davidsf
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 5,252
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Post by davidsf on Jan 4, 2020 9:32:25 GMT -8
Of course, it’s not possible, but I have something against the portrayal of it in movies and books.
first, the whole issue of me going back in time: Do I go back as the me of, say, 1970 ... or do I go back as me of 2020 and I’m an extra me?
if the former, I could not return to the same 2020 I left because from that point in 1970, forward, I wouldn’t make the same mistakes so the outcome 50 years in that future would not be the same one I left.
if the latter, would I be wise to counsel my 1970 self? I would obviously feel compelled to tell myself to buy Apple stock or bitcoins... maybe tell me to not marry my first wife who left me... or better: Marry her, but work harder to get her to stay with me... but what would, then, be waiting for me when I returned to 2020? Would my current children just cease to exist? Would I have ever left California?
Second, how do we know it is not possible?
Could not the pyramids have been built by a crew of future architects who went back to help the Egyptians figure out out to build them?
Might we have been visited many times by future denizens? Maybe Trump was counseled by future Trump how to win the presidency and what he would face if he did.
the concept is fascinating, but I’m not buying it... or MAYBE I’ve been counseled by future me.
what are your thoughts?
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MDDad
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 6,814
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Post by MDDad on Jan 4, 2020 10:42:57 GMT -8
First, the thought of a future Trump is pretty terrifying. One Trump is quite enough.
Second, I think you've been watching too many of those ancient space aliens shows on The History Channel. (Remember when that channel was actually about history, before it got all whacked out?)
Third, isn't it a tenet of these theories that if you run into the you of the past the entire time-space continuum explodes or something?
Fourth, none of this matters until someone invents a flux capacitor.
And last, do you by any chance drive a DeLorean?
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davidsf
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 5,252
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Post by davidsf on Jan 4, 2020 11:13:52 GMT -8
First, the thought of a future Trump is pretty terrifying. One Trump is quite enough. Second, I think you've been watching too many of those ancient space aliens shows on The History Channel. (Remember when that channel was actually about history, before it got all whacked out?) Third, isn't it a tenet of these theories that if you run into the you of the past the entire time-space continuum explodes or something? Fourth, none of this matters until someone invents a flux capacitor. And last, do you by any chance drive a DeLorean? That third tenet is slightly in error. Supposedly, you shouldn’t physically interact, or even touch, the past you. I never got why that would be a problem, but I didn’t write the rules. your fourth conundrum has been addressed:  and, fifth, no... but I’m not sure that is absolutely necessary. |
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slk230
Contributor
Skeptical
Posts: 42
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Post by slk230 on Jan 4, 2020 13:41:57 GMT -8
Dave have you forgotten that Capt Kirk used to time travel all the time?
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davidsf
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 5,252
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Post by davidsf on Jan 4, 2020 13:56:13 GMT -8
Dave have you forgotten that Capt Kirk used to time travel all the time? I get that, but so far as I know, he has never contacted me. |
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Credo
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 6,242
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Post by Credo on Jan 4, 2020 23:15:50 GMT -8
Student (who is near failing late in the semester): Is there anything I can do to improve my grade?
Me: You could invent a time machine and go back to the beginning of the semester and start all over.
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davidsf
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 5,252
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Post by davidsf on Jan 5, 2020 8:52:46 GMT -8
Student (who is near failing late in the semester): Is there anything I can do to improve my grade? Me: You could invent a time machine and go back to the beginning of the semester and start all over. If he does fail, won’t he be doing that without the time machine, anyway? |
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SK80
Master Eminence Grise
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Post by SK80 on Jan 5, 2020 9:08:32 GMT -8
Student (who is near failing late in the semester): Is there anything I can do to improve my grade? Me: You could invent a time machine and go back to the beginning of the semester and start all over. If he does fail, won’t he be doing that without the time machine, anyway? |
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Credo
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 6,242
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Post by Credo on Jan 5, 2020 14:35:04 GMT -8
The point, which I hoped was obvious, is that there is always a student or two who thinks that in the last five days of the semester he can somehow undo the previous 15 weeks of sleepwalking through class. By that time it's too late, however.
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davidsf
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 5,252
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Post by davidsf on Jan 5, 2020 14:48:29 GMT -8
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Post by ProfessorFate on Jan 5, 2020 15:33:26 GMT -8
The point, which I hoped was obvious, is that there is always a student or two who thinks that in the last five days of the semester he can somehow undo the previous 15 weeks of sleepwalking through class. By that time it's too late, however. I always turned in my homework and paid attention in class, but...I was also one of those guys who could cram the night before a final exam and kick ass on the next day's exams.  Interestingly, I actually ran into a guy who couldn't do that. It was in a class for an employment opportunity, where if you passed, you got a promotion, but if you didn't you got fired. A bunch of us were going to study together the night before the final exam, and we asked one guy if he would like to join us. He said he would like to, but he couldn't. He had been in a serious auto accident the year before, and, like Drew Barrymore's character in "50 First Dates," he wouldn't remember it the next day. He had to set his alarm, write himself a note, go to bed early, and then cram in the morning.  |
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RSM789
Eminence Grise
Posts: 2,286
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Post by RSM789 on Jan 5, 2020 16:20:00 GMT -8
How does that guy remember in the morning that he has to study for the exam?
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Post by ProfessorFate on Jan 5, 2020 16:24:29 GMT -8
How does that guy remember in the morning that he has to study for the exam? By writing himself that note. |
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RSM789
Eminence Grise
Posts: 2,286
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Post by RSM789 on Jan 5, 2020 17:35:12 GMT -8
Does he remember he wrote the note?
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Credo
Master Eminence Grise
Posts: 6,242
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Post by Credo on Jan 5, 2020 17:36:46 GMT -8
The point, which I hoped was obvious, is that there is always a student or two who thinks that in the last five days of the semester he can somehow undo the previous 15 weeks of sleepwalking through class. By that time it's too late, however. I always turned in my homework and paid attention in class, but...I was also one of those guys who could cram the night before a final exam and kick ass on the next day's exams. Nothing wrong with that; paying attention and doing the work is always a good foundation. |
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