A chance to finish life: UPDATE
August 31, 2012
Kim Suozzi before her diagnosis
UPDATE 8/31/2012 10:15 a.m. EDT:
This just in from Shannon Vyff: “We have raised $27,000.00 in just a week, we were at $17,000.00 Thursday when a generous $10,000.00 donation from Life Extension Foundation come in. Our minimum goal is $35,000.00 to cover transportation and cryopreservation costs — if additional funds are raised Kim is hoping to be able to cover standby as well. I’m very thankful to our cryonics community and to all our donors who have come together to raise funds so quickly. We just need a little more, and Kim will be able to have all her paperwork in order — all the small donations really add up quickly, we very much appreciate donations of any amount.”
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We’re posting this again as a reminder and also to thank KurzweilAI visitors and subscribers. Shannon Vyff at The Society for Venturism, representing leading cryopreservation organizations, tells us they had a huge uptick in donations when we announced this earlier this week. Let’s push this over the top! Watch this space for updates….. — Ed.
The following was provided by the Society for Venturism, a credible 501(c)(3) charitable organization. — Ed.
Kim Suozzi is 23, and about to die from a fatal brain tumor.
She has already lived far longer than expectations. Kim is seeking donations to help fund her cryosuspension. She has been a supporter of cryonics but had not yet signed up. The Venturists have created a charitable fund for all donations.
Kim’s story
During her Senior Year in college, Kim Suozzi had been maintaining excellent grades even while experiencing as she phrased it, “odd headaches.” This didn’t worry her so much, she stayed focused on school- until one day while traveling to school she had a seizure that lasted 30 minutes and caused disassociation from her right arm and difficulty speaking. She ended up at her local hospital that same day where a large mass was seen in her brain.
In March 2011, two months before she was set to graduate, at age 21, Kim Suozzi was told that she had a highly aggressive form of brain cancer and that she had 14 month to 2 years to live. While her peers were finishing their degrees and pursuing job leads she was thrown into a world of seeking medical opinions, treatments and searching for some hope she could beat the Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) tumor. She didn’t have time to go back to classes after her diagnosis, none-the-less, in the Spring of 2011 Truman State University invited Kim to walk with her peers across the stage at graduation.
After graduation instead of job searches, Kim searched treatment options for fighting GBM. Her entire tumor was removed by Washington University’s Teaching Hospital. Unfortunately despite a clean MRI after surgery, pathology indicated the tumor was a highly aggressive form that would come back.
A second opinion from a top pathologist at M.D. Anderson revealed devastating news, the diagnosis was an even more aggressive subtype of GBM that had been originally thought and she was given even less time to live. After her surgery she started on endless rounds of radiation and chemo. Even during the treatments she didn’t give up on having a career some day, she was able to maintain a job assisting with cognitive neuroscience research in an EEG lab at the University of Missouri.
Nearly a year of cancer treatments passed and in April of 2012 Kim found out that instead of conquering her brain tumor with some of the best doctors and researchers in the world, the tumor had returned and was growing, the experts were shrinking the time she had left even further. Through her persistence and research she was able to enroll in a clinical trial at Dana-Faber but sadly after responding well initially, the tumor began to grow again.
She is currently taking radiation rounds at Duke University to, as she puts it, “buy a few months of time.” She is progressively loosing function on her right side, can’t use her hand or arm and is already walking with a limp. Her tumor will cut off her air and kill her before it gets to her brain and “who she is” that is one thing she felt helped her odds with cryonics. Already her speech is affected.
After the tumor was discovered that day on her way to school she has lived with fighting cancer, a year and a half. Currently she has been told she has 3-6 months left, and she is still trying to find ways to beat it while at the same time trying to wrap her brain around accepting that she is dying at such a young age.
On June 10th 2012 Kim posted an article on Reddit titled, “Today is my 23rd birthday and probably my last. Anything awesome I should try before I die?” In just a few weeks the article had 1697 comments with everything from beautiful places to travel to suggestions to max-out her credit cards on luxury items. A cryonicist saw her article and commented that maybe she would want to look into cryonics.
Kim had taken a Cognitive Science class during her time studying neuroscience at Truman State. When she read the comment about cryonics under her article on Reddit she remembered a book she’d read in Cog Sci her Sophomore Year, Ray Kurzweil’s Age of Spiritual Machines. She’d enjoyed it so much she picked up another book of his, The Singularity is Near, she said.
“I had always planned on establishing cryopreservation plans through life insurance, I was caught off guard when I was suddenly diagnosed during my last month and a half of college.” So when she wrote that comment on Reddit, Kim knew about cryonics and started to look into the current cryonics organizations and the level of science in the field.
