irrelevant if at some point in the future they can repair all the damage even from the oldest ways? It's kind of an insane thing altogether, if all that becomes easy to do and it works flawlessly, we've basically found a way to skip time.
There should be a "cheap version" for cryo where they just have to take care of your brain, by the time you're awake you will just go ahead and jump into a robo suite. Hopefully your crypto has risen enough in value to let you afford it, or that you remember where you left your private keys.
Well, being preserved means effectively dying by all definitions except information-theoretic. So I would say it is best to wait as long as you can anyway. :D
Also, it is funny that you mention the "cheap version." What you are talking about exists. The head is disembodied and preserved on its own, and it is cheaper. Also, I see what you did there, you might say I was a step or to ahead of you ^_^
You are creating a bit of a game theory problem with your "skip time" idea, though. If everyone wants to be frozen waiting for a better world, who is gonna stick around and build it while we are gone, and deal with all the suck? Those who cannot afford elective preservation? Oh, but acid, what if they decide not to wake anyone up? :P
Rofl, that went way too deep quick.
That'd be a fun twist though: "hey how about we don't wake up those rich assholes?" while everyone else in a world that has legalized weed is like "ye man that sounds like a lot of work, let's leave it for the next generation, lol".
lol... not waking up the cryopreserved rich people sounds a bit like forking them out xD
:D irl fork
It is not the fall that kills you, it is the abrupt stop.
Now listen here... there is a difference here, since in this case we must imagine that the allegorical "fall" is occurring along an infinite vertical plane, with a constant force of gravity and no abrupt stop in sight. Someday, we may be able to intercept the falling people and attach a parachute to their backs. In fact, we could do that now, but the current parachutes are not advanced enough; they would slow the falling individual too fast, liquifying their internal organs.
We are just waiting for some better parachutes ^_^
I am waiting to be able to be downloaded into an alternate substrate so I don't have to rely on this feeble body. A titanium brain?
Ah yes, but that comes with its own problems.
"Negative, I am a meat popsickle."
No disrespect to Acid, it was a decent post, but this comment thread was a far more interesting read. haha. :D
Since im fairly certain we will figure out eventually how to reverse cell damage and aging, ill wait with the cryogenics till im 70ish. If its up to me, ill definitely be doing it. Im not religious so im not a big fan of dying. haha.