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Present time in temporal paradoxes

← Previous revision Revision as of 12:46, 6 July 2025
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As I understand it, the [[grandfather paradox]] and the [[Killing baby Hitler|killing of baby Hitler]] omit the issue of what would happen to the present time and everyone living in it when time traveller goes to the past and alters it. For the sake of argument, dropping the impossibility of time travel, seemingly, one of two options would be true: either the present instantly dissappears with everyone in it, or nothing would happen after any alteration of the past because the present already happened once (and continues to exist after time traveller's mess in the past). ChatGPT admitted it's a shortcoming, but what do other sources say about present time? [[User:Brandmeister|Brandmeister]]<sup>[[User talk:Brandmeister|talk]]</sup> 08:44, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
As I understand it, the [[grandfather paradox]] and the [[Killing baby Hitler|killing of baby Hitler]] omit the issue of what would happen to the present time and everyone living in it when time traveller goes to the past and alters it. For the sake of argument, dropping the impossibility of time travel, seemingly, one of two options would be true: either the present instantly dissappears with everyone in it, or nothing would happen after any alteration of the past because the present already happened once (and continues to exist after time traveller's mess in the past). ChatGPT admitted it's a shortcoming, but what do other sources say about present time? [[User:Brandmeister|Brandmeister]]<sup>[[User talk:Brandmeister|talk]]</sup> 08:44, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
:One of the wilder hypotheses around is that changing the past would result in parallel universes, thus allowing both of your "two options" to be true. This kind of wacky theory illustrates what an old math professor of mine once said: "When you start with incorrect assumptions, you're liable to get interesting results." The incorrect assumption here being that backwards time travel is possible. ←[[User:Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs]] <sup>''[[User talk:Baseball Bugs|What's up, Doc?]]''</sup> [[Special:Contributions/Baseball_Bugs|carrots]]→ 10:59, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
:One of the wilder hypotheses around is that changing the past would result in parallel universes, thus allowing both of your "two options" to be true. This kind of wacky theory illustrates what an old math professor of mine once said: "When you start with incorrect assumptions, you're liable to get interesting results." The incorrect assumption here being that backwards time travel is possible. ←[[User:Baseball Bugs|Baseball Bugs]] <sup>''[[User talk:Baseball Bugs|What's up, Doc?]]''</sup> [[Special:Contributions/Baseball_Bugs|carrots]]→ 10:59, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
:The fact that there is no one plausibly likely answer is what leads to there being so many [[Time travel in fiction|Science Fiction stories]] that entertainingly posit different ones. Some suggest that on returning to their 'home present', the time traveller would find it altered subtly or radically (see for example the story '[[A Sound of Thunder]]' by Ray Bradbury), others that two opposing factions instigate "Time wars" of changes and counter-changes that may envelop increasing swathes of past and future history (or histories) (e.g. Fritz Leiber's ''[[The Big Time (novel)|The Big Time]]''. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} [[Special:Contributions/90.210.159.137|90.210.159.137]] ([[User talk:90.210.159.137|talk]]) 12:32, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
:The fact that there is no one plausibly likely answer is what leads to there being so many [[Time travel in fiction|Science Fiction stories]] that entertainingly posit different ones. Some suggest that on returning to their 'home present', the time traveller would find it altered subtly or radically (see for example the story '[[A Sound of Thunder]]' by Ray Bradbury), others that two opposing factions instigate "Time wars" of changes and counter-changes that may envelop increasing swathes of past and future history (or histories) (e.g. Fritz Leiber's ''[[The Big Time (novel)|The Big Time]]''). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} [[Special:Contributions/90.210.159.137|90.210.159.137]] ([[User talk:90.210.159.137|talk]]) 12:32, 6 July 2025 (UTC)
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