Real or Imagined?
Time Travel has been a common story line in science fiction stores since 720 AD; travel into the future at least is arguably possible, but it is currently unknown whether the laws of physics will permit time travel into the past.
The first novel to feature time travel by means of a time machine was not until 1887. This idea soon gained more popularity with the H. G. Wells story “The Time Machine”, which was published in 1895. Prior to that, fictional time travel was generally accomplished by utilizing some sort of ‘magic’, such as the magical nap or sleep taken by Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” in 1819.
Since we typically have such limited control regarding magic, if we expect to accomplish time travel per say, then I would think some sort of machine makes a lot of sense instead of depending on the often unreliable principles of magic.
You may have noticed that each of the story lines depicted above relates to trips into the future. Traveling into the past seems to be a more recent concept, but the origin of this notion is also somewhat uncertain. Perhaps the earliest story which hints of backwards time travel is found in “Memoirs of the Twentieth Century” published in 1733 by Samuel Madden.
May-be people are just less interested in the past, hence future ‘dramas’ have been dominant in time travel plots, until more recently (720 vs. 1733 AD); then again, perhaps early authors / writers recognized the potential hazards and complexities that may be associated with venturing into the past and elected to ‘just not go there’.
In fact, many experts within the scientific community believe that while traveling into the future is most definitely possibly, time travel into the past is very unlikely.
You see, theories which allow time travel into the past would require that the problems associated with cause and effect, be resolved first. A classic example of this problem is known as the "grandfather paradox"; in other words the question what must be answered is ‘if one were to go back in time and kill one's own grandfather before one's father was conceived; would you still be among the living?
Most experts in the scientific community think the answer to this paradox is a decisive no! To make things even more confusing, suppose that you were successful in eliminating your grandfather, therefore you no longer exist in that time period, how then could have you just killed good old granddad? For this reason among others, you (and everyone else) should probably stay away from such past environments; you never know what you might change.
So what’s your thoughts, mine are perhaps a bit different than most, in that I expect that at some unknown point in time of our future, traveling into the past (specific date unknown) is commonplace.
As I indicated in a previous post / critique titled “What are UFO’s Looking For”, here again I offer the same supposition or guess; quite simply, in many (but not all) cases UFO's are visiting ‘guests’ from out future.
In my view, such logic could easily explain the biggest mystery of all regarding UFO sightings or encounters: Why have such beings thus far refused to interact with everyone instead of a select few?
Limited contact may very well be their best solution to the “grand-father paradox”. And yes this line of thinking may completely validate time travel.
I would like to go into the future and find out who wins the next five Kentucky Derbies. I could then come back and win enough to retire on. Seems that will be the only way I can afford to retire.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to figure another angle ... as I could not possibly afford to even get to the Derby, much less placing a bet. But, on the other hand, just the trip would be worth while.
ReplyDeleteNo need to make the trip to the Derby. A bet is only a phone call to the local bookie away.
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