Time-Travel Dilemma

What would you do if?

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Your thoughts on the time machine?

Use it, to fix whatever, whenever. No restrictions.
8
31%
Use it, to only fix events that occurred during your lifetime.
4
15%
Use it, to only fix events that occurred in the last few years.
1
4%
Use it, to only fix events that occurred in the last few days/months.
0
No votes
Use it, only fix stuff that happened in the last 24 hours.
1
4%
Use it, only fix stuff that happened in the last 24 hours.
1
4%
Don't use it, find someone you trust, and give it to them.
0
No votes
Don't use it, burn it.
11
42%
 
Total votes: 26

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ENIGMA
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Time-Travel Dilemma

Post #1

Post by ENIGMA »

This should be something of a fun and thought-provoking discussion.

Scenario:

You have developed/built/acquired a time-traveling device which allows you to travel to any time in the past, allowing you to change, prevent, or perhaps even try to create a historical event or series of events.

The only major caveat of the use of the time travel device is that you are prohibited from changing history in a manner that prevents you from existing. For example, I could not prevent WWII because both my sets of grandparents only met because of their moving caused by the war. I could, however, potentially prevent the terrorist attack on 9/11, so long as I survive to the present in the new timeline.

Any accidental self-deletion will have unpredictable consequences, ranging from simply becoming "unstuck" from time to causing the universe to implode.

Given this knowledge, would you use the time machine?

If so, when would you try to change? What (if any) restrictions would you place on its use?

If not, would you prevent any others from doing the same?
Gilt and Vetinari shared a look. It said: While I loathe you and all of your personal philosophy to a depth unplummable by any line, I will credit you at least with not being Crispin Horsefry [The big loud idiot in the room].

-Going Postal, Discworld

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Cathar1950
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Post #21

Post by Cathar1950 »

McCulloch wrote:It is a contradiction. To go implies the future. If you could go to the past, whatever you would do in the past, has already been done.
Would it be "go back"? :-k
Given I think the future hasn't happened and the past has, I don't see how I can disagree. :confused2:

It seem if you want to go to the future you could just wait until it happens.
The past seems harder to get to.
But if there is a loop hole in physics, we will find it. :P

Bekki659
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Post #22

Post by Bekki659 »

I think the answer would be no, for me.
Thats the important part, because I doubt the rest of this is going to make much sense.

Time travel is just too complicated for my poor little brain to wrap its self around.
If you go back in time, and change the past, then what do you go back to? Isnt it all happening simultaneously? If so, does that mean that there are billions and billions of yous floating around?
If you take off into the past, and you change something, and it just so happens that its something that wipes out your entire family for the future, so you have never existed? Why would you risk changing the entire future just so you could go back and observe? You might THINK that you were doing something that was ok, but then it might have incredibly severe repercussions... we just DONT even know.

There the whole butterfly theory thing, that changing something so small could throw off the entire future. What if, like in "A Sound of Thunder" you did that?


If you wanted to go back and see the time before any animals existed (if you believe in evolution from the start) and your time machine lands in the puddle of sludge that created the first one cells organisms... effectively crushing them? Whoops. There goes all the worlds future. All of our history.

Something so delicate, I would never dream of touching.

And another thing, are you willing to sacrifice the present "you" if you change something about the past?
Like if there was a nuclear attack on America, so you went back in time to make sure that all of your family moved to Europe before you were even born... the future YOU came from would be destroyed, and wouldn't there be another version of you wandering around somewhere in Europe? Your parents still would have had you, but you would be different... but you cant go back to that anyway.

Its all just too complicated.
#-o

duganism
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Post #23

Post by duganism »

The idea of a time machine spawns the idea of regret which is a very powerful emotion. Either you have asked it before or you were clever enouugh with the simple=equation. The life in which we are handed is not often quiet the result we look for in a counter-part. Many times the answer can only be understood by regression of the IDEA IMPACT AND CLARIFICATION IS SOUGHT FOR REASONS OF THE SEEKER.lYRICALLY IT IS ASKED UPON BUT YET NO ONE DRAWN UPON HAS BEEN POINIENT ENOUGH TO AFFECT THE PROPOSAL OF HUMILITY.

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lionel1020
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Post #24

Post by lionel1020 »

Well I would use it, but I wouldn't change a thing...far too dangerous.
But I see a use that could seriously reduce crime.

Imagine..a body is found..it's murder. Co operating heavily with the police and under their control I would go back and see who actually did it. Police arrest the criminal.
We do not make a secret of this ' weapon against crime' and in a short period of time the criminals will see it is impossible to 'hide' any wrong doing. Massive reduction in crime...I'm a hero and get paid really enormous amounts of money.

Side effects: Nobody needs insurance against theft because nobody dare steal...Insurance companies go bankrupt. Massive unemployment, families break-up, loose their homes, children starve.

Next ethical decision : What do you want ...a few robberies or starving children?

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