Timeline Theory

I guess this is the right forum to post this. I was bored today and started thinking about that movie Timeline where they go back in time to the medieval days. I thought it was interesting that one of the archeologists was studying a stone carving of a king that turned out to actually be himself. Now I was wondering... What if this was true in some cases? For instance all these Geniuses that we have like Tesla and other famous historical figures, what if they were actually me or you, but we haven't realised it yet. What if we are catapulted through time, back in the early 1500's, find that noone has discovered the "New World" and you lead a voyage there. You find during the voyage that you are INDEED Christopher Colombus. I hope you see what I'm saying, and I never really thought about this before. What do you guys think?

i think you should stop watching that movie

would be kinda kool i guess. i would be more inclined to stay away from the public eye through if i was trapped back in the 1500's

Actually, I've only seen the movie once. My History teacher had a movie poster of it up and that's how I got to thinking about it. But yeah, I guess you would want to stay out of public view. but I figure with our superior knowledge, we could become someone successful.

Interesting thoughts. I have always wondered about this type of stuff. For instance, if someone went back in time and changed the future how would we ever know? As soon as it happened our memories would instantly be reverted to the new timeline's future (hope that makes sense), and we would never even realize it. Also, if the multiverse theory is proven to be true then if people changed the past it would not make one bit of difference because their would be an infinite amout of "present's" to act upon.

If I were to go back in time in the future and change history in a significant way then I could effectively be studying "myself" in a history book or something. However, again, if the multiverse theory is correct...even if I did go back in time and change the past it may not necessarily be my own timeline that I am changing, but one of an infinite number. This is interesting, because if proven to be correct, every choice someone makes in their life will effectively create a branching of two different timelines at the point where the choice is made...one for the path you choose and one for the path you did not choose. This would continue throughout one's own lifespan effectively creating an infinite number of realities. By this theory, the choice one makes is the most important reality, and you can effectively alter your future by choices you make in the present...

Ok, Im starting to get myself confused so I better stop for awhile so I can gather my thoughts

[edit on 30-8-2004 by Jazzerman]

you could but you still need to be careful. one wrong advancment and it could really screw over the timeline. could you imagine nuke technology in the 1500's???

ok. one question?? if you are columbus, then how did you originally know about columbus to begin with...or the new world for that matter??

see what i am getting at?? if columbus didnt exist before you went back in time... then how did you know about the new world before you went back in time?? because if columbus didnt exist until you went back in time.. then you wouldnt know about the new world...right??

Well... you have heard the theories of a nuclear war bringing on the last Ice Age haven't you?

This also reminds me of a book I read, you may have heard/read it also. It is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court" by Mark Twain. Pretty good. Guy shows knights how to make pistols and instead of riding on horses into battle, they're riding bicycles.

Originally posted by shoafy
if columbus didnt exist before you went back in time... then how did you know about the new world before you went back in time?? because if columbus didnt exist until you went back in time.. then you wouldnt know about the new world...right??

You would know about Colombus, because even though you haven't personally gone back in time yet, it has still happened. So even before you are actually "born", you had already gone back in time and changed things. I think I explained that how I wanted to.

I've seen an Adult Movie that relates to this. In the movie a girl goes back into time to realize that she is the Monalisa.

I thought of a possible sci-fi story along these lines. I imagined in the not too distance future that there is lots of panic and confusion here in the US as a nuclear war breaks out. In a very strange time chain of events, I get caught up somehow in the electromagnetic field blast of a nuclear bomb before the heat etc. get to me. Somehow this electromagnetic field throws me back in time to the time of the pirates. I'm quite a bit crazy after all this happens to me and I haven't shaved in quite some time. Suddenly I get the bright idea to be king of the pirates and make my living out at sea and become known as Blackbeard the pirate.

With knowledge of the future, I could create my own hand grenades and explosives and literally have my way with a number of the folks back then while still having fun. With my knowledge and being almost suicidal since I almost died anyway, what would I care? I might say I wanted to go out with a bang and if a nuclear bomb doesn't kill me, what would? Thus when I read about BlackBeard the pirate and how crazy he was, I start wondering if I might be reading about my own future in the past. To know where and how you are going to die but not remember exactly when, I'm not sure how I would handle that. Guess I wouldn't care that much if I lived through a nuclear blast and lost everything and everyone in the future. I guess some Rum would help cheer me up though.

That's what I was talking about. I htink they did a little something like this in the Mummy Returns also. I am not a very religious person, but I'm guessing this could be considered being "reincarnated".

