Do-over

[Citizen Bleys]

Suppose you could go back in time to any point in your life and re-live it from then on. When would you go back to and what would you (try to) change? What if it was just to re-live certain parts of your life differently and then jump back to the present day? Would it be different in the second scenario?

Tell me what you would change, and when I get time I'll come back and tell you why you're stupid.

(I would reject the opportunity to go back in time. Feel free to tell me why I'm stupid.)

[Peegee]

Wait in your scenario can I bring information back in time?

So what I would do is go back in time to when I was say, 12 or 13 and just live my life differently - study things, be very smart in school, work out during my teen years instead of my adult years, and tap every missed tail and avoid all complicated stupidity

Also I'll bring the winning lottery numbers for the major pots so that I can be rich beyond compare

By not traveling backward in time you are a dunce, Bleyblades

[G13]

I would go back and not fail at things I've failed at. Probably back to kindergarten, eating those crayons was what started my downward spiral.

[Heath]

When I was younger I used to really like the idea of going back in time to change things though since ageing past the teenage years it doesn't bother me so much and I'm generally happy with the hand that life has dealt me. Obviously there are things when I think 'gosh, I wish I hadn't done that' but nothing that keeps me awake at night.

If I had the opportunity to go back in time, I think I'd be tempted to do a Back to the Future II and give myself sports results that I could bet on/lottery numbers so I could be wealthy, but then again apparently a lot of lottery winners aren't anywhere near as happy as they thought they'd be so maybe I'd try to win a sensible amount of money rather that anything stupid.

Things I'd be tempted to do over? My interview at Oxford University which I remember thinking at the time I hadn't done as good as I could've. I'd like another shot at that as I think I stood a better chance of getting in than I did myself credit. Though in all honesty, I've ended up at a top 10 university anyway and love it. Things I'd like to relive? Holidays from my childhood. We never went abroad very often and things were much simpler when my parents were still married and you're young and stupid and on holiday. That might be nice.

I reckon Bleys doesn't want to travel back in time because he's had some mishaps with time travel in the past (or future!)

[Hollycat]

I'd go back to my birth and invent the playstation. And be the smartest baby ever, eat that baby geniuses.

[Heath]

Really? The Playstation? Not the iPod? Or a cure for a disease? Or Popcorn chicken? The Playstation?

Well, it takes all sorts...

[Hollycat]

The playstation is the only one of those things I understand well enough to construct. a psp is beyond me. An Ipod is way beyond. Also, I would wait until about a week before HP 7 came out and release it online for free. Take that lady.

[Rase]

Probably just go back to like, 8th grade and actually try to be semi-productive from then on in life. Also, stocks would be bought in certain companies, and of course lotto numbers/big sports game scores like Azn said. Also would definitely punch at least two people I never did.

[qwertysaur]

I would order the soup instead of the salad. :p

[Hollycat]

I would stop me from being shot.

[Melissaur]

I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

[Old Manus]

I'd go back to the 2009 Grand National and place my life savings on Mon Mome. At 100/1 it should be a nice little earner. Who's stupid now, bitches?

[Hollycat]

I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

0_o

what?
plz explain

[Heath]

I'd go back to the 2009 Grand National and place my life savings on Mon Mome. At 100/1 it should be a nice little earner. Who's stupid now, bitches?

I remember watching that and I never normally bother to watch the Grand National. I like your thinking.

[o_O]

I'd go back to that time I didn't win the lotto, and win the lotto.

[fire_of_avalon]

As long as I can take the information I have now with me I would've stopped a few things from happening.

[kotora]

Would I still age normally while time travelling? If so then there's really no smurfing point in going back to not fail where I've failed. It'd just be a waste of time that wouldn't change the present anyway. I don't wanna do all that bull:bou::bou::bou::bou: again.

[Iceglow]

Ok first up bitch bitch bitch yes, wall of text post. However this is a really complicated subject. I could try and put a simple answer up but fuck it I'm not going to give something half arsed when the subject interests me, read it you might find my ideas and my thoughts interesting if you don't read it you won't know.

If in going back to the past you change the present/future merely because you went back with prior knowledge of world events then you would have inescapably changed the present, every sports result/lotto number you take back with you is subject to change. Therefore if you're going to take something back to make you rich it's better to take back the wisdom of age to ensure you get a better job.

If I had to go back and do a mulligan/do-over on my life I would probably go back to when I was around 12/13 and change high school regardless of my mom's wishes so I could escape the systematic bullying which eventually led to me losing focus on my studies and also to a routine of extreme weight loss and erratic weight gains and eventual drug abuse and if my life seemingly was heading in that direction I would have moved to my brothers aged 16 to further avoid it.

These would all be wise changes considering my past, moving in with my brother aged 16/17 would have seen me avoid having my upper jaw shattered and get out of the drugs use which had by that point become habitual. A healthier approach to life and a change of high school would have generally been better and could have resulted in my joining the RAF as a fighter pilot which is what my childhood dream was and given half a chance, I'd still go for it.

However heres the problem I have with the mulligan option...

You go back in time now to your past armed with the fore knowledge of what you did wrong, what you need to change and what you want to do. Using myself for an example here: I'm 25 I would go back to when I was 12 thats 13 years nearly 14 years ago. I was a kid, I thought like a kid and I acted like a kid. If I was to transport my mind back to then sure as :bou::bou::bou::bou: I could change things and become my childhood dream I wasn't too far gone then and my childhood dream was fucking awesome lets not mess around here the idea of the chance to do that still moistens my glans. However if I went back now as an experienced, jaded at times and overly optimistic at others adult with all the knowledge of what I have now I wouldn't be a kid, I'd be a fucking freak I'd be a 25 year old man in a 12 year old's body I'd be looking at my hot music teacher and thinking about screwing her which is not quite how I thought at 12 by the time I was leaving the school aged 15 yes, yes I did but not quite how I thought aged 12. I wouldn't treat my childhood like it was my childhood I'd use it to wisely manufacture myself to perfection righting my stupid mistakes, correcting the things I got wrong. I'd study my arse off like a man possessed work out like a demon and I'd lose out massively for it. Sure I'd have my confidence, charm and wit from my current experiences of life but I would've had this amazing opportunity to redo my life and live childhood again except would I revel in the innocence of being young? No I'd do the exact opposite which is not the idea of childhood. This false perception that how you are in childhood defines you, is just that a false perception there is nothing stopping me from going off, studying hard, working out harder still and making it as a pilot, ok so maybe active combat fighter pilot would be beyond me due to the bureaucratic bull:bou::bou::bou::bou: in the RAF about exam results ect (they accept merely the first result no retakes allowed) but there are plenty of roles for instructors and test pilots in the industry making fighter jets. I don't need to re live my life to get to where I am and the cost of doing things differently would be damn steep. Think on that for a minute, think of what you'd lose.

