Let's test if WE are ever going to get hands on time travel

[EvilotionCR2]

Remember,if you'll ever get a time machine,travel to the time you are reading this right next to where are you sitting right now. That way,we can test if we will get our hands on time travel (in our livetime). And if nothing appeares next to you in say 20 minutes,it's confirmed that we won't.

[Arran]

I complete forgot about this old KSP, ever since i started to play KSP 3, The Kerballic Connection..

[adam1]

ohh god i just made it, where are you ill come get you in the DeLorean

[dharak1]

Guys I think it exists.... Some guy 50 years older than me just appeared and told me about all this declassified WWII stuff.

[Spartwo]

Where's acentianisim(not sure how it's spelled) when you need 'em,

[Kinglet]

Remember,if you'll ever get a time machine,travel to the time you are reading this right next to where are you sitting right now. That way,we can test if we will get our hands on time travel (in our livetime). And if nothing appeares next to you in say 20 minutes,it's confirmed that we won't.

This is illogical. You are using time travel to see if you will ever time travel.

[EvilotionCR2]

This is illogical. You are using time travel to see if you will ever time travel.

Explain. Why?

[K^2]

The most plausible way time travel can work^* is by requiring that the "time machine" exists from the time of destination to the time of origin. Think of it as more of a tunnel than a vehicle. (Primer actually did a pretty decent work of it.) So the fact that you cannot send a message to yourself now merely says that there is no time machine available to you that goes to this particular time. It doesn't mean that you won't have access to a time machine of some sort in the future. It might simply be one that doesn't carry you far enough back to deliver such a message.

^*The only well-tested theory that currently predicts time travel is General Relativity, and it has some requirements that make it tricky, but not impossible. It might never be feasible, but it sets the standard for the way time travel can work and the way any possible paradoxes are resolved.

[tavert]

Just re-watched Primer for the umpteenth time a few days ago. Love that movie. Anyone who hasn't seen it and thinks time travel is interesting should go watch it now. It's free on Hulu, at least in the US.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/442155

Or don't take my word for it, take Randall Munroe's: http://xkcd.com/657/ (the movie takes... at least a few times of watching to really figure out what's going on)

[maccollo]

This is viewing your future self and your current self as separate entities, and your future self must prove him/herself to you.

However I remember in grade school when me and my friend were discussing this very thing. If I gained the ability right now to go back in time, I would not go back to that point, because I don't have to prove anything to my former self.

If you had one shot at time travel would you

A: Go back in time to witness some important historical event, maybe the K/T impact that killed the dinosaurs, or something important historical event.

B: Go to the future and see marvels of future technology

C: Commit lottery fraud

D: Visit your former self to say "Hey, I'm you from the future, time travel is possible... DERP?"

Edited January 3, 2014 by maccollo

[SuperWeegee4000]

I feel like the "conduit" approach could be the only real solution - no visiting the dinosaurs, but you could see what your kids would look lI have no idea if this message is going to get through or not, but it's the only hope we have.ike. I don't think the causal implications would be as sevIn 2017, Microsoft took over the US. All of it. They gained a complete monopoly and horrible things happened to people who resisted or used unapproved systems.ere that way. The problem is, as soon as weAnyone who tried to stop them was crushed or used as character models for bad games. There's DRM everywhere now. Surveillance. You can't walk down the street. Martial law is coming. invent a time machine, we open the door to a paradox that way, where before it would have been closeThey're coming for everyone else, too. We've taken refuge in Europe, but they found us. They're going to wipe us all out, or force us to play Call of Duty XXIII: Microsoft Warfare for ten hours straight. Listen, DON'T LET MICROSOFT TAKE OVER. STOP THEM BERGFHVNG M ,d, since there would have been no prior conduit. Implications aside, though, I can't imagine that the laws would be lax surrounding time travel. What would you say the laws surrounding it would be? Would there be permits? A "time machine license?"

[TimMartland]

I would love to contribute, but I have to go now. Some crazy guy just crashed a DeLorean into my garage.

[Brabbit1987]

Just because you say you will travel back in time to this particular point, doesn't mean your future self actually will do it. By the time your future self gets to that point, he or she may think it's a stupid idea. Not only that, what if there is multiple time lines? Then your future self could go back, but not meet you because you are no longer in the same time line.

In other words, there are to many factors to get in the way of this test for it to be reliable.