Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink'

[Varchld]

Of course, you could go back to the time when the time machine was first created, steal it, then use it as many times as you want.

lol, it makes perfect sense, why didn't I think of that before I used it :/


I don't mean to mess this thread up, but what if someone went back in time and removed Jesus before he was born. Or merely prevented the bible being created.
The religions would still probably exist in some form but it'd be interesting to see the results.

Such a thing could have a cascade effect which prevents your birth and causes a paradox. What then?

Then I wouldn't get to see how what I did changed things

Going back and stealing the time machine would have huge consequences too, let alone the paradox of you recieving the time machine to go back and steal it in the first place.
I think we should keep it simple and pretend that time travel is safe and cushy

 

[cleverlymadeup]

for all those saying "i'd go back and buy microsoft stock" you got it all wrong, the 2 stocks you'd want to buy are ibm and at&t, since they went public they've both split many times and you'd be crazy rich, tho you'd have to hire someone to look after the money and pay your taxes

 

[Jaythulhu]

Of course, you could go back to the time when the time machine was first created, steal it, then use it as many times as you want.

lol, it makes perfect sense, why didn't I think of that before I used it :/


I don't mean to mess this thread up, but what if someone went back in time and removed Jesus before he was born. Or merely prevented the bible being created.
The religions would still probably exist in some form but it'd be interesting to see the results.

Such a thing could have a cascade effect which prevents your birth and causes a paradox. What then?

Then I wouldn't get to see how what I did changed things

Going back and stealing the time machine would have huge consequences too, let alone the paradox of you recieving the time machine to go back and steal it in the first place.
I think we should keep it simple and pretend that time travel is safe and cushy

We Sea Otters are the one true followers of science! Ours is the most logical answer to the great question!

 

[Vigormortis]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Nice choice. I was actually thinking along the same lines. However, I'd go back to the beginning of the universe during the first few moments of the big bang (or big bounce, based on new theories), find a way to film the event (what with photons only coming about a few millions years after the event), bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory.

That or go back to the 1950s, kill my grandfather before my father was conceived, thus causing a temporal paradox that destroys the universe.

 

[Amnestic]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Nice choice. I was actually thinking along the same lines. However, I'd go back to the beginning of the universe during the first few moments of the big bang (or big bounce, based on new theories), find a way to film the event (what with photons only coming about a few millions years after the event), bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory.

God caused the big bang/bounce to occur and what you were videoing was in fact his work in action.

And while I don't believe the above statement is true it invalidates your idea entirely.

 

[Archaeology Hat]

A field outside york (about 5 mins walk from Heslington village) circa AD300 so as to acertain what the large rectangular cobbled foundations found in last years excavation actually was, then photograph it and make it into the subject of an academic paper.

 

[BardSeed]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Ah, if only.

 

[Mathew952]

Go back to hitlers birth, and kill him as a baby. This would stop the holocaust, WWII, The invention of nuclear weapons, the cold war, vietnam, the creation of al queda, and stop 9/11, and thus the 2nd gulf war.

 

[Magnetic2]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Nice choice. I was actually thinking along the same lines. However, I'd go back to the beginning of the universe during the first few moments of the big bang (or big bounce, based on new theories), find a way to film the event (what with photons only coming about a few millions years after the event), bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory.

That or go back to the 1950s, kill my grandfather before my father was conceived, thus causing a temporal paradox that destroys the universe.

The theory on that is another universe would be created in which that choice occurred, so this one would be alright, but that other one.. whew.

 

[Jaythulhu]

Go back to hitlers birth, and kill him as a baby. This would stop the holocaust, WWII, The invention of nuclear weapons, the cold war, vietnam, the creation of al queda, and stop 9/11, and thus the 2nd gulf war.

Do you really think so? There is a very, very tenuous link between all of that, nonexistant in some places.

Nuclear weapons would have most likely happened anyway, possibly slightly later than when they did show up initially. The cold war would likely still have occurred also, and Al qaeda was funded and trained by america to fight russia. Probability suggests that the attacks on 9/11 would still have occurred, as the dissatisfaction felt by many arabic nations, especially the afghanis, was a direct result of promises made by america but not upheld during the cold war.

Add in that the japanese attack on the US had little to do with hitler, it probably would have still happened too. Without the benefit, for lack of a better word, of atomic weapons, then the fighting between america and japan could have gone a completely different way, to the point where america could have been paying service to the emperor of japan.

Vietnam had nothing to do with nazis, or hitler. Killing him at birth would not have prevented this war.