For example: I'm watching a program on TV now and Paloma Faith is on it, I have the knowledge that I've not just met her numerous times but that I've flirted with her a little and she's a fantastic person if bat:bou::bou::bou::bou: insane is your tastes lol. If I changed my life from age 12 the chances of this would be slim I would never have worked for HMV or if I did I wouldn't have done it for so long thats for sure and it most certainly would not have been the flagship store because I wouldn't be in the city of London right now (or if I was I'd be surprised) I'd have gotten out.

I think of my closest friends away from this place, people like J who I met in high school and as I have often said to him and others who have known me ages my friendship with him was perhaps the only good thing to come away from the long years I was there. He's like a brother to me and whilst on occasion he has let me down and failed me I understand he is just human and he has always tried to make it up to me and on the occasions where I am sure I have done the same and let him down I've made it back up to him. I think of people like Hicks or Jaime and Dom who I would never have met if it wasn't for how my life is now and the events what I have been through. Sure there are small things what I could change and still have my life over all play out same but I wouldn't be the same person without the experience of it and the option of not having gone through these small things whilst still keeping the lessons learned from going through it is tempting, everyone could do with breaking a few less bones but then the pain I've subjected my body to with repeated fractures and breaks has toughened it so that now I can pretty much shrug off a cracked rib unless I catch it and 2 weeks past the event I could all but forget it. And what is experience without the scars to show how you got it? Everyone has their battle scars perhaps mine are more noticeable than most but I'm happy to have them I can sit here and show these scars and explain where I learnt or didn't learn my lessons. I don't think I could pay the price of going back in time and thats why I would reject the do-over not some sense of not deserving it because I feel that if it was offered to me I would deserve it, it would be offered for a reason.

On the other hand, if we're talking about going back say Source Code style and getting to change things but it not actually changing the world of the present with a view to seeing how things could play out. The options are endless I would definitely see the following:

How changing school would have affected my life

How leaving London when given the chance could have affected my life

How things could have worked out if I had not done some things which caused romantic issues in certain relationships.

Where my life would have led if I had joined the Army when I had the papers in my hands ready to sign.

The idea of seeing these events would intrigue me. I'd be curious to the outcome but knowing I would have not changed the present for me with anything but a gained insight to the idea that perhaps I did the right or wrong thing on some subjects but then really would anyone want that kind of information? I doubt they truly do.

So over-all, I would be curious about the idea but I don't know if I would want to actually know that my life could have been so much better if I had done things differently. I can decide that for myself based on where I am now.

I guess it all comes down to the lyric I've often quoted as my inspiration in life:

"We've all been sorry, we've all been hurt, but it's how we survive what makes us who we are."

I'm who I am because of what I've been through. Changing things in the past isn't possible and even if it was, I think changing things in the now and taking the good and the bad together and moving on from that is more important.

[TrollHunter]

I would take the blue pill.

[Madame Adequate]

I'd be a goddamn genius baby and leverage my brains to get a full scholarship to Harvard or something by the age of 12.

I fantasize about being able to do this on a daily basis, being able to move my consciousness freely throughout time. And then I can switch between any timeline I have generated through my exploits.

[Crop]

I would go back and invest a huge load of money in a race or football match that I remembered the result of and I'd become a billionaire.
I know for a fact all I would ever need is money, aside from things like my family and friends dying I'd give up anything to become filthy stinking rich.

[Shoeberto]

I think I only have one major regret that's been sticking with me that was the result of a bunch of bad decisions a few months back, so I'd probably go back and tell myself not to do that! Otherwise, idk. I always used to imagine my future self going back in time and giving young me advice. Like, 30 year old Stu telling 7 year old Stu about how to live life. I pictured myself being a lot fatter than I am now but I guess I still have a few years to go before I have to worry about time traveling.

[Citizen Bleys]

Well, I can't call Iceglow stupid, he/she/it is the only respondent who actually took the question seriously/put any real thought into it.

Before I go into my responses, I'd like to take a moment to address a recurring answer: winning the lottery. This is a thought experiment--the laws of physics do not change, and you cannot use time travel to win the lottery any more than you can go back in time and become a wizard instead of a sales clerk. The fundamental principle of quantum physics is Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. It originated with the famed two-slit experiment, where wave-particle duality was discovered. When left alone and only the interference patterns were recoreded, the electron stream fired at the two slits acted like a wave, but when an attempt was made to observe its progress, it acted like a stream of particles. In short, the entire science of quantum physics is predicated on the fact that by observing something, you influence it. If you go back in time with the winning lottery numbers for the next draw memorized, initially you do nothing, but as soon as you act upon it, you alter the future, essentially re-randomizing the lottery numbers. You can go back in time to stop Señor Douchebag from winning the lottery, but you cannot control who wins. I can't really explain it well, it has some dreck to do with waveform collapse and that makes about as much sense to me as Buddhist gangsta rap.


Wait in your scenario can I bring information back in time?

So what I would do is go back in time to when I was say, 12 or 13 and just live my life differently - study things, be very smart in school, work out during my teen years instead of my adult years, and tap every missed tail and avoid all complicated stupidity

And you don't think that would have deleterious effects on your life? Lack of leisure time is linked to crippling mental illness. Sure you could study harder at the beginning, but that would just land you a more high-pressure, stress-filled job. Also, you may find that it's harder to get into a romantic relationship if the people around you see you as nothing more than a workaholic, soulless automaton. I grew up in Alberta, where jobs are plentiful and salaries are excellent. What I've observed of Albertans is that they are tightly-wound, stressed-out d-bags who don't enjoy a minute of their life. The further East I went, the more laid-back--and happy--the people have been. By going back in time, you've destroyed your happiness.


