Can Time Loops and Pre-Determined Fate Control Our Lives?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of time travel, predetermined fate, and the implications of time loops as inspired by the TV series "Lost." Participants explore theoretical scenarios regarding the nature of time, decision-making, and the possibility of altering past events.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that if time travel were possible, actions taken in the past would not affect the future, implying that decisions are predetermined and inevitable.
  • Another participant points out that while two objects may appear to exceed the speed of light relative to each other, each object would still be traveling at a speed less than the speed of light in its own frame, referencing principles of Special Relativity.
  • A participant mentions that the rules governing time travel are unknown, emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding the topic.
  • There is a reference to the grandfather paradox and a suggestion to explore existing literature on time travel, indicating that the ideas presented are not novel.
  • Some participants express uncertainty about the validity of personal theories and the appropriateness of discussing them in the forum.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the nature of time travel or the implications of predetermined fate. Multiple competing views and uncertainties remain regarding the theoretical frameworks discussed.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the speculative nature of the theories presented, the dependence on fictional narratives for examples, and the unresolved status of time travel within the context of current scientific understanding.

RobertPounder
Hi all, just hoping for some opinions on a silly little scribble I was writing a while ago, stuff I think about a lot:

I was watching Lost (the TV series) the other day. For those not familiar with it, it is based on Time Travel, and Monsters and god knows what else.

Anywho there is a storyline (not a scene, lost never has complete scenes!) that includes something that a character Daniel Faraday has to say about going back in time. I'll explain the basis of what happened before I delve in!

There is a character called Desmond who lives on an island and then there is another character called Sawyer who is marooned on the island by a plane that has crashed. Anyway Sawyer and Faraday are sent back in time on the island and Sawyer wants to speak to Desmond. Now Sawyer having met Desmond in the future according to Faraday, means that Sawyer can not see Desmond, even if he wanted to. This is because Desmond would of recognized him in the future which he did not. Any who Faraday speaks to Desmond and Desmond knows him in the future because of this encounter.

After a few more time-travel related incidents this brought to me a Theory. If you went back in time you would not be able to do anything that affected the future because (implying the fact that you would be going back to the future) you can not change what has happened in the future. So anything you do in the past you have ALREADY DONE. Other people maybe you interact with would know that you would be going back in time.

At the end of the day this would in theory mean that our decisions would be pre-determined for us in the past while you are there (having traveled back) and to scale it down this would mean people from the future traveling back would have the same effect, and with that in mind this would mean that our decisions are already made, because to go to the future they would see what you've done etc.

In conclusion I believe that yes we are in control of our lives, but our decisions have already been made and what we do is in fact inevitable.

Sorry if any of this is unclear, I am pretty bad at explaining stuff :)!

While we are on the subject (This could be complete ********) but Einstein said that anything man-made can not go as fast as the speed of light or w/e. Therefore it would be impossible to go back in time, but if you had 2 objects both going at half the speed of light, the collision between them would create the impact of the speed of light. And if say this created a flash back in time for the objects, say 1 second, it would put the 2 objects into a loop, crashing into each other, undoing it and repeated.

Another Theory I was thinking of was if we were stuck in a loop of going back in time and then back to present, like say that my theory of the 2 objects colliding on loop was true, then how would we know if we ourselves were stuck in a loop? We would have the same "session" in our mind put back to the original one, therefore we could be doing the same thing over and over and have no idea, think about it and tell me what you think :P!

Hope you enjoyed my non-sense babbling that kind of makes sense,

Robert Pounder

Input would be appreciated :). Sorry if I wasted your time reading this :(!
 
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The two objects may appear to be traveling at speeds greater than the speed of light relative to each other; to an observer who is defined to be at rest. But in the frame of either colliding object, that frame is at rest, and the other object is traveling at a speed less than the speed of light. If you take some time to study Special Relativity, you will see that this is true.
 
Thanks for a quick reply! :)

The last 2 bits are more random thoughts of mine than actual theory's.

Robert Pounder
 
We don't know if time travel is possible beyond the normal sense of time, so we can't know what rules would apply if it was possible to back in time.

You are invited to ask questions, but please remember that personal theories are not discussed here.
 
Sorry I did not know :(!
 
Hi Robert, the scenarios you described are not new. You might want to read about the grandfather paradox. If you like science fiction, Bradbury's "A sound of thunder" is a great short story about traveling back in time and changing the present.

You might want to look up some old threads about these subjects before starting a new one.
 

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