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A question about time travel

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,341
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in General Discussion #1
It's all very well saying that if it was possible to send somebody back in time, they could assassinate Hitler prevent the JFK assassination/911 and the attack on Pearl Harbour but what gives us mere mortals the right to interfere with the forces that control time?
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  • AsarualimAsarualim Posts: 3,884
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    #2
    motsy wrote: »
    It's all very well saying that if it was possible to send somebody back in time, they could assassinate Hitler prevent the JFK assassination/911 and the attack on Pearl Harbour but what gives us mere mortals the right to interfere with the forces that control time?

    What forces are they you speak of?
  • lightdragonlightdragon Posts: 19,059
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    #3
    What forces control time? Is this a Dr Who thing?
  • swingalegswingaleg Posts: 103,106
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    #4
    Maybe Hitler was assassinated but the world in which Goebbels was Fuhrer and Germany won the war was so horrific that in 2248 they sent someone back to kill Hitler's assassin and prevent Goebbels becoming Fuhrer
  • TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    #5
    Another well thought out thread by motsy. Nice one
    :thumbsup
  • phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    #6
    Hark, I hear the tiny flutter of butterfly's wings....
  • archiverarchiver Posts: 13,011
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    #7
    Read quite an interesting article on the BBC website recently:

    http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150216-the-truth-about-movie-time-travel

    "Much as we love the idea of changing the past and erasing our mistakes – I’ve some deep regrets about a coat I bought in 2007 – it seems nothing including wormholes can take us back there."
  • itscoldoutsideitscoldoutside Posts: 3,190
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    #8
    You cannot change history, if you try and change it, and succeed, you would not have been sent back to change it in the first place, because the thing you changed would have never happened and you would have had no reason to be sent back to change it, therefore you would have never changed history and the original event would have occured.
  • be more pacificbe more pacific Posts: 19,061
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    #9
    motsy wrote: »
    It's all very well saying that if it was possible to send somebody back in time, they could assassinate Hitler prevent the JFK assassination/911 and the attack on Pearl Harbour but what gives us mere mortals the right to interfere with the forces that control time?
    You are Malcolm Reed and I claim my £5!
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    #10
    be more pacific wrote: »
    You are Malcolm Reed and I claim my £5!

    bugger .. you beat me to it .. perhaps i can go back in time and post before you ? :)
  • Si_CreweSi_Crewe Posts: 40,202
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    #11
    Personally, I think the whole "grandfather paradox" thing is over-rated.

    I mean, if you go back in time and kill your grandfather, thus ensuring you weren't born, it'd mean you couldn't go back in time to kill him so you would end up getting born.

    I figure that, maybe, the universe would just give everybody a "do-over" until they didn't do something which created a paradox.
    And, of course, you'd never know all those do-overs were happening because time would be re-written every time you screwed something up.

    Just saying....
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,341
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    #12
    While the assassination of Hitler might sound like a good idea my question meant what gives us the right to interfere with the flow of things?
    There're things that're better off left alone, no matter how unpleasant they are.
  • SULLASULLA Posts: 149,789
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    #13
    motsy wrote: »
    It's all very well saying that if it was possible to send somebody back in time, they could assassinate Hitler prevent the JFK assassination/911 and the attack on Pearl Harbour but what gives us mere mortals the right to interfere with the forces that control time?

    If we had prevented the attack on Peal Harbour, it would have been far more difficult to win WW2 and we might have lost.
  • FlufanFlufan Posts: 2,544
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    #14
    Asarualim wrote: »
    What forces are they you speak of?

    I think, for the more portentous questions of pith and moment such as good ol' Motsy's here, we need to recast your question to a more appropriate, "What are these forces of which you speak?"
    itscoldoutside wrote: »
    You cannot change history, if you try and change it, and succeed, you would not of been sent back to change it in the first place, because the thing you changed would of never happened and you would of had no reason to be sent back to change it, therefore you would of never changed history and the original event would of occured.

    .....nnnngggg..... fighting OCD...... ngngngngngng....this is DS, don't be a grammar Nazi.... NO! Can't resist!

    Have, have, have, have, have!!!