Kim decided she wanted to be cryonically preserved, knowing it was only a chance and at the current state future technology is required to repair damage — but she felt it would give her some comfort knowing she may have a chance to finish life. As she said, “I wish I could give a particularly compelling reason why I deserve another chance at life, but there’s not much to say. I’m still just a kid…Unfortunately the most interesting thing I have yet to do is get a terminal disease at a young age.”
Within days of Kim deciding she wanted to try cryonics, she had many leaders within the cryonics community contacting her to see how they could help. Someone sent her story to the Society for Venturism and her story was looked into. She sent her pathology reports and identification to the Venturist board, after talking with her as well as C.I. and Alcor to verify her memberships she was chosen as a recipient of the Society for Venturism’s Cryonics Charity Fund.
Kim said that she was excited to hear from the cryonicists and was impressed with the coordination within the cryonics community. She had been raising money on her own and so far has raised a few thousand dollars but the donations stalled after the first few days she had her fundraiser going.
The Venturists, a cryonics advocacy organization, provides a third-party way to have donations given for her suspension and ensure that all donations go to a cryonics organization. Having the cryonics community coming together to help her gave her hope that the funds, a minimum of $28,000 that is needed, will be raised in the short time she has left.
Kim had been worried about breaking the news to her family that she wanted to be cryonically preserved; she didn’t want to be seen as “giving up.” Kim signed up as a member of the Cryonics Institute and an Associate member of Alcor Life Extension Foundation, saying, “The only thing that I can think to make me feel a little more at ease with my death is to secure cryopreservation plans on the off-chance that they figure out how to revive people in the future. The way I see it, it’s a better bet than decomposing or getting cremated.”
Kim started conversations with her family, friends and people online about her wish to try cryonics. There were various reactions online and within her family, but her mother and her boyfriend of four years are strongly behind her. Kim is hoping the cryonics community and others will enthusiastically support the Venturist Charity Fund, as it has successfully helped two other people get cryonics arrangements in the past. It is set up to help those who are unable to get life insurance, the normal source of funds for cryonics, and have had a desire to be cryonically preserved.
Please consider donating any amount, large or small — all donations are needed. All donations will go to Kim’s suspension. If for any reason Kim is not preserved the donation can be refunded to you (you will be notified and asked) or it can be left in the Venturist Charity Fund to help the next person in need, or you can give it to the Venturist’s Cryonics Outreach Fund.
The Venturists have had three Cryonics Charity Cases in the past decade since starting the program in 2001. Only the second was unable to be preserved; the others were successful. (The first case, a paralysis victim who was unable to earn a living or afford arrangements, is still animate, with fully funded arrangements in place.) Many who donated to the second case had their donations refunded when the suspension didn’t go through so you can safely donate large amounts.
The Society for Venturism is a 501-(c)(3), tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible. A receipt will be given to you for your donation.
Donate to the Venturist Cryonics Charity Fund for Kim Suozzi through the button on this page or checks can be mailed to:
The Society for Venturism
11255 SSR 69,
Mayer AZ, 86333,
U.S.A.
Comments (68)
by Giulio Prisco
There is encouraging preliminary news on the fund raising effort, a full update will be posted soon.
by bizonc
I really hope Kim gets funded. I recently started following her on Twitter. Good luck Kim and travel well!
I may have to opt for charity one day. Life insurance is so expensive and I’m not sure my spouse really likes the idea of money going to freeze me. I’m by no means wealthy, so hopefully in the future us who want to do this will have more money saved in investments or some revolution happens in the field for greater methods and lowering the costs. I wonder if more people signed up if it would bring the costs down.
by Derek
As of 09/4/12 from ScienceDaily – Potential Drug Discovered for Deadly Brain Cancer
“A*STAR scientists have identified a biomarker of the most lethal form of brain tumours in adults − glioblastoma multiforme*. The scientists found that by targeting this biomarker and depleting it with a potential drug, they were able to prevent the progression and relapse of the brain tumour.”
“The scientists found that the biomarker, miR-138, is highly expressed in cancer stem cells compared to normal neural stem cells.”
“They found that when miR-138 is depleted, the cancer cells are completely destroyed.”
“By targeting this regulator we can effectively prevent the recurrence of this lethal form of cancer. This promising finding will pave the way for the development of a novel therapy to successfully treat the aggressive forms of brain cancer.”
by Gabriel
I know this isn’t the best place to ask this sort of question, so I’m sorry but…..is she going to be preserved while she’s still alive, or after she’s already dead?
I’m a little confused by that…because, and yes I know it’s an age-old question…if she dies, and is then reanimated, she wouldn’t necessarily be the same person would she?
