tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85404849157109871342024-02-20T18:34:23.858-08:00T = TimeMatsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-78602532047440927332011-10-20T16:16:00.000-07:002011-10-23T11:03:55.984-07:00Ontological ParadoxHere's a clip explaining the Ontological Paradox, like the kind found regularly on Quantum Leap, or on Back to the Future when Marty McFly shows Chuck Berry how to play Johnny B. Goode. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nZua9-ED8rY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />She explains it way better than I could, even with that terrible accent. Plus she's much prettier.Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-47665131756742701582011-09-13T09:44:00.001-07:002011-09-13T09:44:38.160-07:00I LOVE This!<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9S75Rfva9O8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-29829588882523811832011-09-05T10:21:00.001-07:002011-09-05T10:22:03.023-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.imgur.com/xSKrx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://i.imgur.com/xSKrx.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Caphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03409275957155945665noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-62557014250952446852011-08-23T14:54:00.000-07:002011-08-23T14:55:07.715-07:00Stealing Time Short FilmThis is pretty awesome!
<br />
<br /><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UTO0ogdNMdY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-79120047833794916592011-08-20T10:41:00.000-07:002011-08-20T11:03:28.005-07:00Time TravelersDo you remember <a href="http://tequalstime.blogspot.com/2009/05/john-titor.html">John Titor</a>? He's the time traveler from 2036 who started posting on message boards from 2000 until 2001 and then was never heard from again. Well now that 10 years have passed in our time line, it appears he is back again (who knows how long it's been in his time) and it looks like he is now trying to influence our present (his past) by posting letters on-line which counsel and warn us of what is to come. To see his letters, go <a href="http://www.publishaletter.com">HERE</a> and search for "John Titor".<div>
<br /></div><div>Here is a guy named <a href="http://dashmoto.blogspot.com/">Dash Motohito</a> who is blogging back through time from the year 2062. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>You may remember on this blog a couple years ago I posted some pictures of <a href="http://tequalstime.blogspot.com/2009/04/axl-rose-hungry-time-traveler.html">Axl Rose: Hungry Time Traveler</a>. Well, now I have started a new blog entirely devoted to the photographic evidence of his time travel adventures. Check it out <a href="http://hungrytimetraveler.blogspot.com/">HERE</a>. </div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-38162027864489736892011-06-23T12:45:00.001-07:002011-06-23T12:47:39.544-07:00Space Moose: Master of TimeI'm probably blowing our PG-13 Rating with this comic, but what the heck! Here goes<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuCE30d01nODpmNQwbYnxAfCA7AxLNKBMou4djfmsPlNkGindBg6yP3etfRUxW-8KR1eE749hT0TKUmDWA6HBA23dtQYAIC5b0lzvppcPM_JB_ZO2lKZEP_5AoLT194MB2MYuSwc5mxI/s1600/time_machine1.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuCE30d01nODpmNQwbYnxAfCA7AxLNKBMou4djfmsPlNkGindBg6yP3etfRUxW-8KR1eE749hT0TKUmDWA6HBA23dtQYAIC5b0lzvppcPM_JB_ZO2lKZEP_5AoLT194MB2MYuSwc5mxI/s320/time_machine1.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621503812383393394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ1Jum756eHdvSt5d14A89VjLyxCny98tjjZ0uve162PRuwMeJ8lD4VmOSkQBc9DbkVAAFId9jhqMX45WuWUEbFvPMNDT-Jh6ry3ZbAoebnDp_mNVwhwP5KPlHoeswM9d4Pz5Oq5J7xE/s1600/time_machine2.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ1Jum756eHdvSt5d14A89VjLyxCny98tjjZ0uve162PRuwMeJ8lD4VmOSkQBc9DbkVAAFId9jhqMX45WuWUEbFvPMNDT-Jh6ry3ZbAoebnDp_mNVwhwP5KPlHoeswM9d4Pz5Oq5J7xE/s320/time_machine2.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621504096565639682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEoOcSfYBkk_m6tj79yTeXMjE1OMDUaVboDn9wUlKpZ7VbaWsbjhRPBT2bKCqIF9Zi-55KE0IAtR_OASw4YVbwhC3G_w_SkyGZJeMraZRubfeXmUxhNbnv4sx9Je9Sxj53yUuDoUavbg/s1600/time_machine3.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEoOcSfYBkk_m6tj79yTeXMjE1OMDUaVboDn9wUlKpZ7VbaWsbjhRPBT2bKCqIF9Zi-55KE0IAtR_OASw4YVbwhC3G_w_SkyGZJeMraZRubfeXmUxhNbnv4sx9Je9Sxj53yUuDoUavbg/s320/time_machine3.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621504097869569122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBnQ3b2L_bQPJiRwG300u1SuugH9aQxrPbvU3rQth6Q441yKB4-ULPEurKjQ2o23ou4jmGDNskP7eqMlJB1QOtzMTha2QZ6nxI4FHpWJYMcXNApOiqhteNH3gaCbU_OuRzxFGUR9kHTk/s1600/time_machine4.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 66px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBnQ3b2L_bQPJiRwG300u1SuugH9aQxrPbvU3rQth6Q441yKB4-ULPEurKjQ2o23ou4jmGDNskP7eqMlJB1QOtzMTha2QZ6nxI4FHpWJYMcXNApOiqhteNH3gaCbU_OuRzxFGUR9kHTk/s320/time_machine4.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621504104276896482" /></a>Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-8170340554202273982011-06-13T11:38:00.000-07:002011-06-13T11:42:19.792-07:00Time Travel BingoThanks to Torley, who made this and emailed it to me...<div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DG2X98Bdy4Sq57ROZaF4WwLf1rNdi5YJKB84N4fEs5SM7Ib27vSjfh_rF9AOhH9hw5-EX2EyY4pppP_P3XPdboJnstX2Pbo3YVb2GDc7ULGDmwbQGWXtmLNbVplViZjooS87r4oT6Tsf/s1600/Bingo.