I know that it's nice to think that taking out one man in our species dirty history would change everything for the better, but unfortunately it's just not accurate. WW2 would have happened with or without hitler, though possibly the jews may have been spared from attempted genocide.

 

[Space Spoons]

Shee. All I was gonna do was go back ten years and tell myself not to eat so damn much. Feels downright vain now, though. I should think of something more profound.

 

[Vigormortis]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Nice choice. I was actually thinking along the same lines. However, I'd go back to the beginning of the universe during the first few moments of the big bang (or big bounce, based on new theories), find a way to film the event (what with photons only coming about a few millions years after the event), bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory.

God caused the big bang/bounce to occur and what you were videoing was in fact his work in action.

And while I don't believe the above statement is true it invalidates your idea entirely.

Not really. See, most religions, throughout human history, have taken stabs at estimating the age of the Earth as well as the universe it dwells in. These estimates have ranged from a few thousand to a few million years. Needless to say, these estimates are clearly far off from the truth. Now, since most religious origin stories are based around or are the basis of these estimated ages, me traveling back and filming the birth of the universe during the Big Bang/Bounce would utterly destroy any semblance of truth one could surmise from from any religious origin story. There's no denying many (at least, those that would be willing to accept the evidence) would simply try to readjust their beliefs to account for this new evidence, but that very act would reinforce the idea of just how wrong and fallible religion is, being that it is a creation of humanity. Besides, if I could go back to see it happen, and find a way to view the event, I'd imagine I could see some kind of evidence of how and why it occurred. Whether it was some random event, some natural process, or was the work of some unseen hand, I'm sure evidence of it would be there.

Upon further reflection, I realized there was another time period I'd love to go back to. The point in time that primitive man achieved true cognitive abilities and learned to use fire and tools. Now, there's no way anyone could begin to guess an exact date when it happened and in truth it was likely a very slow process spanning millennia, but to be able to see the birth of our species as we are today, metaphorically speaking, as it actually occurred would be one of the most enlightening moments I could imagine.

The theory on that is another universe would be created in which that choice occurred, so this one would be alright, but that other one.. whew.

Yeah, I'm aware of the branching universe theory(s). Many of them are..tenuous at best. Most people think most of them revolve around time travel, but in fact the original branching universe theory was centered around the idea that for any given event, say, an electron splitting from an atom, the event had any given probability of having one outcome or another. So the theory says that, for example, if the electron had a 50% probability of going in one direction and 50% chance of going in another direction, it would in fact go in both. Upon doing so, it would cause the creation of an alternate universe, with the electron following one outcome in the first, and the other outcome in the branching universe. This theory has been modified and exaggerated for science and fiction, most notably for the time-travel paradox theories.

 

[Amnestic]

Id go meet Tesla and get copies of all his work before it met a fiery death.

Nice choice. I was actually thinking along the same lines. However, I'd go back to the beginning of the universe during the first few moments of the big bang (or big bounce, based on new theories), find a way to film the event (what with photons only coming about a few millions years after the event), bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory.

God caused the big bang/bounce to occur and what you were videoing was in fact his work in action.

And while I don't believe the above statement is true it invalidates your idea entirely.

Not really. See, most evangelical religious fools, throughout human history, have taken stabs at estimating the age of the Earth as well as the universe it dwells in. These estimates have ranged from a few thousand to a few million years. Needless to say, these estimates are clearly far off from the truth. Now, since most religious origin stories are based around or are the basis of these estimated ages, me traveling back and filming the birth of the universe during the Big Bang/Bounce would utterly destroy any semblance of truth one could surmise from from any religious origin story. There's no denying many (at least, those that would be willing to accept the evidence) would simply try to readjust their beliefs to account for this new evidence, but that very act would reinforce the idea of just how wrong and fallible religion is, being that it is a creation of humanity. Besides, if I could go back to see it happen, and find a way to view the event, I'd imagine I could see some kind of evidence of how and why it occurred. Whether it was some random event, some natural process, or was the work of some unseen hand, I'm sure evidence of it would be there.

Fixed. Most 'liberal' religious groups (admittedly I'm mostly speaking of Christians here as they are my prime source for anecdotal evidence) accept the scientific evidence and aren't fussed with how old their religious texts say it is. They just say it's metaphorical or something.

Also people could just say the video was fake. How would you prove it was real? If people don't believe we went to the moon do you really think you have much chance of convincing them you went to the occurence of the Big Bang and videotaped it?