I would go back and not fail at things I've failed at. Probably back to kindergarten, eating those crayons was what started my downward spiral.

You can go back in time and avoid the mistakes you've made in the past, but that's no guarantee you won't just make different ones. Remember, even with hindsight, you are still the same person, just more experienced and hopefully wiser. Even mistakes, though, guide your course in life. If you make different mistakes, everything can turn out differently. There's a good chance you never meet those who are your closest friends in a natural environment, and if you go up to somebody and say, "Hi, my name's Tom, we were close buddies in an alternate reality," you wind up in the sanitarium. By going back in time, you've just exchanged your present home for a wonderful place where they have rubber on the walls.


Things I'd be tempted to do over? My interview at Oxford University which I remember thinking at the time I hadn't done as good as I could've.

Same argument I used against G13


I reckon Bleys doesn't want to travel back in time because he's had some mishaps with time travel in the past (or future!)

Sorry about Hitler :(


I'd go back to my birth and invent the playstation. And be the smartest baby ever, eat that baby geniuses.

Baby geniuses live their entire lives under a crippling amount of pressure, causing them to have a higher suicide rate. Rest in peace.


Probably just go back to like, 8th grade and actually try to be semi-productive from then on in life. Also, stocks would be bought in certain companies, and of course lotto numbers/big sports game scores like Azn said. Also would definitely punch at least two people I never did.

Trying to be more productive robs you of life experience and leads to a high stress lifestyle. Punching people lands you in prison. Are you sure you want to know how many cigarettes your ass is worth?


I would order the soup instead of the salad. :p

Whoops, enjoy your botulism.


I would stop me from being shot.

Han shot first.


I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

Methinks the lady doth protest too much

(snip "win the lotto/sports events" answers I've already addressed


As long as I can take the information I have now with me I would've stopped a few things from happening.

You're going to have to be more specific than that if you want to know why it'd be a bad idea. For example, if you want to leverage Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle to stop the 9/11 attacks, all you have to do is start telling people that they're going to happen. Then, when they don't, you get thrown in an institution for the mentally ill. Small price to pay? Perhaps. But what if instead of preventing them, you just make them turn out differently? Worse, even?


Would I still age normally while time travelling? If so then there's really no smurfing point in going back to not fail where I've failed. It'd just be a waste of time that wouldn't change the present anyway. I don't wanna do all that bull:bou::bou::bou::bou: again.

Assume it can change the present. You go back in time to your own body at the time--so if you go back to when you're 12, you're a(n) -year-old (wo)man in a 12-year-old child's body, with all of your memories intact.


I would take the blue pill.

That was cyanide. Well done


I'd be a goddamn genius baby and leverage my brains to get a full scholarship to Harvard or something by the age of 12.

I fantasize about being able to do this on a daily basis, being able to move my consciousness freely throughout time. And then I can switch between any timeline I have generated through my exploits.

See: Reply to Hypoallergenic


I would go back and invest a huge load of money in a race or football match that I remembered the result of and I'd become a billionaire.
I know for a fact all I would ever need is money, aside from things like my family and friends dying I'd give up anything to become filthy stinking rich.

If you really, honestly think all you ever need is money, they I wish I [i]could send you back in time with some sort of defense against Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.


I think I only have one major regret that's been sticking with me that was the result of a bunch of bad decisions a few months back, so I'd probably go back and tell myself not to do that! Otherwise, idk. I always used to imagine my future self going back in time and giving young me advice. Like, 30 year old Stu telling 7 year old Stu about how to live life. I pictured myself being a lot fatter than I am now but I guess I still have a few years to go before I have to worry about time traveling.

7 year old Stu would likely not believe 30 year old Stu and call the police. Other than that, I can't comment without specifics.

What brought this on was an "I wish I could go back" moment of my own when I realized how much money I'd be making if I'd joined the military when I was 20. Now that I'm 31, if I want to earn a full pension, I have to join fulltime within the next 4 years, which means taking a pay cut. (It would take 3-5 years for my military pay to achieve parity with what I'm making now, after which it would skyrocket). Then I remembered what I was like at 20. I lacked the drive and focus necessary to get through BMQ, let alone a career. I'd have washed out, and not be eligible for re-entry when I'm ready on that score. So, because I spent my 20s playing instead of working, I still have that option available to me. I've also met a lot of friends and had a lot of good experiences that being serious and joining the Forces at 20 would have denied me. If I were to go back in time to when I was 20 and sign up, I'd likely return to the present to find myself in the exact same place I am now, but with fewer prospects and a higher blood pressure. No thanks.

[Raistlin]

Before I go into my responses, I'd like to take a moment to address a recurring answer: winning the lottery. This is a thought experiment--the laws of physics do not change, and you cannot use time travel to win the lottery any more than you can go back in time and become a wizard instead of a sales clerk. The fundamental principle of quantum physics is Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. It originated with the famed two-slit experiment, where wave-particle duality was discovered. When left alone and only the interference patterns were recoreded, the electron stream fired at the two slits acted like a wave, but when an attempt was made to observe its progress, it acted like a stream of particles. In short, the entire science of quantum physics is predicated on the fact that by observing something, you influence it. If you go back in time with the winning lottery numbers for the next draw memorized, initially you do nothing, but as soon as you act upon it, you alter the future, essentially re-randomizing the lottery numbers. You can go back in time to stop Señor Douchebag from winning the lottery, but you cannot control who wins.

I think this can be more easily explained by the fact that the delayed-choice variation of the double-slit experiment (where the choice to view an electron or not is not made until after it passes through the slits) shows that the past is not a set history, but only a set of probabilities until observed. Thus, the observation of an electron changes the slit it went through in the past. And therefore since the outcome of a (truly randomized) lottery was not set until it was observed, and if you go back in time before it was set, all of the particles that can affect the lottery are just another set of probabilities again -- with no guarantee as to how it will turn out this time. The new lotto, according to a strict application of current quantum theory, would just be the same one in a billion chance.

However, that only works if the system which generates the lottery is truly randomized, and not some computer program which must act a certain way and so may in fact be more inclined to repeat itself if you go back to right before the numbers are picked. The lottery is also a finite set of possible outcomes (limited by the numbers it uses), so it's not an infinite set of probabilities like quantum theory predicts of matter in general, but it seems like the above would still apply if it's randomized. And, of course, we also have no idea what effect any hypothetical time travel would have on anything, including quantum mechanics.

