Oh the Agony of Waiting...

While staring out the window and watching the snow pile up (and dreaming of graduation), I was reminded of an episode of South Park where Cartman can't wait for the new Nintendo Wii game system to come out. He has to wait a whole 3 weeks (while we have to wait a whole 3 months) for the Wii to come out. The Wii (and the new Super Mario Bros. Wii game) has been a necessity in my life recently so I can understand his anticipation. However, as much as Cartman wanted to avoid those 3 weeks (and I these next 3 months), I don't think freezing himself was the best choice, but it is a cool concept.

Cryonics, which deals with the preservation of organisms, has been featured in many movies and television shows. However, they do not do the topic justice. Cryonics could one day lead to human hibernation or suspended animation. This would mean that humans would be able to travel to the depths of outer space and still live to tell the tale 50 years later. By freezing a live person, all of their metabolic processes would come to a halt, meaning that they would be preserved and would barely age. One website claims to be on the way of suspended animation, which Cartman would be happy to hear about. I will let people decide the legitimacy of this for themselves.

Cryonics can also be used to preserve people who have just passed away in hopes of reviving them later in the future when immortality or a cure for the disease they had is found. A recent article states that one institute already has 94 people who have been frozen in hopes of coming back to life. However, as great as cryonics may sound, I have many concerns. First of all, extreme freezing can damage cells. This, as you can imagine, would not be good for human hibernation. It could actually kill the person. Secondly, if the person has passed away and was frozen because they had high hopes of immortality being discovered, they would probably regret their decision. I know immortality seems like the best thing in the world because it gives you more time to live life, but think about it. If everyone on earth were to have immortality, the earth's population would rapidly increase, which we all know would be mass chaos. I know I wouldn't be able to deal with it. Personally, I like my bubble. It could however, provide a great tool for astronauts who wish to explore the vast universe we call home. Cryonics would be an amazing asset to science. Just imagine the possibilities! As for now though, I think I'll keep pushing through these next 3 months while watching Cartman struggle for his Wii.