Would you support Time Travel?

[Union 5-3992]

I would be a great opposer to Time Travel. If it were possible today, I would definitely fight against it for if we did something like killing Hitler, we could be preventing the lives of billions of people to even exist. I am thinking of time travel in a very rational sense, not the "Dude, it would be awesome" sense, though I would have to agree.

 

 

Damn a typo, the last answer should be

"Yes, only if by creating a time machine, we guarantee our own existence."

And I didn't spell existence correctly.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Union 5-3992

[librarian]

If I could send people somewhere else, sometime else, give me that button and I would not be afraid to use it

[Union 5-3992]

But you could risk destroying your own existence. If you go back just distracting someone for five minutes could alter your existence.

[Tommy Sawyer]

Only if it would save the human race.

 

 

 

But as for the cool factor....

[Union 5-3992]

I 100% agree at its awesomeness, but I rule that out with its danger.

[hunter]

Already have. But I've said too much.

[lerxt1990]

First in line to use it is Bill Buckner.

[laughedatbytime]

QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Jan 6 2012, 08:00 PM)

First in line to use it is Bill Buckner.

http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bartman.jpg

 

I beg to differ.

[lerxt1990]

QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Jan 6 2012, 09:04 PM)

QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Jan 6 2012, 08:00 PM) First in line to use it is Bill Buckner. http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bartman.jpg   I beg to differ. Buckners error was worse..

[ColdFireYYZ]

I went with the last option. It would be cool to go back in time and witness historical events.

[Ancient Ways]

Going back in time more than 100 years would suck.

It would be hard to fit in and you might get discovered. No antibiotics or advanced medicine if you needed it. Unhealthy food and water. You might not be able to understand the language people are speaking even though you haven't left the country. If you are a racial minority or Jew you might immediately be enslaved, punished or killed. No real rights so it would be easy to be incarcerated. If you don't have perfect vision and glasses have not been invented you might be killed easily by wild animals. If you end up in a place where advanced hand to hand combat or swordfighting is needed it might be a problem. You would very likely do something that would get you executed for witchcraft.

[Loki]

I'd say allow it if there was a way to only be observers. Maybe make us temporarily mute or even invisible if possible.

 

I recommend Stephen King's new book "11/22/63" as a great time travel book which explores the consequences. In the foreward he says his personal favourite of this genre is Jack Finney's 1970 book "Time And Again" which I'm currently enjoying.

[laughedatbytime]

QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Jan 6 2012, 08:12 PM)

QUOTE (laughedatbytime @ Jan 6 2012, 09:04 PM) QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Jan 6 2012, 08:00 PM) First in line to use it is Bill Buckner. http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bartman.jpg   I beg to differ. Buckners error was worse.. I agree that Buckner's error was worse, but I think Bartman was treated worse.

[Loki]

Using the machine to correct baseball errors would be evil and would affect the future.

[Union 5-3992]

Saving people that should die from betting way too much money to the mob would cause an alternate future where they are alive and someone else dies.

[Mr. Not]

time travel won't ever be possible

[Principled Man]

QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Jan 6 2012, 09:00 PM)

First in line to use it is Bill Buckner.

 

 

 

 

 

And about 5 million Boston fans would still be sending him hate mail regardless.....

Edited January 7, 2012 by Workaholic Man

[Principled Man]

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

-- Lord Acton, 1887

 

 

 

The desire to "better the world" via time travel would lead to our demise. We can count on it.

Anyone, from the common man to world leaders, would be so seduced by the power of the device that they would ultimately cause a whole bunch of trouble....

 

 

[USB Connector]

Not if you could change things. I've seen far too much science fiction that shows how time travel is just a tool for thieves to turn into powerful people. I also believe that most people are ill natured and would use this as a tool to advance themselves in some way.

 

I would support it if you could use it to witness events, but not interact with anything (basically being a ghost), because we could learn so much about humanity and life on this planet using it.

 

Then again, if you could go into the future and see the schematics for weapons of mass destruction or security patrols in government establishments from two weeks ago, even being a witness to the events would allow you to change events in the present to your advantage.

 

After this train of thought, no in all scenarios.

[Principled Man]

If I had to do it, I would go into the far, far future....say like 10,000 years or even farther.

 

I would love to see if Humanity has survived, and if it has, will it have reverted to another Stone Age, or pre-industrial, or perhaps even solved its problems and migrated out of our star system.

 

Kind of doubt that last scenario.....

[drbirdsong]

QUOTE (Ancient Ways @ Jan 6 2012, 09:25 PM)

Going back in time more than 100 years would suck. It would be hard to fit in and you might get discovered. No antibiotics or advanced medicine if you needed it. Unhealthy food and water. You might not be able to understand the language people are speaking even though you haven't left the country. If you are a racial minority or Jew you might immediately be enslaved, punished or killed. No real rights so it would be easy to be incarcerated. If you don't have perfect vision and glasses have not been invented you might be killed easily by wild animals. If you end up in a place where advanced hand to hand combat or swordfighting is needed it might be a problem. You would very likely do something that would get you executed for witchcraft.

Going 100 years into the future might yield the same result.

 

I don't think that it will ever be possible, but since we are speculating then no, I do not support the practice. You are born in this time for a reason that may never be known to you, but I believe we must seek our individual destiny. If you believe that life isn't just a happy accident then we are all here for a purpose. We have one change at life to figure it out and make the best of it. Traveling in time or living "forever" will most likely never be an option and if it ever is I want no part of it.

[danielmclark]

It makes for interesting fiction, but it's the most impossible thing ever in the history of everything ever. A housefly being elected president of the United States is more possible than time travel.

 

So, playing along with the general fictional premise, my answers would depend on the rules.

 

Time travel where you can affect the past and therefore the future? Against it.

 

Time travel where you can only go forward? For it, as long as it's a one-way trip. None of this 'going forward to learn the lottery numbers and come back here and get rich' nonsense.

 

Time travel where you can go into the past but not change anything? For it.

[treeduck]

QUOTE (Union 5-3992 @ Jan 6 2012, 06:08 PM)

I would be a great opposer to Time Travel. If it were possible today, I would definitely fight against it for if we did something like killing Hitler, we could be preventing the lives of billions of people to even exist. I am thinking of time travel in a very rational sense, not the "Dude, it would be awesome" sense, though I would have to agree. Damn a typo, the last answer should be "Yes, only if by creating a time machine, we guarantee our own existence." And I didn't spell existence correctly.

I don't think you could erase people from existence by changing the past, you would just create a new timeline, like a new fork in the river of time...

[An Enemy Without]

Interesting. I've been reading about various paradoxes on Wikipedia and stumbled upon the Grandfather paradox. Simply put, what would the consequences be if you went back in time and killed your grandfather before he gave birth to your father?

 

The usual line of reasoning is that you would cease to exist. However, that is not the case. If you never existed (because your father never existed) then there is no way you would have been able to kill your grandfather using time travel. Therefore, you would still exist. However, your existence would allow you to prevent your existence, and so on and so forth. This could go on forever.

 

But what does it mean? The fact that you exist at all proves that you will never go back and kill your grandfather (prevent your existence). However, if you somehow managed to prevent your own existence that action would likely spawn a parallel universe in which you still exist, but you would cease to exist in this one.

 

Well either that, or everything disappears due to contradictions with the laws of, well, everything.

[Babycat]

To be honest, for me, I'm fairly certain that Time Travel would alter everything and we would cease to exist.