Is Our Current Existence Already Predestined by Time Travel?

In summary, the conversation revolves around the concept of time travel and whether it means that life has already been played out. Some argue that traveling back in time would mean that one's life has already happened, while others suggest that it would create a new timeline. The idea of time being a constant and the question of whether everyone alive right now truly exists are also explored. Ultimately, the conversation is deemed overspeculative and not in line with forum guidelines.
  • #1
DeepSpace9
57
1
I have had this question and nobody can answer it, so I decided to REGISTER here.

If time travel was possible, would a person living in the year 3000, time traveled back to year 1000 AD. Does that mean that life has already been played out?

Meaning people living in the year 1000, feel as if their time is right now (now happening). So if someone time traveled from 3000, they would think that they have already lived their life, how else could someone come from the future unless their life has already been played out?

So technically everyone alive right now, are not living in current time. We have really already lived our life, correct?
 
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  • #2
What a mind boggling question!
I'm by no means a professional in this field but I think this falls more into the category of philosophy than physics.

Another approach would be that you won't actually be traveling back in our current timeline. Whenever you choose to travel back in time you do so into another timeline, so in essence you would not return to our universe. Mathematics suggest that there are an infinite amount of universes.

I'm plowing through "A Brief History of Time" right now but haven't gotten far enough to touch this subject yet.
 
  • #3
what about the reverse? someone time traveling to the future, their life wouldn't have played out yet. sooo... they would feel like they shouldn't exist, because they skipped the whole part where they came into existence and stuff.

So to your theory everyone alive right now, don't exist?

I think you can't conclude that we have already lived our life, because none of us have traveled between past and present
 
  • #4
EmBista said:
what about the reverse? someone time traveling to the future, their life wouldn't have played out yet. sooo... they would feel like they shouldn't exist, because they skipped the whole part where they came into existence and stuff.

So to your theory everyone alive right now, don't exist?

I think you can't conclude that we have already lived our life, because none of us have traveled between past and present

If one is traveling to the future, their life has played out. They are living in the (machine) or said object that is bringing them to the future. That is their life being played out, (the time traveling).

We know time is steadily moving forwards, not backwards. I feel like, my (theory) cannot be flipped to the reverse.
 
  • #5
That would, again, bring in the problem of infinity. If time travel was possible that would mean that time is a constant in a sense. Meaning that every moment in time is in a system that we can revisit.
Playing with the idea that we could choose which time line to visit, we could return to any moment in time. This would mean that everything that ever happened and will happen is actually a constant.

All in all we have to assume that the question is invalid. For the time being, time travel is impossible. Speculating about it is interesting but you might as well speculate about what mathematics might look like if a=b. Everything we know of physics is based on the fact that time can only be stopped, not turned backwards.
 
  • #6
We know time is steadily moving forwards, not backwards.

Here might lay the answer to your question. Time does not exist, it does not travel, move, or do anything; it is purely a mathematical idea that we [humans] use to describe change.
 
  • #7
DeepSpace9 said:
So technically everyone alive right now, are not living in current time. We have really already lived our life, correct?
No we are now living our life.
 
  • #8
Aero51 said:
Here might lay the answer to your question. Time does not exist, it does not travel, move, or do anything; it is purely a mathematical idea that we [humans] use to describe change.

The time - like basis vector ∂t is future - directed.
 
  • #9
Aero51 said:
Here might lay the answer to your question. Time does not exist, it does not travel, move, or do anything; it is purely a mathematical idea that we [humans] use to describe change.

Time does exist, 14 billions years this universe has been around.
And if time does not exist, explain how come we cannot visit other periods of life?

Evo said:
No we are now living our life.

It would seem like that, but if a time traveler from the future popped into our lives, I believe that would make the premise false. He cannot time travel from the future UNLESS we have already lived.

I believe every moment seems like (right now) but for all we know, somewhere else EGYPTIANS could be building their pyramids, and they go through this everyday.
 
  • #10
This thread is overspeculative and does not meet the guidelines of this forum.
 

Related to Is Our Current Existence Already Predestined by Time Travel?

1. What is time travel?

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time, either forward or backward. It is a popular subject in science fiction and has been explored in various theories and experiments in the field of physics.

2. Is time travel possible?

At this point in time, time travel has not been proven to be possible. The laws of physics as we currently understand them do not allow for time travel. However, some scientists believe that it may be possible in the future as our understanding of the universe and technology advances.

3. Can we travel back in time?

As mentioned, time travel has not been proven to be possible. While some theories suggest that traveling back in time may be possible through wormholes or manipulating space-time, these ideas are purely speculative and have not been tested or proven.

4. What is déjà vu and is it related to time travel?

Déjà vu is the feeling of having already experienced a current situation. It is not related to time travel, but rather a feeling of familiarity that our brains create when we encounter something similar to a past experience. It is a psychological phenomenon and has no connection to time travel.

5. If time travel is possible, could we change the past?

This is a highly debated question and there is no clear answer. Some theories suggest that changing the past would create paradoxes and disrupt the fabric of time, while others propose that alternate timelines may be created. Until time travel is proven to be possible, it is impossible to say for certain what the consequences of changing the past may be.

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