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DG2X98Bdy4Sq57ROZaF4WwLf1rNdi5YJKB84N4fEs5SM7Ib27vSjfh_rF9AOhH9hw5-EX2EyY4pppP_P3XPdboJnstX2Pbo3YVb2GDc7ULGDmwbQGWXtmLNbVplViZjooS87r4oT6Tsf/s320/Bingo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617776348492238738" /></a><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/5719915875/in/photostream/lightbox/">And here is a link to the picture on Flickr. </a></div></div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-44167237645169480172011-05-31T11:26:00.000-07:002011-05-31T11:26:05.505-07:00A Paradox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/inventor-time-machine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/inventor-time-machine.gif" width="600" /></a></div>Caphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03409275957155945665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-62775571385137290492011-05-02T22:41:00.001-07:002011-05-02T22:41:57.268-07:00I'd Really Like To See This...<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23151989?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/23151989">20th Century Man Trailer</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3163337">Dustin Lee</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-26571690911078789592011-04-14T15:36:00.000-07:002011-06-13T11:43:14.813-07:00Chinese Authorities Discourage Time Travel<a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/making-tv-safer-chinese-censors-crack-down-on-time-travel/">The New York Times reported</a> that Chinese Authorities have issued new guidelines discouraging TV shows from featuring time travel in their plot lines. They say it "lack positive thoughts and meaning". <div><br /></div><div>You know up until now, I have been very open minded when it comes to China and its history of brutal human rights violations. But now they're restricting the basic right of its people to enjoy televised time travel fiction? Well I for one can no longer keep silent.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's one thing for General Mao to have been directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of 40 to 70 million people in his 27 year rule. But now you can't even allow your people to imagine traveling through time to prevent those deaths in a serialized video format? Maybe those Tibetans were right about you after all!</div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-13518267416978036492011-04-05T19:09:00.000-07:002011-04-05T19:10:49.756-07:00Light ReadingCheck out the latest article on Cracked's website.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/8-things-to-try-if-you-get-trapped-in-time-loop/">8 Things To Try If You Get Trapped In A Time Loop</a><br />by Chris Bucholz.Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-9899726791092678472011-02-13T04:34:00.001-08:002011-02-13T04:34:54.149-08:00Time, Motion and ConsciousnessIn Zeno's paradox where he argues that there is no such thing as motion, I have found to be quite fascinating. The concept of motion, first of all, is hard to define, in fact, in regards to Zeno's argument, saying what is wrong can be difficult because by theory we can disprove the idea of motion. That is to say, by theories in quantum mechanics we are able to see that objects move like pictures moving in a 64 bit game—there is no motion, only changing of pixels to give the illusion of motion. However, by direct experiment it seems as though we can prove motion does exist. I find this troubling as Quantum Mechanics is quickly overtaking classical physics and in this it is evident that what we discover in quantum mechanics must be right, (or very near the truth).<br />
<br />
However, I would like to make the argument for motion, in a sense, relating it to spacetime. Movement can be defined as an objects motion through time. Time passes; therefore, any change can be categorized as movement. We experience time or we are conscious of the passing of time, therefore we must assume that it exists. In this we can assume the premise that movement can be categorized as an objects experience through time.<br />
<br />
This argument, although not disputing on a strictly scientific level, can be a valid argument for motions existence. Consciousness plays a vital role in this view of motion. If we adhere to the thought that reality is what we perceive and that there is nothing other than what we perceive to be real, then motion is only those instances that lead from point A to point B. Motion does not necessarily need to be fluid movement through space, but the directional change through time. Our consciousness tells us that we are experiencing a change in time by the way we see (long or short term) those changes unfold. <br />
<br />
Therefore, through our own consciousness, as well as through our experiencing of time we can assume that there is in fact motion, or the movement of a solid state object through time. Consciousness brings time, time brings experience, and experience indicates movement or motion.Caphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03409275957155945665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-26217277520053793232011-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:002011-01-22T18:11:29.199-08:00Ontological Paradox in Quantum LeapAmong our primary criticisms of the show Quantum Leap are all the ontological paradoxes that are created, and never explained.<br /><br />Indeed, while the time travel premise of he show is intriguing, as is the idea that he actually takes the place of someone in the past, the show essentially uses time travel as nothing more than its premise, and never really explores the field.