Or maybe she is, and these philosophical questions become moot – Kim could very well be the person to answer such things in the future. I really wish her all the best :)
by Hoss
I accidentally hit “Leave Comment” before developing my thought. I just hope the young lady in the article is interesting to future civilizations and enjoys a wonderful adventure in hopefully a much better time.
by Hoss
I see cryonic reanimation as mostly doomed if it goes mainstream. As soon as some key feature in the theory is proven true it will explode in popularity and you may have a billion people sign up as soon as Moore’s Law makes it affordable for common folk. In the year 2100 or so, curious anthropologists may get approval to reanimate a handful of the most interesting subjects; mentally ill
by Pete Fowler
I haven’t much faith in cryonics, but even without it, death is no longer final, with nanoengineering, supercomputers and our exploding knowledge of how living things work. By the end of this century we’ll be able to resurrect a person who died; not a replica but the original personality. Good luck, lady.
by Giulio Prisco
Someday we’ll be able to resurrect a person who died, but not by the end of the century, I don’t think so. It doesn’t matter though: to the person resurrected, no time has elapsed.
In the meantime, cryonics is a good option. I look forward to being resurrected in the far future, but I wouldn’t like to miss the fun of the next few decades/centuries. I think the end of this century will be an especially interesting time.
by Gabriel
If Mind Uploading is possible though by the time you can bring somebody back, it’s not too bad because you would catch up to everything you’ve missed…you would be aware of and know everything that happened through other people, and perhaps could choose to live out a digital fantasy of your life if you didn’t miss out on anything….the possibilities are endless.
by Giulio Prisco
Gabriel, this possibility gives me and others a lot of hope, and I consider it as scientifically plausible, and, as you say, the possibilities are endless… but resurrection via uploading through time is a possibility, and not a certainty: we cannot be sure that our descendants (or others out there) will develop and use resurrection technologies. So, there is the unpleasant possibility that physical death without cryonic suspension is final.
by bizonc
Hi Giulio- I’m a fellow transhumanist and would consider myself a rational optimist but skeptical of the things I hope will happen in the future. I have some questions I have been wanting to discuss with my H+ community and would love for someone to address these concerns.
1.) I don’t understand how quantum archaeology can actually bring back the original identity person consciousness. Once a brain is permanently decomposed or no living, they are gone forever, right? I can see emulations/simulations/clones/copies of me but not me.
2.) I don’t understand why we don’t start the cryonics process while the patient is alive. I realize it’s against the law (which I do not understand), but waiting until they are legally dead would seem to astronomically reduce the chances of revival and cause tremendous damage to the brain. Curing the diseases and future transhuman emerging tech seems plausible but reviving dead people seems very improbable. (by the way I would sign up for cryonics if I could afford it).
3.) I think Carbon Copies, the Brain Preservation Foundation, Bostrom, Sandberg and others working on brain emulation is a very noble pursuit and important. I’m a proponent of mind uploading however after all the research (Koene, Hayworth & others) I have done, I come to the conclusion the brain is the mind and the mind is the brain. It’s impossible to move or separate the mind unless you believe in some sort of dualism. I do not. I think modern neuroscience shows clearly the reductionist materialist view of the mind is true. I don’t think we can have our mind on another substrate since our mind arises from the inner working of our brain so technically the mind is a substrate or so it seems. I only see copies and clones even after reading Koene’s and Hayworth’s arguments and I do support their research with whatever money I can afford to give. I think our best bet is gradual uploading/upgrading or strong AI finding a solution or other biological solutions.
Lastly,
4.) I hope science & tech really do accelerate and the singularity happens this mid century, strong AI in the next decade or two and/or other life saving technologies happen in the next 50 years. I just don’t see it happening. I think our numbers are way off. The chance to live indefinitely without cyronics won’t happen for centuries. I understand accelerating & exponential change and the law of accelerating returns, however not much is different now from the 90′s except smart phones, tablets, faster internet and social media. Perhaps the technological changes are fast in cosmic time but not fast enough for human lifespans. The manned space program went to a halt. People in the 50′s thought strong AI was just around the corner (several predictions), space colonies, moon colonies and none of their sci fi visions came true (see adam carolla book; chpt “I want my future back”). The PaleoFuture blog has some good books on the future too. The predictions by my man Kurzweil that have come true are never mainstream. I really want a robotic body or to live in a virtual reality but I think we are screwed. We are the early transhumanists who won’t benefit from these technologies. I think it’s another 100 years from now and that they still won’t be mature. Right now are technology is so primitive and life is not a priority. That is a huge problem that people think it’s abnormal to want to live longer than a measly 80 years. The deathist cult is sickening. I hope I’m wrong and there is hope for major revolutionary technological change in medicine, robotics, computers, physics and neuroscience in the next 30 to 40 years.
Thanks to anyone willing to discuss.
Carson
by Gabriel
I’m not sure you’re giving enough credit to just how much the world has vastly changed in the last several decades…indeed, many predictions haven’t come true, and yet, were those predictions ever really plausible in the first place? People may have believed Strong AI would be possible in the 50′s…and yet, there was a film I saw from the 50′s where mankind at last went up into outer space…in the 22nd century – my professor told me that people at the time, simply couldn’t believe that we would ascend into space in a single decade.
