Destroying Timeline Divergence Plot Mechanism
paladius: Thanks for asking. I will post his scorecard (summary followed by detailed quotes) over the weekend.
Eric:
Still assuming my differing timeline theory to be correct, I agree with you with respect to the total wisdom of time travellers making predictions. However, I believe their reasoning is that because THEIR timelines and OUR timelines are so similar(though not clearly the same),
There is a major problem here. Your presumption that our timelines are "so similar" is in direct conflict with your other presumption that there are "multiple timelines." Let me explain:
If you accept the fallacious "multiple timelines" then you likely believe the mechanism for timelines splitting is when people make choices of one thing over another. (If not, please explain your mechanism). So now do a little calculation: For the sake of argument assume there is only two distinct options for any choice (we know there are more, but hang with me here). Then multiply that number 2 by the 7 billion people on earth (ignoring there may be other beings in the universe that make choices). Then multiply that 14 billion times an "average" number of choices that people might make in any given day... let's be conservative and say something like 100 per day (even though we could clearly count a helluva lot more). We are now at 1.4 trillion branchings of timelines per day. Now multiply that by the average number of days that a person might live. Again, let's take a conservative average and say 50 years, which is 18,250 days. We are now at 2.555E+16 branchings of timelines and that is just within a single generation of humans, here on earth only. Multiply that number by the number of generations (who the eff knows?) and you can see how massive this number is.
What could possibly make you, or any alleged time traveler, come to the belief that "our timeline is so similar to theirs" when you have that massive amount of variablity? It is not at all probable that they are similar given just the number of "timeline branchings" that could occur to change a"timeline" within the space of even a few years of time. Rather, it is quite the opposite. It is MORE LIKELY THAN NOT that our "timeline" would be NOTHING like theirs.
But wait...I already know your answer, and it shows how once you assume something for which there is no evidence (and scant possibility) that you have to keep inventing new "plot twists" and mechanisms to make the story hold together. In this case, you invent the "timeline divergence" measure. And now you add a new ridiculous presumption that we can somehow "measure the divergence between any two timelines." In fact, this is the precise ridiculous mechanism that John Titor knew he needed to use to make his story hang together.
Pay attention now, because I am going to finally, once and for all,
absolutely, positively destroy that plot mechanism used by Titor (and anyone else). No one has, as yet, ever pointed this out, and I have been saving it for many years for an opportune moment. Since we are addressing the whole "multiple timelines" assumption, now is probably the best time to put it to rest.
John Titor's presumption about "divergence" was that it could be measured "empirically" (redundant terms) by accounting for all of the forces of gravity, which are an indication of the total mass distribution of the universe. Most people (including myself) have pointed out how impossible such a measure is. But most people (not including myself) have failed to see that this metric does not fit with the presumption about what causes timelines to split.
<font color="red">
Splitting timelines come about (per the unscientific presumption) not as a result of mass, but as a result of personal choice!!! [/COLOR] This means that measuring gravitational (i.e. mass) distribution <font color="red">
cannot possibly account for timeline divergences!!! [/COLOR] The
ONLY way that you can account for timeline divergences, and thereby measure one timeline against another, it by accounting for ALL of the personal choices that occur between any two points in time. How are you going to account for that??? Interview everyone and ask them what choice they made for breakfast cereals on every single day of their lives???
Read that over very carefully until it sinks in. It is important. In all the years I have been on this board, NO ONE has pointed this out about Titor's whole "divergence measure." If personal choices are what cause different timelines to arise, in parallel with one another, then you MUST account for all those personal choices if you ever have a hope of knowing if any two timelines are "so similar."
The only way around this is if you dream-up some new mechanism by which timelines split... and then, there you go again changing the rules of the game (not scientific at all).
RMT