my little idea

R

rapid86

Temporal Novice
well here is my idea like it or dont like it, agree with it or don't agree with it. add to it if you please.

it is impossible for humans to time travel as we imagine it. the energy involed is far to great. computers are teh way to travel through time.

(i)
over the past years computers have been growing in power at an exponential rate. their processing power atleast doubling every year. if computers continue to progress at this rate which they almost certainly will do then eventuall a computer will exist cacple of doing a billion processes a second. This will then increase eventually to being able to do an infinite number of processes per second. eventualy this will lead to a computer which can process an infinite amount of data inan infinetly small amount of "time". computers today are already capable of producing amazing things with processing power which is virtually nothing compared to the future power.

(ii)
computers therfore are the only way that time travel will be possible. however it will only be simulated time travel, an interactive virtual reality if you will. A virtual "universe", with a computer controlling evrything from the way the wind blows to how an atom behaves. as you can see the processing power for this would need to be imense. you , or rather the computer, could manipulate time in any way it wanted to. time could go forwards backwards (left right?) you could even pause it an look around.

(iii)
so if a computer can do this with an infinte amount of power in an infinte amount of time then surely it must be able to create an infinte number of "universes", but how would you know if you were in the "real" universe or a virtual universe? you wouldnt, you would think that you had entered a virtual universe then left it to go back into your own universe, but how could you be sure the computer didnt simulate you leaving.

(iv)
no come the really interesting part,and possibly the part with most speculation. as everything that has already been described is possible. if tehre is an infinite number of universes and a computer has an infinite amount of power, how do we know that we ourselves are living in a "real"universe? in the statistical world that we live in teh chance that this universe that we live in right now is infact the "real" universe,( where we are not infact all part of a huge computer programme,) is virtually zero. it is almost certain that we are infact already inside a computer simulation of the universe.

(v)
is this so hard to believe? we live in a world based on rules, we try to define these rules with the use of physic. A computer programme is a set of rules that has to be followed. if my theory is true then everyhting in the world and infact the universe could be explained.

there is my theory, not a complete one but a basic view of the universe and time travel as i see it.
tom sharp.
 
no it's not hard to believe. I agree for the most part, but that's only obvious. Time Travel is already possible through computer's. You can go back and see picture's taken from 1998 just by searching geocitie's user's and typing a search for "1998 CA" or something. Unfortunally, we can go back no longer then the internet was invented and of course a lot of website's arent even around anymore, and we of course can't go foreward.

My point is, that's an example of how computer's have already made time travel possible.

However, we're talking about how time travel (UNSIMULATED) would be possible, through mathmatic's and recent science discoveries. If we had time travel, it would be used for research (Messing with thing's that happened in the past would screw the world up too much, so it wouldn't be used to change event's). You really can't research a world by simulating it... it would be unreal, thus your conclusions, etc. would be unreal.
 
I was also thinking. So many people want time travel to also be able to be used for the future. Of course, it would be needed if we were going to use it for research to get the researcher back to the current, but beside's that... If we could go to the future... it would be worthless and we wouldn't be able to change it because the future would have already predicted we'd go to the future to try to change it and that everything we do in the future would have been documented too before we even got there. It would become way too confusing.
 
but don't you see that any time travel would have to be simulated. If we are in a simulated universe then anything we do is simulated. looking for the answer to the question "how do you travel through time?" could equally be read as how do i find a shortcut through a program? i can either follow the program through as it intends or i can find a quicker way there. if i want i can also go back through the program. the computer program would simulate what has happened before a given date or time. its like keeping a log of what has happened, but if someone is reading this log from teh middle you slip a page in before or after teh one they are reading, peoepl are always finding out new things about history but we will never be able to know wot has happened exactly so the computer can simulate history.
the same can be done going forwards in time simple write somrthing new into the log before some reads that page. i dont know if myideas are being explained clearly enough here so if anyone has any questions i wil answer them.
 
Time simulation via computer

Rapid86'

I see where you feel that the computer held systems of simulation might be valuable, however remember that the unfolding of reality itself, is almost kind-of a virtual reality, or simulation played.

This has to do with how space-time is constructed, so the values in simulation, might also be the values or time and space and how this construction is put together.

There was an experiment known as The Star Chamber, which was promoted on more dated web site.

They were actually able to go back in time, however the pre-on particle generated by this device, was only contained within the machine itself.

So one saw a virtual realy of time in and another era, however the insertion of the individual themselves, permanently was not possible.

The adage of control of all timelines by one central force, is a problem area, for oligarchs.

This is so, as all separate timelines, are put together in a way, that each must barrow from each other.

So a dominance of one timeline over others, may not be structurally, possible.
 
I think I understand what you're are trying to say. You believe that the universe could be mapped out by a computer with infinite resources and made to simulate the environment to every minute detail. The theory would suggest you have an amazing television set(or video recorder) which could be used to rewind and fast forward time, allowing the user to 'view' the past and 'future'.

I think I proposed a similar idea several years ago. There was a reply that referred to a short story based on the same principle - apparently the maker was imprisoned for using the device to invade peoples' privacy. After all, in a simulated world, what's to stop someone from viewing the simulated version of their neighbour...

The next step of your theory is that we don't neccesarily know that we're only the simulated versions of ourselves. Am I right? Therefore if we imagine the world as a program, ala Matrix, we can find shortcuts through time...

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws in your logic:

1. I'm not saying it's impossible, but just unlikely that a computer can be built to operate an INFINATE number of variables at a split second. The reason is due to the limitations of the flow of electrons. There is a limit to how fast our current technology can possibly operate and we are quickly approaching this limit. There is research into how 'faster than light' light can be used to transmit data, but a computer based on this technology would probably be akin to the 'computers' of the 60s - big, very, very, very, very expensive, and don't really have all that much functionality. Storing the information your 'program' would create, would also be a nightmare. Harddrives still function using moving parts and digital storage is still very low in comparison.

2. A program like you described could be built on rules that follow the laws of physics down to the atomic level. Unfortunately, someone still has to unify these laws to be able to create a stable program - otherwise there would be bugs... making the program completely inefficient. We are still way off from knowing how the universe works.

3. Every single atom in the universe would have to be assigned a variable and designated as a particular form of substance. I don't think I need to explain the problem there...

4. If we were only simulated people, the programmer is not going to allow us to be able to use 'backdoors'. Such an ability would make the simulation ineffectual. If these back doors don't exist in real-life - why would they exist inside a simulated world?

James
 
Its an excellent theory. Unfortunately, its the exact same theory postulated on a BBC2 documentary "Horizon" last night. I thank you for bringing it to the Forum's attention, but - frankly - its not "my little idea".

Still, this theory has it's flaws, of which I will not go into at the moment.

- Shoestring
 
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