On topic, I would not risk going back in time further back than very recently (say days/weeks) to change anything.

[Citizen Bleys]

I just realized that if I could go back in time and join the Forces at age 20, I never would have come to EoFF, and therefore never would have met Raistlin.

Sorry, everybody, you're not morons after all. You CAN change the past for the better!

[Raistlin]

You wouldn't know what to do without me, Plushiebunny.

[Citizen Bleys]

You wouldn't know what to do without me, Plushiebunny.

Smoke and drink less, belike

[Carl the Llama]

I would go back to when I was at playschool and change nothing, everyone wishes they could be young again at some point in their life, this would be the perfect opportunity and lets face it, being a kid was smurfing awesome.

[Citizen Bleys]

I would go back to when I was at playschool and change nothing, everyone wishes they could be young again at some point in their life, this would be the perfect opportunity and lets face it, being a kid was smurfing awesome.

You wouldn't be bored? I'm afraid I couldn't entertain myself by running around and pretending to be Superman, even if it wouldn't land me in an institution for the criminally insane.

[Carl the Llama]

I would go back to when I was at playschool and change nothing, everyone wishes they could be young again at some point in their life, this would be the perfect opportunity and lets face it, being a kid was smurfing awesome.

You wouldn't be bored? I'm afraid I couldn't entertain myself by running around and pretending to be Superman, even if it wouldn't land me in an institution for the criminally insane.

Bored? are you kidding me? it would be awesome, just because I have the information I have now doesn't mean I wouldn't have the mentality of a child and so doing these things wouldn't be boring to me, and besides just because you watch a movie once does that mean you will be bored when you watch it again at a later date? I don't think so.

[Madonna]

The only thing I would do differently would be to drown.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Like Being Erica go back in time? (Anyone else get the Canadian TV reference? Please?:()

Hmmm, I dunno what I'd do. If time travelling taught me anything is that we cannot really change our mistakes or if we do, we will make other ones anyways. We're not perfect or omniscient. All we can do is learn from the past.

[blackmage_nuke]

I would do it years from now after the next big invention comes out, go back 2 years and "invent" it myself (going back now wouldnt be feasible since inventing things when im too young would lead to strange questions)

[Citizen Bleys]

The only thing I would do differently would be to drown.

What?


Like Being Erica go back in time? (Anyone else get the Canadian TV reference? Please?:()

Ironically, Netflix just recommended this to me as being like Better Off Ted, but I haven't had a chance yet. I'll watch it eventually, the protagonist looks kind of cute.


Hmmm, I dunno what I'd do. If time travelling taught me anything is that we cannot really change our mistakes or if we do, we will make other ones anyways. We're not perfect or omniscient. All we can do is learn from the past.

This...sounds like you've travelled through time before.


I would do it years from now after the next big invention comes out, go back 2 years and "invent" it myself (going back now wouldnt be feasible since inventing things when im too young would lead to strange questions)

It would lead to strange questions anyways, since big inventions tend to be team efforts and one guy doing it all alone is extremely unlikely. You'd lose all privacy, and labour under the expectation of continuing the trend.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Like Being Erica go back in time? (Anyone else get the Canadian TV reference? Please?:()

Ironically, Netflix just recommended this to me as being like Better Off Ted, but I haven't had a chance yet. I'll watch it eventually, the protagonist looks kind of cute.


Hmmm, I dunno what I'd do. If time travelling taught me anything is that we cannot really change our mistakes or if we do, we will make other ones anyways. We're not perfect or omniscient. All we can do is learn from the past.

This...sounds like you've travelled through time before.


It's good! Each episode she travels back in time to relive a past regret to try to change it. Needless to say, things don't always turn out as planned. It is really a story of personal growth as we see the protagonist, Erica, learn from her past and overcome obstacles in her present.

I cannot confirm nor deny that I have travelled through time. :cool:

Or it might be that I watched too much Being Erica.

[Madonna]

The only thing I would do differently would be to drown.

What?
As opposed to not drowning; already did that, you see.

[Peegee]

Typical bleyblade and his trolling. we should just band you. everybody knows the uncertainty principle applies to the quantum level. a ball is not going to fall up and a die is not going to land edge side up. so bollocks to you

[Rase]

Trying to be more productive robs you of life experience and leads to a high stress lifestyle. Punching people lands you in prison. Are you sure you want to know how many cigarettes your ass is worth?

Already experienced that part of life once though, so may as well do it a different way. And getting caught punching people lands you in prison.

[Citizen Bleys]

It's good! (snip synopsis)

I cannot confirm nor deny that I have travelled through time. :cool:

Or it might be that I watched too much Being Erica.

Well, it sounds well timed since I've a current interest in the basic idea.

What it does not sound like is anything even remotely similar to Better Off Ted. Up yours, Netflix. Again. This is like the time I was searching for Shakespeare and it suggested Rocky and freaking Bullwinkle.



As opposed to not drowning; already did that, you see.

You're a very strange man


everybody knows the uncertainty principle applies to the quantum level.

Everybody? I think you have an artificially high estimate of how smart the majority of people are. I remind you, I've spoken with a woman who declaimed, "My cell phone doesn't even work, I have to dial all of the numbers and press send!"

Quantum doesn't just mean "very small"; it can impact anything with any degree of randomness, and there's nothing as random as a human being



Already experienced that part of life once though, so may as well do it a different way. And getting caught punching people lands you in prison.

Different != better. The difference between now and an alternate now, assuming a neutral shift, is that in the alternate now, you know viscerally what you're missing. You'd wind up dwelling on what was good about the way you were living before you went back and changed it, and have less appreciation of what was better after. That's human nature.

[Hollycat]

I would have accepted that part in harry potter, even though my mom said she'd dis hone me, maybe I would have a job if I had.
(very minor role, only going to pay about $500, but I would have been in the movie) (number 2)

[Peegee]

everybody knows the uncertainty principle applies to the quantum level.

Everybody? I think you have an artificially high estimate of how smart the majority of people are. I remind you, I've spoken with a woman who declaimed, "My cell phone doesn't even work, I have to dial all of the numbers and press send!"

Quantum doesn't just mean "very small"; it can impact anything with any degree of randomness, and there's nothing as random as a human being
.

