Taken for Granite > Rotting Corpse Takes Manhattan

John Titor - Time Traveller

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jreale:
I knew someone who called his alcoholic blackouts time travel.

Nubbins:

--- Quote from: Cassander ---anyone else ever hear of this or know what it's called?  my friend gave a semi-famous example of these two sisters who were in their hometown, turned a corner, and were 50 years in the past.  what they told people were pretty accurate descriptions of the time and place (which, of course, might be readily available, who knows).  but anyway, they didn't have to do anything, they were just walking along.  so there's no science here, just some kind of ghost/time travel combo.  anyone? bueller?
--- End quote ---


If this was a phenomenon that actually happened, wouldn't another effect of it be that we sometimes randomly see people just pop into existence from 50 years in the future?

Time is such a weird and human concept, it's really fascinating and confusing to even think about it.  Did you know, for instance, that the further away from the center of the Earth an object is, the slower time moves for that object?  So time is moving microscopically slower for you at the top of a tall building or in an airplane 30,000 feet in the air than it would be for some shmuck getting a tan at sea level.  You should rent the documentary A Brief History of Time or just buy the book outright because they're both awesome mind fucks.

The thing that I find interesting about time travel is that given a large enough telescope and a space ship that can travel many, many, many times the speed of light, we could theoretically zoom out into space and turn around and look back at the Earth through our telescope to see things that happened 50 or 100 years ago.  Like, we could use that technology to solve the JFK assassination, other famous crimes or even just see what our parents were like as kids.

Tyson:

--- Quote from: Nubbins ---Did you know, for instance, that the further away from the center of the Earth an object is, the slower time moves for that object?  So time is moving microscopically slower for you at the top of a tall building or in an airplane 30,000 feet in the air than it would be for some shmuck getting a tan at sea level.
--- End quote ---


Bzzt! Wrong answer. Time does not "move more slowly" based on your relative position to the Earth. It's relative to your speed. If I were to circle the Earth at near-lightspeed (har har), I could come down after a few days or whatever and take a piss in a new 3001 model latrine. Well, that and the fact that if you were travelling at near-lightspeed, you'd be huge. E=mc^2 and all that.

However, it gets interesting when you realize that speed is measured relative to a fixed point, usually your starting point. However, what's to say your starting point is stationary? Where in the universe is your starting point relative to?

But yeah, time is a completely relative concept and the fact that it's a "sense", it's hard to find any logic in it. Most physicists generally agree that it'd be possible to "move forward" in time by altering someone's perception of time (though you'd have to actually alter what their sense senses in order to not kill them). However, there's much contention that it'd be possible to go "back" in time. Evidence points to impossible. But hey, you never know.

Oh, watch Primer too. God that movie rules.

Fun shit!

Nubbins:
Yeah, I figured I probably fucked something up there... I'll have to look at my books again when I get home tonight.

Tyson:
Careful. Delve too deep in to that shit and you'll start peeing on park benches and humping chihuahuas.

I recommend "The Dancing Wu-Li Masters". That'll get you in-the-know of physics without castrating your frontal lobe.

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