NationStates Jolt Archive

Time travel, is it possible I wonder? If it is, that could bring about several positive and negative ramifications. Doing one good deed in the past could have a terrible impact on the events leading up to our present. There are several questions regarding time travel that I would like you all to discuss amongst yourselves.

First of all, do you believe that time travel is something that may become possible?

I for one believe that there is little evidence that could suggest that such a thing is possible. However our understanding of how the universe works could be just one discovery away from finding a way to make it possible.

Secondly, do you believe that if it were possible should be done?

Absolutely not, if one good deed could possibly have severe negative repercussions, just think of what could happen if somebody used it to perform vile acts.

Thirdly, if you were to have a sex change operation and go back in time to have sex with yourself, would you? Would you even bother with the operation? If you did, would that make you a narcissist or just a pervert or what?

No comment.

Time travel forward is relatively easy. Time travel backward is a bit more complex.

Forward time travel happens without anyone's intervention, obviously. It's also possible to stop or slow down time for yourself if you somehow get close enough to the event horizon of a black hole. Backward time travel, on the other hand, would be quite hairy. I suppose you'll need a really nice DeLorean.

Forward time travel happens without anyone's intervention, obviously. It's also possible to stop or slow down time for yourself if you somehow get close enough to the event horizon of a black hole. Backward time travel, on the other hand, would be quite hairy. I suppose you'll need a really nice DeLorean.

You can also slow down time dramatically by getting into the immediate vicinity of any Danny De Vito movie.

As far travelling back in time, I would rather not mess with the past. Depending on the exception handling in the universe, the universe might blow up in a paradoxon and vanish, or going in endless loops, forcing us to countless reruns of BloodRayne.

Yay, another time travel topic! I love temporal mechanics. ^^

If it is, that could bring about several positive and negative ramifications. Doing one good deed in the past could have a terrible impact on the events leading up to our present.
That assumes that time travel could actually change anything. One theory going is that if time travel is possible, nothing you do in the past could change the outcome that was there in the present. In other words, if anyone could travel into our past, either they already have or they won't.

First of all, do you believe that time travel is something that may become possible?
Certainly. We already know that future travel is possible. The idea that it is possible to simulate Past time travel as long as we travel far enough into the future (say, through the Big Crunch and out the other side of the Big Bang) is not entirely unfeasible either, though I'd hate to be the guy who has to try it.

Secondly, do you believe that if it were possible should be done?
Absolutely. Human potential is dramatically improved if time is no longer a limiting factor.

Thirdly, if you were to have a sex change operation and go back in time to have sex with yourself, would you? Would you even bother with the operation? If you did, would that make you a narcissist or just a pervert or what?
Not unless I had some good reason to do so. However, unless there's something I'm not being told, I'd have to wait for the future me to come back before I could do the operation, and once that's happened, I'm doomed to it anyway.

An I understand it, the math proving time travel forward has been around since Einstein, any space/time disturbance could easily have you end up at some time in the distant future (surviving the trip may be difficult considering such disturbances are almost exclusively accompanied by massive gravitational tidal forces that could easily rip you atom from atom.)


The math for time traveling backwards is just now being fleshed out, at this point it may or may not be possible, though if it is, it's probably going to be subject to all sorts of restrictions, such as only being possible for subatomic particles (similar to traveling to the future where anything not going as subatomic particles will involuntarily become such), and will probably only be possible up to certain points in time (I.E. you, or your component subatomic particles, can only travel back up to the moment the time machine was turned on.).

Whether backwards time travel will be useful at all is also under debate, the currently understood laws of physics prohibits things like information propagation faster than the speed of light, and causation following effect (both wrapped up in the laws of causality) and our current understanding of physics will have to be re-written before this changes.

First of all, do you believe that time travel is something that may become possible?
I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure, however, it's more likely to be a bad idea in function than in possibility. To the past, anyway. Future? Not so bad.

Secondly, do you believe that if it were possible should be done?Eventually, i'm liable to come up with a reasonable argument for it. I have before, although i don't remember it right now. (setting)

Thirdly, if you were to have a sex change operation and go back in time to have sex with yourself, would you? Would you even bother with the operation? If you did, would that make you a narcissist or just a pervert or what?

Well, i'm pretty sure i'm not liable to get the ol' snip done. I'm too used to and comfortable with my gender, and i'm pretty sure i'd mess up being the opposite sex.
Plus, i have enough experience to know that i would be a terrible lay for myself. I have been before. For someone else, however ....

I went back in time and banged mitochondrial Eve. Who's your daddy now?

I am.

I went back in time and banged mitochondrial Eve. Who's your daddy now?

I am.

Not exactly. I am.
Remember question 3?
<.<
>.>

...how come you never write me anymore? *sobs*