Well Bollocks. I claim my hypothesis is not rooted in stupidity. And you say otherwise. We must prove this using the scientology method.

[Citizen Bleys]

Well Bollocks. I claim my hypothesis is not rooted in stupidity. And you say otherwise. We must prove this using the scientology method.

It's far too late for that! We're having a gunfight, right here, right now.

[Raistlin]

Quantum theory applies to everything. It even explains how larger objects (as in, much larger than the molecular level) act very similar to Newtonian principles, as the mass of an object affects the waves as shown in Feynman's infinite histories. Basically, each possible outcome (of which there are infinite) translates into a spot on a wave. Outcomes that are similar to each other are also very close on the wave (i.e., both on the crest), and therefore reinforce each other. But there are some outcomes which are opposing each other (e.g., X molecule randomly deciding to turn right 90 degrees and fly off in that direction and X doing the same thing to the left side) are on opposing sides of the wave, thus essentially canceling each other out. The potential outcome of objects with higher mass are much more in sync with each other for the outcome that old Newtonian principles would predict. There is still a level of randomness, but not nearly as much.

And the uncertainty principle applies to everything as well. But when measuring large objects (say, a soccer ball or a car), the units we use to measure its location (even millimeters) do not come close to reaching all of the zeros in Planck's constant (the maximum amount of certainty we can have of an object's location and velocity). That number is really, really small, and even measuring in millimeters and meters per second don't come even close to reaching that level of certainty. But this does have a profound effect on locating molecules, and, interestingly enough, the uncertainty principle also shows that there is no such thing as empty space -- and that even if we can't see or measure anything, matter is constantly, in lay terms, popping in and out of existence.

So yes, Bleys is right. For once. Someone should alert the press.

I find this subject much more interesting than the time travel discussion. :p

[qwertysaur]

Spontaneous creation and annihilation of particles and their antiparticles is fun. (for example an electron and an antielectron aka positron) :p

[Chris]

I can honestly say that I do not have any regrets, at least not any that would be worth testing the fabric of the universe over. I'm not going to sit here and claim that everything's been sunshine, but I think I've been lucky. There have been small, albeit innocuous, moments, but I think my missteps have helped me, rather than hindered me.

[blackmage_nuke]

I would do it years from now after the next big invention comes out, go back 2 years and "invent" it myself (going back now wouldnt be feasible since inventing things when im too young would lead to strange questions)

It would lead to strange questions anyways, since big inventions tend to be team efforts and one guy doing it all alone is extremely unlikely. You'd lose all privacy, and labour under the expectation of continuing the trend.

No reason I cant gather a group of friends from the past to help me develop it.

[G13]

I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

... There's so much I want to say to this. :eep:

[Carl the Llama]

Actually I want to change my do over, I would wait till saturday night watch the lotto numbers and then once they have dropped go back in time 30 minutes and buy a ticket, thus the only profound difference would be that I go back in time 30 minutes and it wouldn't change that much :p

[NorthernChaosGod]

I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

... There's so much I want to say to this. :eep:

Like? :bigsmile:

[Citizen Bleys]

So yes, Bleys is right. For once. Someone should alert the press.

Someone's jealous of my manifest awesomeness


I can honestly say that I do not have any regrets, at least not any that would be worth testing the fabric of the universe over. I'm not going to sit here and claim that everything's been sunshine, but I think I've been lucky. There have been small, albeit innocuous, moments, but I think my missteps have helped me, rather than hindered me.

Another mature, reasoned answer? Armageddon must be nigh!



No reason I cant gather a group of friends from the past to help me develop it.

Without them catching on?


Actually I want to change my do over, I would wait till saturday night watch the lotto numbers and then once they have dropped go back in time 30 minutes and buy a ticket, thus the only profound difference would be that I go back in time 30 minutes and it wouldn't change that much :p

Shortening the period of time even to one ten trillionth of a second still doesn't defeat the Uncertainty Principle

[NorthernChaosGod]

Fuck causality.

I'd go back and start fucking :bou::bou::bou::bou: up.

[fire_of_avalon]

Specifically I would've dumped the guy I was with and made out with my professor (I already had the A, the make outs would've been for funsies.)

[Peegee]

Look, causality or quantum physics aside:

On 9-11 instead of being in college and sleeping in I would call in a bomb threat to the WTC

I would call the police to stop various school shootings

I would put money in the stocks to profit from various recessions

I would tell mom and dad to invest in Apple stocks back in 1985 - the worst thing that can happen is that by doing that, Apple doesn't come up with the idea of the itunes store and ipods.

Like milf said, I would leverage my 31 years of experience into 20-25 more years of the same. Granted I'm not as smart as people who are well versed in college level academics, but it shouldn't take me long to catch up. And you still didn't tell me what is wrong with being aware of the value of exercise from a young age. I would lift weights as a teen instead of an old man who is probably just doing this because he's trying to feel young again

If quantum uncertainty is proved true via observable irregularities with memory, it would at least confirm alternate timeline theory. I wouldn't have to kill myself to undo existence.

I would avoid certain people and embrace others just to see what if

I would become the most bizarre eoffer ever just because of my uncanny observational skills.

[NorthernChaosGod]

....something tells me that PG might have already succeeded in this venture.

[Citizen Bleys]

And at last, some solid reason that I can't (immediately) think of much wrong with from someone other than Iceglow! And of course it's the only post on the whole bloody board I can't add reputation to for some unknown reason.


Look, causality or quantum physics aside:

You can't set the laws of physics aside. If they could be set aside...well, where's my faster-than-light travel?


On 9-11 instead of being in college and sleeping in I would call in a bomb threat to the WTC

I would call the police to stop various school shootings

Worst case scenario, they ignore you and nothing changes. Not bad. You can't be institutionalized for an anonymous phone call. Do it too far ahead of time, though, and you can be traced.


I would put money in the stocks to profit from various recessions

Probably wouldn't work. There's a direct cause-and-effect relationship between investments and the strength of each stock. You can argue that it would be a drop in the bucket, but there are people out there who watch trends. One person sees an unusual investment and follows suit, more people see that, etc. Don't invest anything you can't afford to lose, but that holds true whether you're time travelling or not.