“Things are not that different now from the 90′s except smart phones, tablets, faster internet and social media.”? Do you understand that, simply by those examples you brought up, how world-changing those things were? People are more capable now, then ever before…just being able to speak to you now through cyberspace….this was just a pipedream not that long ago; and being able to become politically active and sign petitions and join grassroots groups to create real change in the world….I’m only in my 20′s, when has someone in history had as much power as I do at my age? — so much that we have done, like the Internet you have mentioned, or other things like the Manhatten Project or the Human Genome Project as Kurzweil likes to bring up, which people though would take decades, or centuries, if ever….get completed in less then a single decade.
Predictions often fail simply because the timing is wrong or the methodology is all wrong…so many movies had so many different visions of the future, by most of them are just fantasies that aren’t anywhere near as profound as what transhumanists believe or based around exponential growth. Who needs Flying Cars? We have enough problems with drivers on the road, and we’ve gotten, in exchange, vastly more capability through more profound technologies then what movies said we would have….Reality is stranger and often better then fiction, and I’m certainly looking forward to what the mid-century will bring us.
by Giulio Prisco
Hi Carson,
1) I don’t wish to hijack this to hijack this thread with topics unrelated to Kim’s story and cryonics. Could you repost this in http://www.kurzweilai.net/transhumanist-religion-2-0 or in the Forums?
2) You said it, because it is against the (stupid) law. There is no other reason, and preservation before death would be much better.
3) I don’t agree, on the contrary I consider brain preservation, followed by mind uploading, as an acceptable means of identity preservation. Strictly speaking, I am a reasonably good copy of the person who went to sleep in my bed last night, and a poor copy of the person who went to sleep in my bed 30 years ago. But this copy feels like a continuation of yesterday’s original, and this original feels that tomorrow’s copy will be an acceptable continuation of him.
4) I also think the radical changes that we want to see won’t happen as fast as we wish. They will happen someday though.
by bizonc
Thanks for responding Gabriel and Giulio. Sorry about posting this under Kim’s story, I just got caught up in the comments and my thoughts. It is irritating when people go off topic. I will repost where you stated. I have enjoyed following your work this past year.
by Ben
I find the generosity and outreach offered to this young woman very inspiring and uplifting. Her story is tragic and humbling, and I truly hope she receives enough donations to make cryonic preservation a viable option.
While I fully support her goal, I think it may be ironic if she is successfully restored to life some time in the future, while some if not most of those who donated to her cause are unable to do the same. I could imagine that, once revived, she may be able to live for thousands of years (or more) while many of those who helped her have died and turned to dust. I have no idea how many contributors are signed up or planning to sign up for cryonics, but I’d bet some aren’t or lack the financials to do so.
Though it is unfair and unfortunate that she faces death at such a young age, it may actually work in her favor in the long run. As a young adult, she may have a greater chance of being successfully revived, being restored to health, or being transferred to different corporeal form than many others who use cryonics. I am some what disgusted with myself for thinking that terminal cancer at such a young age might be the best thing to happen to her (in the long run), but there could be some truth to that point. I hope I am wrong, and that the technology advances far enough fast enough for everyone to easily be brought back from cryo preservation.
Given the immense payoff this woman may enjoy due to the contributions of many anonymous, possibly less fortunate souls, I think this could be considered a case of incredible altruism. One individual gains indefinite life thanks to the generosity of others who do not make it, whose minds and bodies are lost forever. With that perspective, the efforts made for this woman are stunning and could be displayed as one of humanity’s greatest qualities.
I do not wish to discourage or hinder those who might make donations. I certainly do not want to discourage Ms. Suozzi. Rather, I just want to cast a light on this amazing altruistic phenomenon. I can only hope it becomes more and more common as humanity evolves and pushes forward.
Again, I sincerely hope this woman is not forced to face such an early death with no options for life extension. At a time when technology is reaching a cusp and anything seems possible, permanent death is an unforgivable tragedy. I wish Ms. Suozzi all the best, and may she enjoy an existence beyond today lasting eons.
by Mr.X
Wow.Your point was rather unobvious to most, I guess.Maybe that’s because many do not really believe in a high chance for that to happen (I do btw).
I do not know why, but I think what you said is funny in some way.Anyway, see it from this perspective: She has probably the highest chance of us all to die before technology can abolish death (do not know about Ted Howard below),
which means she needs it the most.That way, its a matter of priority.
However; I really am not sure if your post helps her cause.
Ps: It is not uncommon that something really bad turns out to be a great blessing (not that I count terminal illness into that category).
by tedhowardnz
As Giulio & Kirk and others have said, any chance is better than none.
