I suspect Max could use some help, which I plan to offer when I visit him next month. I had no clue until this morning about this development. In an interesting bit of synchronicity, the new order at Alcor might help plans I had already thought about for a few months. Specifically, I have some ideas I'd like to discuss with Max about widening the population of human minds to work on solving cryonics' many problems; the problem-solvers don't necessarily have to want cryonic suspension for themselves. For example, something like InnoCentive might help us make the necessary progress, basically by advertising for people we don't know to "hire" themselves, at their expense, to find solutions for well-posed technical problems in competition for the prize money we offer.
At the very least he'll liven up cryonicists' meetups in Scottsdale as the resident philosophe and a generally fun guy, more than I can say about myself. He could turn these gatherings into a transhumanist version of the Baron d'Holbach's salons in mid 18th Century Paris, though we don't have a Diderot-like figure that I know of to add contrast.
And as an improvement above the ground state of simply not fucking up, I'd like to work with him to make Alcor's existence in the second decade of the 21st Century something which will reflect well upon me by association. I wish I could say that Alcor's CEO's in the decade just ending didn't participate in some facepalming episodes, during my period of relative disengagement; but I can't.
In a recent interview, before Alcor's announcement, Max also has this to say about not getting too caught up in "transhumanism" at the expense of practical reality:
One way in which, too often, I see people waiting for their friends from the future to solve our problems is in personal health maintenance and longevity efforts. Even some of those who strongly advocate life extension still fail to take relatively easy steps to live longer and more healthily. So, one piece of advice to enthusiastic young transhumanists is: take care of your own health. Building on that, I would urge them to develop themselves emotionally as well as intellectually.
In addition, give serious and regular thought to making money, preferably doing something you love that’s pro-transhumanism. Building personal wealth makes you independent, allows you to afford more expensive early-stage technologies, and means you can afford to fund worthy research efforts. Not all of us excel at making money, but it should never be disparaged in favor of more intellectually “pure” choices.
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