I would tell mom and dad to invest in Apple stocks back in 1985 - the worst thing that can happen is that by doing that, Apple doesn't come up with the idea of the itunes store and ipods.

And they'd listen? Again, worst that could happen is nothing.


Like milf said, I would leverage my 31 years of experience into 20-25 more years of the same. Granted I'm not as smart as people who are well versed in college level academics, but it shouldn't take me long to catch up.

You'd have to keep it on the down-low, though. Even if your parents saw you exhibiting college-level knowledge in junior high, they'd react, and say goodbye to your social life and say hello to the fast-track to a high stress (albeit high pay) lifestyle. You may think you're ready for it at 31, but that's with only 29-34 years left to go til retirement. As with any big job, the last 10% of the job contains 90% of the difficulty. Do you really think you can handle an extra 20 years of high-stress career?


And you still didn't tell me what is wrong with being aware of the value of exercise from a young age. I would lift weights as a teen instead of an old man who is probably just doing this because he's trying to feel young again

For one, the value you see in exercise now didn't exist back then. You didn't need to feel young because you were. Even going back, you'd be youthful again. It's a lot of effort for no gain. It makes more sense to start something when you get something out of it. WIIFM is an integral part of what makes people tick, and if you start doing things with no apparent gain, people will take notice and react.


If quantum uncertainty is proved true via observable irregularities with memory, it would at least confirm alternate timeline theory. I wouldn't have to kill myself to undo existence.

That would make sense for someone who's interested in physics, not for someone who regularly pooh-poohs it as a useless exercise for no-life academics only.


I would avoid certain people and embrace others just to see what if

As long as you're prepared for the consequences, both positive and negative


I would become the most bizarre eoffer ever just because of my uncanny observational skills.

So, you're saying you'd change nothing?

[Peegee]

also butterfly effect would make everything worse than it currently is

i would continuously attempt to fix it thus exacerbating the issue.

you're asian.

[Citizen Bleys]

also butterfly effect would make everything worse than it currently is

There's no scientific or rational basis to the idea of the butterfly effect. It's no different than the Frankenstein complex that makes everybody think that artificial intelligence/robots/genetically enhanced people will inevitably become monsters.


you're asian.

Yes, I'm about 1/64,000th Mongolian from when the Khanate of the Golden Horde raped and pillaged their way across Ukraine. But...where is that coming from?

[blackmage_nuke]

No reason I cant gather a group of friends from the past to help me develop it.

Without them catching on?



Im an engineer, my friends are engineers, it's not much of a stretch if i go to all of them with a good idea and ask them to help me develop it. As project leader it wouldnt be suspicious if i kept an eye on development.

Also so what if they find out I'm a time traveller (and i have no idea how they would), They'll tell everyone who'll think he/she is crazy and they risk not getting a cut of the final payoff.

[Peegee]

also butterfly effect would make everything worse than it currently is

There's no scientific or rational basis to the idea of the butterfly effect. It's no different than the Frankenstein complex that makes everybody think that artificial intelligence/robots/genetically enhanced people will inevitably become monsters.


you're asian.

Yes, I'm about 1/64,000th Mongolian from when the Khanate of the Golden Horde raped and pillaged their way across Ukraine. But...where is that coming from?

Quiet asian.

[Citizen Bleys]

So now that activity in this thread has died off, time to reveal that I've been doing a different thought experiment than the rest of you.

Having decided that I wouldn't go back to my own past if I could, I asked this question and have been deciding, based on the responses, who I would send back into their own past if I could. I've come up with a grand total of 3 people I'd send back. Most of your responses have been disappointingly glib.

Who do you think the 3 are?

[NorthernChaosGod]

The boring people.

[blackmage_nuke]

So now that activity in this thread has died off, time to reveal that I've been doing a different thought experiment than the rest of you.

Having decided that I wouldn't go back to my own past if I could, I asked this question and have been deciding, based on the responses, who I would send back into their own past if I could. I've come up with a grand total of 3 people I'd send back. Most of your responses have been disappointingly glib.

Who do you think the 3 are?

I assume one would be me since you changed the topic before providing a counter to my last arguement.

[Peegee]

So now that activity in this thread has died off, time to reveal that I've been doing a different thought experiment than the rest of you.

Having decided that I wouldn't go back to my own past if I could, I asked this question and have been deciding, based on the responses, who I would send back into their own past if I could. I've come up with a grand total of 3 people I'd send back. Most of your responses have been disappointingly glib.

Who do you think the 3 are?

iceglow

[Raistlin]

Iceglow's ego does, indeed, take up enough space for three people.

[Peegee]

Iceglow's ego does, indeed, take up enough space for three people.

:D asl steve

[Citizen Bleys]

I assume one would be me since you changed the topic before providing a counter to my last arguement.

The answer is correct but the reason is not. I just don't think "I think you're deluding yourself" is an argument, it's an opinion. I think it would be interesting to see how things turned out.



iceglow

Negative, I don't think Iceglow would really benefit from a do-over at all.

EDIT: None of the people I'd send back agree with me. Otherwise there'd be no point.

[Iceglow]

If only Raistlin really knew anything about me to actually make that comment... :P

I agree with Bleys actually, I wouldn't benefit from a do-over at all. I have precious few regrets and the regrets I do have I've made my peace with.

[NorthernChaosGod]

Then do I get to go back and fuck with stuff?

[Citizen Bleys]

Negative.

[NorthernChaosGod]

:(

[Peegee]

Negative.

What if I talked like this?

[Shattered Dreamer]

Having been not arsed to read the rest of this thread I'll give it a whirl just the same.

As much as I regret some of the choices I have made in my life, god knows everyone does it's part of being human, I feel it is those choices that shaped me into the man I am today for better or for worse!

Notwithstanding that, there are a number of things I would like to change:

1. I wish I attended at least 1 or both of my school graduation dances/proms.
2. I wish I had worked a little harder in the final months of secondary school/high school to ensure a higher test score which meant not having to pay to go to private college. Although 18 year old me hated school with the fiery passion of a thousand suns & just wanted out so yeah $hit happens!
3. I should of done Law & Business as my degree rather than just Law.Would of given me more options in the way of post graduate study & better job prospects. The exam points needed to get into Law & Business were lower too. But whatever to that one I loved college :bigsmile:
4.Never should of gotten involved with my last girlfriend. She was & still is a psychopath :lol:
5.As a direct consequence of number 4 I screwed up with a new woman. She's since moved back to Thailand having finished her Masters, you win some you lose some I guess :p
6.Never should of moved back in with my room mate from 3rd year of college. We're childhood friends. As much as I hated living in the countryside with my parents (I hate the place, I love my family & friends there though) living with him again has been more trouble then it's worth. I'm moving out next week so yeah lesson learned the hard way....again!

