Time Machine:Where would you go and what would you alter?

I would go back to the writing of the Constitution. I would tell them to make sure that bureaucrats, credit, corporations, are illegal. I would also tell them to ensure that all money is backed by gold.

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse
6.Another obvious one,go back to the birth of micrsoft and apple,and pile some savings into their shares!

Funny. When I was in the Navy (1983), one of the officers in my training squadron had a letter on the wall of his office. Every morning he would walk into his office and pound his head into the wall right beside that letter. I got a chance to read the letter once and immediately understood why he pounded his head into that wall.

At his past duty station, a couple of local kids asked him to invest $2000 into a company that they were forming. He blew them off. It was Woz and Jobs. The letter was a written copy of their offer, it was one of the first things written on Apple letterhead. His $2000 would have been worth about $5 million at that time.

As far as a time machine goes, I'd go back to about 1820 to a known gold deposit, mine it and hide the gold. Then I'd go back and buy the mineral rights to most of Texas, you know, the parts that have oil. Or I'd shoot Oswald on November 21st and then watch what happens. Never know, I might shoot Kennedy myself.

[edit on 8-3-2010 by JIMC5499]

reply to post by Cosmic4life


In that case, either Spain, 1491 and scotch the idea of going in the first place....on second thought, I'd go nowhere near Europe at that time, I'd likely be guest of honor at a barbecue.

So make that 1490 in the Caribbean islands, where I could prophesy the arrival and consequences of the Spanish fleet, and make sure none survive to bring others. An army wouldn't be necessary, just a few fire pots thrown aboard during the initial greetings, foreknowledge is great.

It's interesting that everyone here would travel backwards in time.

As for me, my first choice would be travel into the future and grab some future tech. I would then apply the future tech so that my past footprint would be minimized if not made nonexistent. I would then use some of the tech to terraform and colonize another star system and take people that are to be tortured to the extreme from the Earth to the new planet to spare them that fate. I would also find people that can not be rehabilitated and give them their own planet to keep others safe from them. I would train others to help me in my endeavor as well as seek input to improve on the process. I would not take anyone from before my timeline but definitely after it.

reply to post by LuxFestinus


The thing is no one knows what the future holds. It would suck to go there and find out that it is radioactive wasteland and you die from radiation poisoning. Future tech is nice but may be non existent.

I would go back to that day.

Back to that place and time.

Back to where her voice mingled with the bird songs as she looked at me with eyes as blue as the summer sky.

This time I'll tell her how I feel

This time I'll kiss her.

Maybe this time, she will stay.

I would go back to 1947 and go to roswell. I could sit in a tree hiding and waiting for the ufo crash. Then with my trusty modern day camera, take a few snapshots and a video. Then travel back to the present day and prove it really happened by posting it on this thread.

reply to post by Shadowglenn95


I hope that tree isn't where whatever it was crashed at. You might be further ahead to find some high ground away from the site and take a good zoom lens. Of course your time machine might be what whatever it was crashed into.

To the first hunter gatherer who stopped to start farming. History's greatest monster. Single handedly started the demon engine of civilization.

Originally posted by babylonstew

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse
1.Covert snatch mission on the alexandria library,just before it was sacked and burned.
With plenty of flashbangs to keep the locals away.

2

that could be what burns the place down in the first place, got to love time travel theory aint ya

Ah damn,you could be right.
Guess the flashbangs were a bad idea.

Maybe Darth Vader masks would have the same effect back then-they would scare the pants off the locals just as good,and not start a planetary fire.

Ohhh,no but then our God may look a bit like Vader,and we can't have that.
Back to the drawing board...

Assuming that time travel is possible, you still couldn't alter your own base timeline. The grandfather paradox illistrates this nicely.

If it's possible then it would actually be parallel universe travel. Which you could use to move to a timeline that is just approaching the events you want to see or inject yourself into. This would change the course of the timeline to which you jumped but not your own base line.

Since reverse causality is impossible according to thermodynamics, you could never alter your own past timeline, because it has already happened.

Let's can the word "time travel" and call it quantum leaping

reply to post by constantwonder


Yes but if past present and future already exists nothing you do will alter the timeline. Think about it. This means there is no such thing as free will.

reply to post by constantwonder


sorry double post.

[edit on 8-3-2010 by Gentill Abdulla]

reply to post by Cosmic4life


I would go back in time and prevent the assassination of archduke Ferdinand heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His death was the spark for WWI so hopefully saving him would prevent WWI which in turn would prevent WWII. So many millions of lives could be saved, so much mindless killing avoided.

I would go back to the 80s and live it up.

Originally posted by Gentill Abdulla
reply to post by constantwonder

 

Yes but if past present and future already exists nothing you do will alter the timeline. Think about it. This means there is no such thing as free will.

Ah yes that is true if newtonian physics were the end all. However views about time that grows grain by grain out of the past allow the past to already exsist while the future is still being shaped by the various forces in nature.

Time travel to the future is done through time dilation. So even though it's slowed down for the traveler elswhere it still moves forward at its regular rate. So the future can has the proper amount of "time" to create the future that you have traveled to (at least from your perspective)

Time and all its little quirks are a magnificent brain work out and really gets my mental juices flowing.

Fay Dowker has done some good work towards this theory. . .

reply to post by constantwonder


Don't forget that massive objects can bend time ,and space, into a loop.( A closed timelike curve ,or a closed spacelike curve.)

reply to post by constantwonder


sorry dp!

[edit on 8-3-2010 by Gentill Abdulla]

reply to post by Solasis


That Sir, is nothing but pure WIN! I'd go back to before my father and my fiancee' died and get to say the goodbyes I was denied.

Awesome post and loving everyone's creative ideas. Personally I would take some gold with me to 1920's upstate New York. Sell it when I get there. Buy a farm and live out the rest of my years in simpler times.