In that light, I offer my own experience, of still being here 2.5 years after being given a 2% chance of surviving 2 years. I stopped my aggressive metastasised melanoma with a very strict diet. If Kim wants to try what I did – it is on my blog site.
My medical records are on http://www.tedhowardnz.wordpress.com/about and my diet on http://www.tedhowardnz.wordpress.com/cancer
It isn’t easy, and it does seem to be working. Basically no animal products, no refined sugars or alcohols or oils, and lots of vitamin C.
No guarantees in life, and I am still writing.
by Gorden Russell
That’s great news, tedhowardnz. We’re all so happy you made it. Good luck in the future. You just might make it to the year 2046 when we expect to have the singularity. Then there will be the nanodocs that course through the body to eat up every cancer cell. There are many researchers now working on nanodumptrucks that can carry chemo right to each cancer cell without exposing the rest of the body to the toxins. These little wonders should be working in our bodies in the next ten to twenty years. People are already working on the graphene computers and organic memristor cells that will control the dumptrucks and nanodocs. These things are coming down the pike. We just have to keep society on its feet during the meantime.
by Gabriel
just to clarify, he doesn’t necessarily have to make it to 2045…as you say, their are all sorts of little wonders in development right now that will become available in a few decades…long before the Singularity, even if it never hypothetically happens… we will have methods available that will greatly enhance our life.
by Editor
UPDATE 8/31/2012 10:15 a.m. EDT:
This just in from Shannon Vyff: “We have raised $27,000.00 in just a week, we were at $17,000.00 Thursday when a generous $10,000.00 donation from Life Extension Foundation come in. Our minimum goal is $35,000.00 to cover transportation and cryopreservation costs — if additional funds are raised Kim is hoping to be able to cover standby as well. I’m very thankful to our cryonics community and to all our donors who have come together to raise funds so quickly. We just need a little more, and Kim will be able to have all her paperwork in order — all the small donations really add up quickly, we very much appreciate donations of any amount.”
by Peter the printer
A sad story, and I feel for this young woman, but life can be cruel, and many people die young. To imagine she’ll live again far in the future if her [dead] body is frozen is a belief born of desperation which I can understand, but it isn’t going to happen, so any money will be wasted on running a freezer until the money runs out or society becomes so chaotic that the power fails.
by Shannon Vyff
Kim has gotten a lot of deathist comments. No one says that cryonics will work, it is only a chance-and if there is a slight possibility then it is worth trying. Plus supporting cryonics organizations supports research into organ transplant research amongst other things that can help people now, so your money is not completely wasted. Kim is fighting the cancer with supplements, ketogenic diet, radiation, chemo and clinical trials—I’m sure that would not be called desperate by most.
by Gorden Russell
Be positive Shannon, cyonic suspension will allow Kim to have nanocells swarm through her brain to repair the damage of freezing. It will be a simple thing for the nanocells to remove the brain cancer, and cloning a new body for her won’t be a problem after the singularity.
Just look at the graphs in Ray’s last book. Then you will believe.
by Mr.X
Peter: How can you know it is not going to happen?Maybe you think it can’t happen, because it did not happen before.But that’s obviously a fallacy.
And just because you wish something to be, does not mean it is not true.Likewise, for example, just because I say things that cast me in
a favorable light (unlike this comment^^) does not mean they aren’t true ;) At best it is weak evidence in either direction, depending on the matter at hand.
I once made use of this self-proclaimed realism myself, behaving like so many people who just say very pessimist things and think or claim they are the voice of reason, mature or enlightened (in the sense of the enlightenment).It is really helpful to do that, if you are into politics and want to steer groups of people in a certain direction (or stop a development in one direction).
But it is not as helpful as trying to be objective (trying is the point, aim high and fall short- better than aiming low and hitting the target) when you searching the truth.So, why do you think it is not possible or very unlikely?
If you have a materialistic world view, e.g just like me, then the idea of preserving and manipulating matter (e.g you) to bring it into different states (e.g what you call dead/alive) is not that far-fetched.Breaking patterns (e.g illnesses), repairing patterns (e.g you, your personality).To me it is just about information and it’s physical manifestations (actually, information is just a concept, an useful abstraction and I guess the physics is all there is ).
In the end dead, which you so nicely emphasized, is just a word, trying to capture a larger reality behind it (like almost all words), very abstract and coloured by the perspective of the subject who utters said word, and/or those who hear it, respectively,Today’s death maybe tommorow’s coma.Recognizing this, as far as I know, the cryonic folks call preserved people patients.
To make my point of view clear: I think a human is just some kind of patterns/algorithms (with metapatterns/structures as framework)- expressing themselves in a physical medium or several media and interacting with their environment (e.g other humans).A reproducing pattern.I think it is fair to say I am a reductionist.