6 things between the age 18 & 23, reckon I'm doing alright :lol:

[Citizen Bleys]

Negative.

What if I talked like this?

You're already one of the 3, as the most well-reasoned opposition.

[Hollycat]

Now I think I'd also warn everybody of every bad thing ever. Or maybe I'd go back and be a super villian, with my mechanics knowledge, I coulda conquered texas by 2nd grade.

[Peegee]

Negative.

What if I talked like this?

You're already one of the 3, as the most well-reasoned opposition.

wtf we argued for so long and then I win? BAH

what if I sang you a song?
I gave my love a chicken
it had no bone
mmmm...chicken

[Citizen Bleys]

Now I think I'd also warn everybody of every bad thing ever. Or maybe I'd go back and be a super villian, with my mechanics knowledge, I coulda conquered texas by 2nd grade.

There's now 4 people I'd send back.

[Peegee]

Now I think I'd also warn everybody of every bad thing ever. Or maybe I'd go back and be a super villian, with my mechanics knowledge, I coulda conquered texas by 2nd grade.

There's now 4 people I'd send back.

btw guys: he's already sent you back. Time continued with no fluctuation, butterfly effect is proved false, and you did the exact same things you did in the past, thus having the same memories.

[Remon]

EDIT

lol misread the topic.

I think I'd go back to my childhood. I wouldn't change anything. I'd just want to live it once again. It was the happiest period of my life.

[Citizen Bleys]

btw guys: he's already sent you back.

Curses, foiled again.

[Shiny]

I don't want to go to my past because I've already lived it. I want to go to the past of someone else to see what they did -- preferably not the dark ages.

[Citizen Bleys]

The point is to change it. If you change someone else's past, they're the beneficiary.

This thread is about breaking the #1 rule of time travel in most fiction: Thou shalt not use time travel for personal gain. Well in this thread, you can only use it for personal gain, or the personal gain of those close to you. Not physically close, like the freaky lunatic the next apartment over, but friends, family, fuckbuddies, and the entire population of Pitcairn's Island.

[Hollycat]

TEH TIEM PARADUCKS:
eef it iz possumble to go bak in tiem, tehn eny efeks of tiem traval to teh pahst is r alreddy bn in okkurense, so ther4, u canot keel yurself in teh past, bcuz then u woodnt be aliv to go bak and keel yurself. Also, if travln bak in tiem is possumble, then eet has alreddy occured in teh footur an so teh pahst mey hav bean chenged, but becuz eet haz, we donut no it deed, so we is r feelin teh effeks of tiem travl alreddy, and eef we were to go bak, no mattar wat we duz, eet was alreddy doomed to happenz, so nuthing chenges in teh present.

[Old Manus]

Yeah never post like that again

[Melissaur]

Yeah never post like that again

I was thinking the same thing

[Peegee]

The point is to change it. If you change someone else's past, they're the beneficiary.

This thread is about breaking the #1 rule of time travel in most fiction: Thou shalt not use time travel for personal gain. Well in this thread, you can only use it for personal gain, or the personal gain of those close to you. Not physically close, like the freaky lunatic the next apartment over, but friends, family, smurfbuddies, and the entire population of Pitcairn's Island.

What if I go back in time and commit suicide? HUH?

[Unbreakable Will]

There's been many a night where I've contemplated this scenario. Going back with the knowledge I have now would save me a lot of strife and regret, but it also would make me a different person than I am now and I quite like me. So no, I wouldn't go back. :monster:

[Hollycat]

THE TIME PARADOX:
.if it is possible to go back in time, then any effects of time travel to the past is are already being in occurrence, so therefore, u cannot kill yourself in the past, because then u wouldn't be alive to go back and kill yourself. Also, if traveling back in time is possible, then it has already occurred in the future an so the past may have been changed, but because it has, we don’t know it did, so we is are feeling the effects of time travel already, and if we were to go back, no matter what we do, it was already doomed to happen, so nothing changes in the present.
better?

[Citizen Bleys]

The word "you" is still 3 letters long.



What if I go back in time and commit suicide? HUH?

Then you die. How do you benefit from that?


There's been many a night where I've contemplated this scenario. Going back with the knowledge I have now would save me a lot of strife and regret, but it also would make me a different person than I am now and I quite like me. So no, I wouldn't go back. :monster:

So, in essence, if you go back in time, "you" die and someone who looks just like you takes your place, n'est-ce pas? That's not really the point of this exercise, though. The point is to prove me wrong and come up with a way that you can use time travel for your own benefit without the necessity of living in a world where the Uncertainty Principle (nor any other law of physics, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics) does not exist.

[kotora]

I don't want to go to my past because I've already lived it. I want to go to the past of someone else to see what they did -- preferably not the dark ages.

like who, spirit?

[Peegee]

The word "you" is still 3 letters long.



What if I go back in time and commit suicide? HUH?

Then you die. How do you benefit from that?


There's been many a night where I've contemplated this scenario. Going back with the knowledge I have now would save me a lot of strife and regret, but it also would make me a different person than I am now and I quite like me. So no, I wouldn't go back. :monster:

So, in essence, if you go back in time, "you" die and someone who looks just like you takes your place, n'est-ce pas? That's not really the point of this exercise, though. The point is to prove me wrong and come up with a way that you can use time travel for your own benefit without the necessity of living in a world where the Uncertainty Principle (nor any other law of physics, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics) does not exist.

I travel back in time and not do anything out of the ordinary. I make an anonymous call in the late 1980s that the person who committed the scarborough rapes (paul bernardo) works in the same building as my mother.

They question him, find nothing wrong (because they did that anyway in this timeline) and I do nothing to change history.

