Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Mad Kally · 01-01-2003, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ronin
Not to be a showoff or anything...but I just *actually* did go back in time and murdered my grandfathers and I'm

Now Ronin has gone and ripped apart the fabric of the space-time continuum.

d'naturalist · 01-02-2003, 12:26 AM

The biggest problem with your poll about going back in time to the past is that the answers are in the future tense.

Since the past has already taken place, the outcome of what "would occur" has already occurred. The fact that the grandfather in question was not killed demonstrates that answer 5, "you would fail" (or more accurately, "you failed"), is the correct answer.

managalar · 01-02-2003, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by d'naturalist
Since the past has already taken place, the outcome of what "would occur" has already occurred. The fact that the grandfather in question was not killed demonstrates that answer 5, "you would fail" (or more accurately, "you failed"), is the correct answer.

That's the thing...there isn't any obvious reason to say going back in time is impossible, and there isn't any good reason to say the time line is 'protected' if we did. . .so you could go back in time and visit your younger self or your grandfather, it just wouldn't have happened on the time line you were on. Just saying you failed would be like saying that time travel is impossible...and we cant say that based on not having observed it.

Besides, David Deutsch, the theoretical physicist who designed the first working quantum computer, did it assuming the validity of the many-worlds theory....how else can you explain the information density of just 100 qubits which could hold more distinct intergers than there are atoms in the universe? A hard drive stores single bits by adjusting the magnetic moment of clusters of hundres of atoms...you'd need a hard drive made of every atom in the universe to even come close to comparing to a quantum storage device....and that's below 100 qubits (could be something as small as a single atom) which would be a tricky engineering feat...but I bet we'll get it, and I'm pretty sure the information density would imply the universe is bigger than what we see/remember (our time line).

Darkblade · 01-02-2003, 01:39 AM

d'naturalist:

Except that being able to time travel would force the existence of more than one objective (I know it is said there this doesn't exist anyway, but you should understand what I mean) time; normal time, and your time. What would occur is what would occur relative to your present. It would be the past only in respect to your past or post-event future (unless further time traveling occurred).

But I did vote five.

View Poll Results: How would the Grandfather Paradox be resolved?
The fabric of the space-time continuum would be ripped apart.	3	6.00%
A new timeline would be branched out, preventing your return to the "present."	29	58.00%
You would immediately cease to exist.	3	6.00%
You would take Grandpa's place. (You have his genes, after all.)	1	2.00%
You would not succeed -- your gun would jam, or a stray meteorite would hit you, or something.	14	28.00%
Voters: 50. You may not vote on this poll

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01-02-2003, 12:26 AM	#22
d'naturalist Regular Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: USA Posts: 245	The biggest problem with your poll about going back in time to the past is that the answers are in the future tense. Since the past has already taken place, the outcome of what "would occur" has already occurred. The fact that the grandfather in question was not killed demonstrates that answer 5, "you would fail" (or more accurately, "you failed"), is the correct answer.

01-02-2003, 01:39 AM	#24
Darkblade Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: I am both omnipresent AND ubiquitous. Posts: 130	d'naturalist: Except that being able to time travel would force the existence of more than one objective (I know it is said there this doesn't exist anyway, but you should understand what I mean) time; normal time, and your time. What would occur is what would occur relative to your present. It would be the past only in respect to your past or post-event future (unless further time traveling occurred). But I did vote five.

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