Something that bugs me about time travel.
- Thread starter Sean Hollyman
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If we are talking fiction, then it's whatever timey-wimey nonsense you want i.e. Looper. Although I like Douglas Adams' explanation of time travel.
If however we are talking about non-fiction there are two main thoughts.
1: Parallel Universe
This one is badly explained ALL THE TIME. A parallel universe is created when either action is possible. THIS DOES NOT DIRECTLY APPLY TO HUMAN "CHOICE". Schrodinger's Cat is a good example. You place a cat in a box that you cannot perceive through, with a vial of poison that will break open at a RANDOM time. You close the box. Now there are 2 options inside the box. One where the cat is alive, and when it isn't. THIS would create a parallel universe, where one the cat is dead and the other not. The reason why THIS causes a parallel universe is because the vial will break open at a random point. I don't mean random like flipping a coin (which can be determined with enough info), but truly random means no matter how much info you have you can't predict the outcome with certainty, even if you had the Theory of Everything. Human choice i.e. giving a sandwich, going back in time, in comparison isn't random, if it was we wouldn't have psyhcologists. Obviously you could rig it so you made your choice based upon a random event.
2: Determinism
This is based on the idea of Laplace's Demon, where a creature with infinite computing power, the Theory of Everything, and knowledge about everything at one point in time, can determine the future and the past with 100% accuracy. See also Fate (although generally Fate is created by higher being in fiction). Simply, just as the past is unchanging so is the future.
Of course both of them can exist together where you have a multiverse of deterministic universes.
Personally I prefer 2, because the others imply creating energy, which is a big no-no in scientific thought right now.
Obviously this is all speculation as we don't currently have time travel (as far as I know).
EDIT: in response to recent posts about things moving in space. If we consider a bubble, inside the bubble time doesn't change, while outside including the bubble itself it does change (either forwards or backwards). This means that whatever direction Earth is moving, the bubble moves with it (as it is still affected by the laws of the Universe), and therefore the inside is too. So while yes the Earth isn't where it was 7 minutes ago, that doesn't necessarily stop the time machine moving with it.
If however we are talking about non-fiction there are two main thoughts.
1: Parallel Universe
This one is badly explained ALL THE TIME. A parallel universe is created when either action is possible. THIS DOES NOT DIRECTLY APPLY TO HUMAN "CHOICE". Schrodinger's Cat is a good example. You place a cat in a box that you cannot perceive through, with a vial of poison that will break open at a RANDOM time. You close the box. Now there are 2 options inside the box. One where the cat is alive, and when it isn't. THIS would create a parallel universe, where one the cat is dead and the other not. The reason why THIS causes a parallel universe is because the vial will break open at a random point. I don't mean random like flipping a coin (which can be determined with enough info), but truly random means no matter how much info you have you can't predict the outcome with certainty, even if you had the Theory of Everything. Human choice i.e. giving a sandwich, going back in time, in comparison isn't random, if it was we wouldn't have psyhcologists. Obviously you could rig it so you made your choice based upon a random event.
2: Determinism
This is based on the idea of Laplace's Demon, where a creature with infinite computing power, the Theory of Everything, and knowledge about everything at one point in time, can determine the future and the past with 100% accuracy. See also Fate (although generally Fate is created by higher being in fiction). Simply, just as the past is unchanging so is the future.
Of course both of them can exist together where you have a multiverse of deterministic universes.
Personally I prefer 2, because the others imply creating energy, which is a big no-no in scientific thought right now.
Obviously this is all speculation as we don't currently have time travel (as far as I know).
EDIT: in response to recent posts about things moving in space. If we consider a bubble, inside the bubble time doesn't change, while outside including the bubble itself it does change (either forwards or backwards). This means that whatever direction Earth is moving, the bubble moves with it (as it is still affected by the laws of the Universe), and therefore the inside is too. So while yes the Earth isn't where it was 7 minutes ago, that doesn't necessarily stop the time machine moving with it.