FUCK

[Unbreakable Will]

Yeah never post like that again
:colbert:

@Bleys- Ah I see, that's what I get for not reading through the whole thread :roll2
Well I believe I'd do what Milf touched on and use my present knowledge to go back and raise myself to genius status whilst being a small child. For a person who didn't much care for school I'm an academic at heart and would use the opportunity to build such a base of knowledge to be comparable to 'the greats' throughout history.
This being stated, are we limiting ourselves to our past, or can we travel back further? If so I would travel twice, the first time to achieve vast knowledge and the second to go about 70 years in the past and make some lucrative business deals and steal 'future' discoveries.
Although this brings up the question of "Well Will, if you travel back into your own past and age appropriately while retaining the knowledge you have now... how are you going to travel to the time before your own birth and not cease to exist?" The answer is simple, this is a hypothetical situation and one could make the assumption that if you had the technological capability of time travel you could also have a way to get past this particular paradox.
:monster:
I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but it's fun to think about.

[Peegee]

There are certain wisdoms that do not benefit from being forced to relive certain parts of life. For example even if I were to decide to travel back in time to grade 9 (high school) it wouldn't matter. Or grade 10 so I could hang out with my crush before she cut her hair short and now looks nasty (I would fall for her all over again)

There are also very disturbing reasons to go back in time. For example I would be mentally 31 y/o in a child's body. So.....

Yeah this is sick bleys.

[Citizen Bleys]

@Bleys- Ah I see, that's what I get for not reading through the whole thread :roll2
Well I believe I'd do what Milf touched on and use my present knowledge to go back and raise myself to genius status whilst being a small child. For a person who didn't much care for school I'm an academic at heart and would use the opportunity to build such a base of knowledge to be comparable to 'the greats' throughout history.

I've already answered that--the pressure would make you less happy. That's not a benefit, it's a net loss


This being stated, are we limiting ourselves to our past, or can we travel back further?

You go back in time, you're in your own body as it was at the time. So if you try to go back to before you were born, you have no body to occupy. Hard to say whether you'd be able to observe, let alone affect anything. You certainly wouldn't be able to benefit from it in any substantive manner.


If so I would travel twice, the first time to achieve vast knowledge and the second to go about 70 years in the past and make some lucrative business deals and steal 'future' discoveries.
Although this brings up the question of "Well Will, if you travel back into your own past and age appropriately while retaining the knowledge you have now... how are you going to travel to the time before your own birth and not cease to exist?" The answer is simple, this is a hypothetical situation and one could make the assumption that if you had the technological capability of time travel you could also have a way to get past this particular paradox.


Again, you can't violate physics (excepting the time travel itself). A thought experiment is pointless if you throw in magic powers. That being said, since you're traveling into your own past body and aging is a physiological process, it stands to reason that the time spent in the past doesn't accelerate your age -- when you're done your journey into the past, you return to the present at the same instant you left, possibly without anybody noticing (aside from any changes to your posture and bearing), so years spent traveling through your past != fewer remaining years until death.

So there's a benefit nobody thought of -- go back and relive your life at the instant before death, so you effectively get to live forever.


(I would fall for her all over again)

There's an interesting new question: Would you? If I open up my high school yearbooks and look at girls I used to have a crush on, I see...a child. Going back in time, is one's perception of attractiveness determined by one's body, or mind? It's easy to look back and wonder what you were thinking as an adult, sans the raging hormones of the teenage years...but is it really that simple? I wonder what it would be like...

I personally think that I'd still be unable to foster any romantic feelings for a teenager even if I were back in a teenager's body myself, but that's because I'm in my thirties and teenagers are eww, to use the parlance.

[Peegee]

ridiculous assertion. At the risk of being awesomely creepy they are teenagers and I have the mind (by then) of a 45 year old man trapped with the raging hormones of a teenager.

In fact these two facts alone are enough justification for me to want to time travel to my younger self.

[Jessweeee♪]

I probably wouldn't. I never properly developed communication skills, and I'd want to change that, but going back in time would probably just make the problem worse.

[Citizen Bleys]

I never properly developed communication skills

You type in complete, grammatically-correct sentences, which puts you ahead of 95% of the internet. You'll have to think of a better reason to go back in time than that.

[Jessweeee♪]

I never properly developed communication skills

You type in complete, grammatically-correct sentences, which puts you ahead of 95% of the internet. You'll have to think of a better reason to go back in time than that.

It's not a good one, which is why I said I probably wouldn't go!

[docta fizz]

I would enter college at 19. It's pretty awkward to be 24 and a freshman, besides I would be done with the whole ordeal by now :(. Other than that I'm pretty comfortable with where life has taken me :)

[Jentleness]

I would go back and not get married.... Worst mistake ever

Can't agree. If I went back in time and never married, then my daughter would not be born. best "mistake" I ever made. I love her and she is worth any heart ache I may have suffered if you want to call it that.

As Tallulah Bankhead once said, "If I had my life to live again. I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."

I concur.

[Melissaur]

Well lucky for me I had my daughter before I was married. Best non-mistake ever! I love her!

[Jiro]

I would go back in time one minute before this thread was made and make it before Bleys so he looks like a copy cat and is banned and I take one more step to my dominance over Eyes on Final Fantasy.

[Citizen Bleys]

If lack of originality was a bannable offense, this forum would have collapsed like a black hole years ago.

[Jiro]

That was a mistype on my part. Your banning would be a result of something different.

I change my answer to "Go back in time 5 minutes ago and not make that post because now I feel like a fool as well am one"

[Citizen Bleys]

Indeed, let us replace the edit feature with freaking time travel.

[Jiro]

Editing the post doesn't change the fact that you saw it. Editing is also greatly inferior to time travel in terms of badassity.

[The Man]

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't change anything. I have regrets about plenty of things I've done, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't alter any of my actions because they've made me who I am today. Besides, going back into the past would be smurfing boring.

[Citizen Bleys]

This thought experiment isn't so much about going into the past and staying there to be bored, but going into the past for the (in science fiction) forbidden purpose of personal gain and getting away with it, which I maintain is absolutely possible if you're a bit more creative than "Hyuk, I'm gonna buy me a lottery ticket" and even ethical as long as you don't change history itself, but restrict yourself to your own history. Once you make your changes, you return to the present and reap the benefit.

The secondary objective was to decide who I'd send back if I could, which has been done.

This thread's tertiary objective was to get more pages than the freaking arse hair thread. Mission accomplished!