Of course, to have an educated opinion I would have to read up on stuff instead of writing down what comes to my mind.But the same goes for you, and your comment did not contain the reasons for your claim.Maybe you can tell us why you think lazarusing people is impossible (yeah, that’s a real verb.Never thought I’d use it though).
Have a nice day.
by Mr. Kirk
I’m happy to do a little charity work, raise a little money and throw something at it. Even if its unfeasible, unrealistic, a slim chance is better than no chance. We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take.
by Giulio Prisco
Well said Kirk!
by Giulio Prisco
@Peter the printer – I find this comment heartless, and cruel. And dogmatic (ref. “it isn’t going to happen”). Is your deathist dogma so important to you that you take pleasure in denying hope to a person with a terminal illness? I find this very, very sad.
Perhaps you want to share with us the scientific arguments behind your statement, and your qualifications to make such statements? We are listening.
On the contrary, I hope it _will_ happen, and Kim will wake up after cryonics sleep in a better and more compassionate world.
by Bruce Wright
Yes, the comment is dogmatic – overly so. However life itself can be heartless and cruel, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to be aware of that – the old saying about “bad things happen to good people.”
Though I can’t say I’m particularly optimistic that the current state of technology is sufficient for success, I can’t and won’t say that for certain; I’m just very, very pessimistic. Nanotechnology isn’t a magic wand, and if information is truly lost it’s not going to be possible to replace it. Nevertheless in the long run something like this will very likely become possible.
by Mr.X
Saying that one is pessimistic or optimistic is tantamount to confessing that one is not (trying) realistic.
Why should lost information be irreplaceable?
For example one could use patterns found in other humans to retrieve it, maybe with the help of statistics.Building some models or at least getting some probability range for the possibilities at hand should be feasible.
The ease of doing this depends on what is lost.If I draw a face and there is no nose, we know something about what’s missing.Maybe people with (of course, just making it up) whose ears are between xx and xy mm big and whose face is round have mostly sharp, big noses^^
In the same vein, maybe people with this and that information at one place have a 80% probability of having another special information at another certain place.
Or, maybe there is something lacking, and we have several choices what to bring in to replace it, which would maybe change you, but would still be working.
Or, more likely, there is a combination of both.
If one gathers that information and bases algorithms on that, which btw could be tested and improved through simulations and animal tests (yes I am evil), our computers could easily find a more or less optimized outcome.
Then we’d “just” need nanotechnology to implement this, probably again in a mechanical way, through computers.
In the long run almost everything with a probability of over nothing will happen.Maybe tommorow I am rich^^
Have a nice day.
Ps: You are anthropomorphizing live.
by Gorden Russell
Don’t be so negative, Peter the printer, there are many researchers working with nanotech today, many are also working with neurons. This will allow nanomachines to move up each brain cell and repair the damage done by freezing.
Neither can we be sure that society will fall apart. So much depends on just who is in office when the robots can do any job. If the robots have to pay the unemployment tax and FICA of the people they replace, then unemployment benefits can be paid until people reach age 65. These two taxes will keep society from being so chaotic that the power fails.
by Gorden Russell
Peter, just read the article, “Atomically thin, strong graphene-based integrated circuits.” It appears in today’s newsletter. This will provide computers as thin as a single layer of atoms. These will control the nanodocs as they crawl along the neurons, repairing the damage of freezing as they go.
Graphene has already been chemically self-assembled, so these nanomachines will be so cheap after the singularity that you will keep some in your freezer to prevent your steaks from suffering freezer-burn. When your steak is thrown onto the grill, the nanomachines will join together to make a little fliers the size of a gnat and fly back to your refrigerator. Sure, it might disquiet you to see gnats boiling off the surface of your meat as it broils, but you won’t be watching it anyway. You’ll have a robot to do the cooking for you.
by Bruce Wright
I’ve said before that I’m not at all optimistic about the current state of the art of cryonics being able to cryopreserve bodies that are capable of reanimation, though I would hesitate before making absolute comments like “it isn’t going to happen.” On the other hand, I’m actually quite optimistic that in the long run the problems will be solved – possibly too late to help this young woman, unfortunately.
I’m not sure I agree either with comments that if there’s only a slight possibility of success than it’s automatically worth trying. Everything has a cost, and there just aren’t enough resources to fund everything that “might” work. But if she thinks that the chances are good enough, I certainly don’t begrudge her the opportunity.
by o6ymadias
Please try and set up a paypal, I want to give something but do not want my credit card on goggle wallet. That bus lady got almost a million dollars because some kids swore at her on video, it would be a shame if this young lady cannot get 28,000. Sadly the idea of cryonics is probably seen as too crazy to put her story on the news, but I could not think of a better way to get people thinking about it so maybe someone should try.
by Shannon Vyff
Paypal changed their policy for non-profits and we were losing some of the money people donated, we switched to Google Wallet in order to get all the money people donated. I’m hoping Kim’s story would get onto the news, but yes cryonics is unproven even if it is based on some current science and –the problem is that it also depends on future science to resolve problems cryonics has today. If you don’t want to set up Google Wallet you can send a check to: The Society for Venturism
11255 SSR 69,
Mayer AZ, 86333,
U.S.A.