    Aaaaah.
  • idlewildeidlewilde Posts: 8,698
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    #15
    Si_Crewe wrote: »
    Personally, I think the whole "grandfather paradox" thing is over-rated.

    I mean, if you go back in time and kill your grandfather, thus ensuring you weren't born, it'd mean you couldn't go back in time to kill him so you would end up getting born.

    I figure that, maybe, the universe would just give everybody a "do-over" until they didn't do something which created a paradox.
    And, of course, you'd never know all those do-overs were happening because time would be re-written every time you screwed something up.

    Just saying....

    Great Scott!
  • itscoldoutsideitscoldoutside Posts: 3,190
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    #16
    Flufan wrote: »
    I think, for the more portentous questions of pith and moment such as good ol' Motsy's here, we need to recast your question to a more appropriate, "What are these forces of which you speak?"



    .....nnnngggg..... fighting OCD...... ngngngngngng....this is DS, don't be a grammar Nazi.... NO! Can't resist!

    Have, have, have, have, have!!!

    Aaaaah.

    Not round these parts.:D
  • SaturnVSaturnV Posts: 11,519
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    #17
    Flufan wrote: »
    I think, for the more portentous questions of pith and moment such as good ol' Motsy's here, we need to recast your question to a more appropriate, "What are these forces of which you speak?"



    .....nnnngggg..... fighting OCD...... ngngngngngng....this is DS, don't be a grammar Nazi.... NO! Can't resist!

    Have, have, have, have, have!!!

    Aaaaah.

    It's the new verb 'to of'.
  • JulesandSandJulesandSand Posts: 6,012
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    #18
    Read Stephen King's 11/22/63 - it's a good story.
  • TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    #19
    motsy wrote: »
    While the assassination of Hitler might sound like a good idea my question meant what gives us the right to interfere with the flow of things?
    There're things that're better off left alone, no matter how unpleasant they are.

    Rights become meaningless once time travel exists. You go back in time and change history, not because it's your right, you do it simply because you can.
  • lightdragonlightdragon Posts: 19,059
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    #20
    itscoldoutside wrote: »
    You cannot change history, if you try and change it, and succeed, you would not have been sent back to change it in the first place, because the thing you changed would have never happened and you would have had no reason to be sent back to change it, therefore you would have never changed history and the original event would have occured.

    But you would only be aware of the timeline you're in, so once something changed it wouldn't need to be a closed loop of having you going back in the future, it would just be an alternate timeline.
  • itscoldoutsideitscoldoutside Posts: 3,190
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    #21
    lightdragon wrote: »
    But you would only be aware of the timeline you're in, so once something changed it wouldn't need to be a closed loop of having you going back in the future, it would just be an alternate timeline.

    It depends on what theory you believe in.

    Some say time in one constant, others say there can be many alterntaive times.
  • lightdragonlightdragon Posts: 19,059
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    #22
    itscoldoutside wrote: »
    It depends on what theory you believe in.

    Some say time in one constant, others say there can be many alterntaive times.

    I'm talking hypothetically, if time travel was possible and you can change what was originally on your line, then I'm not sure how time as one constant could even accommodate that. (Then again I'm not super smart). :D
  • Ethel_FredEthel_Fred Posts: 34,127
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    #23
    There's always the danger that trying to kill Hitler results in the Hitler we had and without time travellers trying to kill him he'd have stayed as a painter.
  • coughthecatcoughthecat Posts: 6,876
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    #24
    I've always just assumed that if someone went back 5 years in time, they'd just be 5 years younger and wouldn't even know they'd gone back in time because they hadn't reached the point in time when they went back in time.

    ... but I'm just a simple soul! :blush:
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    #25
    I've always been fascinated by the theory of alternate universes. I think the whole 'Doc Brown' explanation is far closer to how it would be if it were possible so imo, if it were possible to go back in time, then the present wouldn't be altered at all.
  • StrmChaserSteveStrmChaserSteve Posts: 2,728
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    #26
    itscoldoutside wrote: »
    You cannot change history, if you try and change it, and succeed, you would not have been sent back to change it in the first place, because the thing you changed would have never happened and you would have had no reason to be sent back to change it, therefore you would have never changed history and the original event would have occured.

    Erm, i gotta get my brain into first gear, before i can let that sink in
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