 

[Vigormortis]

Not really. See, most evangelical religious fools, throughout human history, have taken stabs at estimating the age of the Earth as well as the universe it dwells in. These estimates have ranged from a few thousand to a few million years. Needless to say, these estimates are clearly far off from the truth. Now, since most religious origin stories are based around or are the basis of these estimated ages, me traveling back and filming the birth of the universe during the Big Bang/Bounce would utterly destroy any semblance of truth one could surmise from from any religious origin story. There's no denying many (at least, those that would be willing to accept the evidence) would simply try to readjust their beliefs to account for this new evidence, but that very act would reinforce the idea of just how wrong and fallible religion is, being that it is a creation of humanity. Besides, if I could go back to see it happen, and find a way to view the event, I'd imagine I could see some kind of evidence of how and why it occurred. Whether it was some random event, some natural process, or was the work of some unseen hand, I'm sure evidence of it would be there.

Fixed. Most 'liberal' religious groups (admittedly I'm mostly speaking of Christians here as they are my prime source for anecdotal evidence) accept the scientific evidence and aren't fussed with how old their religious texts say it is. They just say it's metaphorical or something.

Also people could just say the video was fake. How would you prove it was real? If people don't believe we went to the moon do you really think you have much chance of convincing them you went to the occurence of the Big Bang and videotaped it?

You know, I've always found it so arrogant of posters to quote someone in the forum, go in and edit the original post, and then start their reply with "fixed". How very self-righteous. It's like you're stating your opinion is the only true interpretation and the other posters thoughts are flawed somehow. Anyway, in rebuttal, by their very nature, most religions either ignore any scientific findings or simply adjust the interpretations of the findings or their own biblical text to make it all fit into their own belief systems. As for the video being called fake, just because some close-minded, idiotic fools aren't willing to accept the truth doesn't make it any less true. Also, if I were to go back in time that far I'd make sure I'd have other instrumentation with me besides a camera, so I could collect as much data on the event as possible. With the shear amount of data that could be collected, it would be nearly irrefutable.

Besides, the OP's question was merely hypothetical, no need to be so critically analytical of everyone else and their choice of time periods.

 

[captainwillies]

id go back to when they first made the time machine kill the creator and take his new made master piece then travel as much as i like to as many other worlds and dimensions as i choose

and no killing the creator will not screw up the time warp because i obey the time pyhsics described in Traci Hardings "celestial triad" book trilogy.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I would go to Pink Floyd's The Wall performance, then return. Naturally, I'd be front and centre barrier, staring raptly upwards as they blew my mind away.

I'd do much the same thing, except it would be U2's performance under the Brooklyn Bridge. For those who don't know, they drove around New York on a flat bed truck playing their songs (which became their music video for All Because of You, btw), then played an 11 song concert in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

[Amnestic]

You know, I've always found it so arrogant of posters to quote someone in the forum, go in and edit the original post, and then start their reply with "fixed". How very self-righteous. It's like you're stating your opinion is the only true interpretation and the other posters thoughts are flawed somehow.

Yes, your thoughts were flawed. You stated that "most religions" think that and provided no such proof. In my experience it's quite the opposite. A minority of religous believes follow the "Young Earth" theory whereas the majority is far more willing to accept scientific evidence as fact, or as close to fact as we can know.

Anyway, in rebuttal, by their very nature, most religions either ignore any scientific findings or simply adjust the interpretations of the findings or their own biblical text to make it all fit into their own belief systems. As for the video being called fake, just because some close-minded, idiotic fools aren't willing to accept the truth doesn't make it any less true. Also, if I were to go back in time that far I'd make sure I'd have other instrumentation with me besides a camera, so I could collect as much data on the event as possible. With the shear amount of data that could be collected, it would be nearly irrefutable.

Bolded the important part. You stated: "bring back the film and put a serious hole in every religious based origin theory." While you may be right in showing them the truth, that wasn't your stated intention. You wanted to put a hole in their theories and if they deem it to be fake then unfortunately you've failed in your stated task, your evidence becomes pointless.

And if you can fake a video, why not fake the other data too? You seem to be underestimating how steadfast these people are in their beliefs. If carbon dating, fossil records and numerous other things don't convince them, why do you think your video and other assorted data will?

Besides, the OP's question was merely hypothetical, no need to be so critically analytical of everyone else and their choice of time periods.

You put your ideas on the internet, a forum no less, you open them up to criticism from others.

 

[Space Spoons]

Even if you couldn't prove to anyone that it was the real deal, it'd still be pretty cool to have the Big Bang on video tape. That is, assuming that seeing the birth of the universe as we know it wouldn't drive you insane.

 

[gmer412]

To anyone talking about killing Hitler: Red Alert says that's a bad idea. Do you WANT the soviets to rule the world?