Originally posted by DarkHelmet

Originally posted by shoafy
if Columbus didn't exist before you went back in time... then how did you know about the new world before you went back in time?? because if Columbus didn't exist until you went back in time.. then you wouldn't know about the new world...right??

You would know about Columbus, because even though you haven't personally gone back in time yet, it has still happened. So even before you are actually "born", you had already gone back in time and changed things. I think I explained that how I wanted to.

It's a paradox.

Example:
~You know of Columbus and his voyage.
~You go back in time and are now Columbus.
~Knowing what you know, you make your historic Voyage, knowing it will work.
~You die as Columbus, are reborn as Your Future Self or whatever, like you are now.
~You learn of Columbus and his Voyage.
~You go back in time and are now Columbus.
~etc, etc, etc.

It's another version of 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?'

It's similar to 'Bill and Ted' when they would just make a mental note to at some point in the future to go back in time and leave something the needed like a key or something for them to use right now, and the key is there even though they have only just thought of it from their perspective. But in the future, they've actually gone back to that point.

Originally posted by SpockO_o
I've seen an Adult Movie that relates to this. In the movie a girl goes back into time to realize that she is the Monalisa.

Thats the funniest @#%^ ive ever heard..Thats #@$ hilarious!!...

[edit on 31-8-2004 by LuDaCrIs]

I was thinking today, if we go back in the futur.. wuldn't it be impossible to "alter" the future? Because if yuread of all the horrible things Hitler did and get made and decide to go back in time and kill him before he's elected, shouldn't nothing change? because at the time you read about it, you had already killed Hitler after traveling into the past. So wouldn't this mean no matter how hard you try to alter the future, it'simpossible? I guess the only exception is killing every single human being on Earth...

Okay, how's this?

How do we know that the great CATASTROPHES in history weren't caused by Time Travellers, wanting to capitalize on the past? The Great Depression comes to mind first.

Remember Back To The Future II when McFly loses his book on historic sports scores, and it falls into the hands of Bif, the town bully? Of course, Bif made his money by: Allowing the future to happen, and having access to a reliable sports bookie.

Even in this situation, where Bif took a rather "hands off" approach to riches, he STILL couldn't help screwing up the whole town.

I would think that at one point or another, Time Travellers would HAVE to adopt a Prime Directive like the one used in Star Trek. Remember? An Iron Clad non-intervention policy, lest the following happens:

What if a Time Traveller goes back in time...and elimnates Time-Travel technology??



[edit on 2-9-2004 by Toelint]

Well, according to the theory, paradoxes don't occur, because time isn't linear, and futures are infinite.

So if you went back, you didn't really return to your own history, but just to one that's similar.

Likewise, you have no way of knowing for sure that the future that you return to is actually the one you left from. It's just very similar.

Hmmm.. throw something else on the equasion.. if time is actually temporal like many (including myself) believe then technically there would be no paradoxes and you would be free to go along the 'timeline' because everything would be happening at once in thoery, it is just the observer effect that makes us perceive this moment in time (apparently). So time travel in essence would just be moving the point of consciousness to a different point in time.. much like the precognitive abilities of psychics do of the future.
Any thoughts on this?

I'd think that would be pretty close to the truth. If you accept that time itself isn't linear, then it's just how we percieve time that makes it seem linear. In the book (and movie) Timeline, Crichton plays on Einstein's Space-Time continuum, which (in a nutshell) states that time and space are two facets of the same thing, much like matter/energy. Therefore, to travel to a possible past or future, one must change physical location. In the movie, they used electronic encoding and quantum foam tunnelling to travel vast distances in literally no time (ha!), arriving at a location that contained a similar universe to ours, at a different time. That doesn't mean that it was necessarily our universe, but that it was just similar. Paradoxes are neatly avoided by necessitating the time traveller to cause certain events, thereby causing history to play out exactly as it did.

Neat, huh?

I seem to remember a number of science fiction stories...
Robert Silverberg's 'Up the Line' where they lose a time travel tourist called (wait for it...) Leonard Vincent.
Theodore Sturgeon story where a time traveller takes the 'gift' of antibiotics back to 1st century Rome. 2000 years later and the worlds population has reached several trillion and conditions are unbearable - it is decided to travel back and assassinate the time traveller as he walks up the steps of the forum.
Another Robert Silverberg one where so many 'tourists' are blending in at the crucifixion that it is actually them who condemn christ...

I could go on (interminably)

what if our timeline is one that is already changed by people going back in time and changing things... we have no way to know.. it just is what it is