A receipt will be mailed to anyone that mails a donation.
by GatorALLin
Why not allow funds from several sources and make sure to include paypal. and YES you need a status total that is updated per contribution. Please… anything less cuts your donations…
by dan
Just donated $20. Would like to know how far along to the goal it is. Would like to be able to track that.
by Shannon Vyff
We have been looking at how to set up a tracking bar, we are going to edit the website this Friday to show how much has been raised this week. I’m pretty sure we only have a few more thousand to go (from what the total was on Monday) I’m hoping the full amount will be raised by this Friday. If not, we can make another appeal.
by Gorden Russell
Yes Shannon, let us all keep working on this until we raise enough to give young Kim this chance. Even this week there have been new papers posted describing nanotechnology robots that move inside the brain. In years to come this will lead to nanabots that perform brain surgery and then repair the damage done by freezing.
by Mr. Kirk
I’m an LMT (massage therapist) in Ohio. Right now I’m jobless, but I’m currently hitting up my old contacts and trying to drum up some work. Lotta people respond well to massage for charity. Chin up, Kim, we’re trying!
by Shannon Vyff
Thank you for helping her out, she does have a compelling story and I hope she gets the chance to finish her life.
by Denis Tarasov
Google Wallet refuses to accept my donation due to “receipt can not be delivered to that address” error. I don’t need that receipt at all. I had to invent fictional address in US for that to work. Other people can have problem with that, so could we have an option for not getting receipt at all?
by Shannon Vyff
We have had some overseas people send cheques. The Society for Venturism will give credit for the cheques until the funds actually come through (it can be a few weeks to a few months depending on the country)
by Gorden Russell
Dear Amara,
Do you keep count of the visitors to this newsletter each day? If we can convince 1,400 people to donate just $20, then young Kim can have what she needs for her cryonics.
With all the millions of people on the web each day, it’s not hard to believe that we could find 1,400 benefactors here at the Kurzweil newsletter.
by Gorden Russell
Dear Kim Suozzi,
You’ve already read “The Singularity is Near”, so think back to all those graphs in the book. Remember those that showed the forecasting of the acceleration of the rate of progress. By the year 2046, they all go vertical.
So by that time, give or take 18 months, there will be people to apply nanodoctors to your brainstem. These nanoscopic machines will climb up and crawl along every single neuron in your head, repairing the damage of freezing as they go. When they get to the tumor, eating up the cancer will be a snap. Cloning a new body for you will be old hat by 2046. You look like a petite woman. If you put in the request now, they will be able to make you super-model tall.
When you wake up on June 10th 2046, smiling young women in white scrubs will bring you a shining silk gown to put on. Then they will lead you to a vast dance floor to celebrate your 24th birthday. There will be 1,400 young men wearing carnations on their tuxedoes. First in line will be your boyfriend. They’ll be waiting to ask you to dance.
Don’t worry, there will be nanoscholls in your dance shoes to keep you from getting sore feet.
by H.K. Fauskanger
It is a moving vision. But one wonders if wetware reanimation will be considered economical, or even desirable. Assuming that all salient details are indeed preserved by cryonics, I tend to think that it will be more practical to scan the preserved neural network and then resurrect the personality as a computer emulation. The resulting infomorph would apparently be immortal, and so could not exactly “finish life” — but I imagine the resurrected Kim would not complain.
by Gorden Russell
Well, H.K., even if her neural network is scanned into a computer emulation, in time that will be loaded over to a living body.
by H.K. Fauskanger
Honestly, this is probably not the best context to start this debate! But from the viewpoint of the resurrectee, existing as pure information could very well be preferable to being “downloaded” into a biological body with all its limitations.
I assume, of course, that a person existing as substrate-independent infomorph is every bit as “living” and conscious as a biological person, and not merely an unconscious _simulation_ of a “real” person. But if it proves most practical to resurrect cryonically preserved patients as emulations, they should surely be allowed to decide for “themselves” whether wholesale wetware reanimation is also needed for them to perceive themselves as the “same” person (and not a copy).
I suspect the technology for scanning/emulation will be available significantly earlier than the very mature nanotechnology required for biological reanimation (involving repairs of billions of cells).
by Shannon Vyff
I sent both the suggestions for experimental treatment to Kim. She has really done an amazing job searching for clinical trials to enroll in as well as what supplements and medicines she can take in her fight the past year and a half–a major reason she has lived beyond expectations. She only came out to her family about wanting cryonics now as she did not want to be seen and giving up, and she very clearly is not giving up. She is in a clinical trial now and is still searching for others she can enroll in, sadly though she “came out” because she feels she has less time now, the tumor is effecting her speech, walking and ability to write.
