We as thinkers

Smart Guy

What would a person need to do or show us to prove he is a traveler from the future. What would be the key piece of evidence that says, hey this guy is for real.

To me his technology as a whole should speak for itself.

Njorl

He would have to make predictions of such an improbable nature that it would be more believable that he was from the future than just guessing correctly. For each individual, the nature of such predictions would be different. For the more credulous, predicting the daily number would do it. For others, guessing the lotto number right for a whole year might not be convincing. They would just think it was a big fix.

I would be in this later crowd. The only tenuously possible means of time-travel suggested so far would only allow you to travel back to when the device was first built. Since it hasn't been built, I would remain very skeptical of alleged time-travelers. I believe it would be easier to fix the lotto drawings for a full year than to successfully travel in time.

Njorl

Adrian Baker

Nothing would convince me! Sorry if that sounds narrow minded, and yes, we should always be open to changes in our world view, but I don't honestly believe that ANYONE could convince me that he had come from the future.

Does that make me a good, or a bad Physicist I wonder........ [?]

Ivan Seeking

No matter how convincing the demo, such as to name major world events and other details ahead of time down to the minute - 9/11, stock values, election results, international political events, newspaper headlines, deaths of famous people, we could always assume that he or she is psychic. [:D]

How about one copy of a newspaper in advance? We have the details and exact number of deaths in accidents and listed in the obituariess. Then we have sports news, lotto numbers, and the other items listed above. It seems that one edition of the LA Times in advance from a good news day could cinch the debate. Of course, then you might think you are on The Joe Schmo Show.

Watch out for reality TV all you true believers. [6)]

I bet some gag like this is coming to TV soon.

Jonathan

Njorl: How do you know that a time machine hasn't been built yet? Maybe some nut made one, went back in time, and couldn't tell us. Of couse we would have to assume he ended up dying or something, maybe he touched his past self and they annihilated or something. It's not like anyone would notice if one of the Lone Gunman (see X-Files) types went missing.

Njorl

I don't "know" it. I believe it to be highly improbable. In fact I assign it a lower probability than the probability that all existance is just a dream. That's pretty low.

Njorl

Smart Guy

If he went back in time and could not come back then his trip back in time did not work it was just suicide. That is not a time machine. The purpose of a time machine would be to go back in time, do whatever it is you have went back to do, and return home. Then there would be no proof needed. Is a time machine that dosent work still considered a time machine?

einsteinian77

i have a question regarding that fantasy tale about john Titor. What was his alleged objective in travelling into the past since he was from the military. I'm just naturally curious to know

Ivan Seeking

Hey there einsteinian77,
Please see the John Titor thread: [:)]
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthr...&threadid=5396

thanks,
Ivan

einsteinian77

Thanks Ivan Seeking, I read almost the whole thing but i couldn't find what his objective was.

enigma

*cough* publicity stunt *cough*

einsteinian77

[:D]

Ivan Seeking

I think he claimed to bring back information critical of our survival. I tend to think this was more a joke that got out of control rather than a scam.

Please take any further Titor discussions to the Titor thread; lest we end up with Titor all over the board. Did you see the number of hits on his thread? [o)]

wasteofo2

Taking me to the future would be one thing...

Other than that, a series of highly accurate and precise weather predictions would seem to be the only thing which he could not actively influence. Even if he told me about stocks or politics or something, he could concievably influence that.

What a great joke it would be if someone convinced me they were from the future, and then revealed themself to be nothing but a psychic...


There was actually someonetime in spring 2003 who made an amazing series of stock investments which turned out ridiculously well for him based on big changes/merges etc. which he couldn't legally, and with the amount of things he did, logically known of. He made millions and millions of dollars in such a short time, that he was arrested. When questioned he said that he was from the future and that his original plan was just to come and make a good amount of money, but all the knowledge of exactly what would happen was too much and he couldn't resist exploiting it to the fullest. I never actually heard what happened to him...

wasteofo2

If someone showed me an exact copy of tommorows/next weeks/next years news paper and it turend out to mathc exactly, I'd assume they had control over the printing of the newspaper on that day.

ShawnD

The one thing that would convince me is a good explanation of how he managed to go back in time AND stay on earth. The earth is moving super fast. If you went just 1 second back in time, you would appear to be many kilometers away from the point you started at (relative to the earth).

Ivan Seeking

They would have no way to control the real news which could be verified elsewhere.