I really want to encourage people to donate even 10 or 20 dollars, because if enough people did we’d have the funds to give her the comfort that cryonic preservation is in place.
by Phillfrog
What about this experimental treatment featured in this TED talk? They are actually focusing on GBM tumors and seem to have amazing results! Don’t know how you get onto a trial treatment tho: http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_doyle_treating_cancer_with_electric_fields.html
by Phillfrog
Just emailed the related company Novocure, pointing them at this article. Hope it makes it to someone that can contact her.
by suzie
http://www.burzynskiclinic.com
Please take a look at Dr Burzynski and his successful approach to treating your type of cancer. Stage 4, 2 months to live folks are still around after 18 years.
by Gorden Russell
Thanks Phillfrog for the link to the TED video. Everybody here should take a look at it. It demonstrates that electrical fields have stopped cancer cells from duplicating. The fields keep the spindle from forming. There can be no cell division without a spindle where the chromosones line up for splitting.
by Khannea Suntzu
Is this verified ligit?
by Shannon Vyff
A lot of people as that, and in fact it was the very first thing I thought when a fellow cryonicist sent her story to me from Reddit. When the Society of Venturism contacted her about being the recipient of our next Cryonics Charity Fund she sent her 8 pathology reports, a scan of her driver’s license and other verifying information. She also signed with CI and Alcor (as an unfunded member) and they both have their own verifying process. The Society for Venturism has done 3 charity cases in the past, 2 were successful -this is the 4th case and I’m hoping it will be successful.
by Dimitri Villard
Kim should immediately try to get into the Phase I trial of a new vaccine made by Immunocellular Therapeutics. The CEO and founder is a physician at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. They have had amazing results so far. Info about can be seen here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/810301-ict-107-into-perspective-part-1
by Shannon Vyff
She said, “The vaccines require tumor resection, which is not an option for me. Before my original surgery, I could have enrolled, but they didn’t even know it was cancerous at that point.
Josh and I tried to get into almost every dendritic cell vaccine trial after my diagnosis, but the hospital did not save enough of my tumor tissue for me to be eligible for the vaccine trials that don’t require enrollment prior to surgery.”
by David Thompson
I would love a paypal payment option also. i live in Japan and do not need a tax purpose receipt. Thank you for making us aware of this young woman.
by Sean Brazell
Why not use kickstarter ( http://www.kickstarter.com/ ) or some other group funding method?
by Shannon Vyff
Also, thank you for sharing the story -I hope that we can raise the funds, as she doesn’t have that much time left.
by Shannon Vyff
Thank you Amara. The Society for Venturism had problems with Paypal and it was better for us financially to go with Google Wallet. I tried Google wallet myself and found it was easy, I also heard that from two others that used it. I’m bringing it up with the board as to whether we can use Paypal for this charity or not (we don’t currently have one, so we’d have to set one up). If you sent to say my paypal, then you wouldn’t get the tax deduction–the account needs to be in the Society of Venturism name.
You can send a check though and a receipt will be mailed to you:
The Society for Venturism
11255 SSR 69,
Mayer AZ, 86333,
U.S.A.
Thank you for donating.
by Gorden Russell
Thank you Shannon. When my Social Security comes on September 3rd I’ll go down to the post office and send a postal money order to the fund.
by bob
Due to human nature, for better or worse, the effort would be helped by listing a running total of donations so far. People like a challenge, a goal….like to see the progress. I also think you are wasting too much time and effort on returning a tax receipt. The world is big and only 5% live in the US. Besides…people giving $20 or $50 don’t care much about writing it off on their taxes. To save $7??
by FatuusSimilusLupus
Kim, I mean this in a good way: I hope I can meet you sometime far, far in the future.
Bon chance.
by Joe
Good luck to her!!!!
by Jay
I’ve imagined myself in a situation like this on more than one occasion.
Being aware of what the future might bring while suffering from a fatal disease… is just torment.
I feel for this girl and want to donate $10.
I don’t have a Google Wallet and I’d rather not give them my credit card number. Isn’t there a PayPal addy I can send it to?
by Editor
I’m checking with them
by Gorden Russell
Amara, can you find a paper that shows what neurons look like after freezing with liquid nitrogen? This could be an answer to the doubters like Peter the Printer.
by Editor
Here’s an introduction to vitrification: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryopreservation#Vitrification. Dr. Greg Fahy is a pioneer in this field: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Fahy and will be presenting the latest research on cryoprotection at the Alcor 40 conference: http://www.kurzweilai.net/alcor-40-conference.