<br /><br />The ontological paradoxes alone are enough to drive you crazy. He teaches Buddy Holly the lyrics to Peggy Sue, gives Stephen King the plot to Christine, and - most seriously of all - he even gives his time travel theory itself to an earlier version of himself (albeit accidentally).<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R1c7lAsICW4?hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R1c7lAsICW4?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Some of us dislike the show because it would establish rules in one episode only to be broken in another, and some of us dislike it because the time traveller is trapped in time and never seems to make any kind of effort to return home, but we all dislike it because it never seems to make even the slightest effort to examine time travel in a plausible way.<br /><br /><em>Note: Occasionally we get together to review time travel movies, discussing their approaches and how they relate to today's theories. You can check out the one we did for <a href="http://tequalstime.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-time-podcast-back-to-future.html">Back to the Future</a>, and we've recorded one for Star Trek that's coming soon. In the mean time we're taking suggestions for what to review next. Please either email us your requests, or post them as comments here - but please don't ask for Quantum Leap!</em>Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-40291508087267091872011-01-18T21:10:00.000-08:002011-08-13T16:35:06.018-07:00"Pillar of Salt" Novel Excerpt<i>Here is an except from my latest novel "Pillar of Salt". I chose this portion because of how it deals with time travel, and it's effects when one has the ability to travel backwards and forwards in time within a given limit. (In this case, about 1300 years). I hope you enjoy it.</i>
<br /><i></i>
<br /><i>**You can purchase a copy of my book <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/pillar-of-salt/14677822">here</a>, for the hardback. Or <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/pillar-of-salt---paperback/14688047?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/7">here</a>, for the paperback</i>
<br /><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">
<br /></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">His flight, to Portland, Oregon would take two hours and he had brought along the book Slaughterhouse-Five; a favorite of his. He loved the play on consciousness traveling through time. Billy Pigrim, the main character in the story would not physically travel through time, but his consciousness would. He would enter his mind at different points in his life, experiencing them and always seemingly staying the longest as it followed his life in world war II. It almost seemed like there was a linear constant for his body that his consciousness would always revert to.
<br />
<br />This was something Jude had a hard time with. He understood time travel enough to know that he was most likely not the oldest version of his self. If he traveled to some time, in the future or past he could possible run into an old man named Jude Tab who would be his own self; just a different version. This also led to multiple dimensional decisions all within one spacetime dimension. He never could wrap his brain around the concept. What he does now, does not mean that there aren't other possibilities.
<br />
<br />He thought about how this would happen. When he had first called his professor after exiting the CTT in 2672 the first time his professor answered. Because of his interference with that, his own self who had tried to call his professor and had gotten no response very well could have turned around and gone home. Or FORCE could have captured him first and he could be somewhere completely different. It was somewhat worrisome to him that his roommate had never mentioned another him—another Jude—had come home. So did he never make it? he thought.
<br />
<br />He didn't like the idea that his linear and current self could be somewhere else and not experiencing what he was currently experiencing. It was unnerving. Because he was currently experiencing and currently making his own decisions how could he be anything but the current linear version of his self. This reminded him of a simple line in the book. It came from the aliens Tralfamadorians, “Only on Earth is there any talk of free will.” He wanted to know if what he was currently doing was predestined by some more current linear version of his self? An old gray haired man, laying in bed dying who had determined that he'd see his parents at this time...
<br />
<br />He stopped himself. People had dwelt on this problem for centuries. Even in 3127, a little more than two-hundred years from the CTT-End, they still had no way of telling who was current. This led to great debates as to the aspects of freewill. How could anyone account for their actions if there was an older version of their self’s dictating what they were eventually going to do. The notion of freewill was muddled and in a abominably wrong way they incorporate the God creation theory of worlds. Skewing it to say that with each alternating jump—like that of Jude jumping again, affecting his previous self who called the professor—a new possible world or linear current time line is created.
<br />
<br />This was even scientifically studied for several hundred years, working on the theory that they should be able to track a person’s linear self starting at birth. They took a group of twelve infants and injected them with a certain protein stand that should eventually, through time, slightly alter their DNA. Mutating them into something inhuman but unrecognizable to anyone but those studying them. The results were inconclusive at best as the radiation from traveling through the CTT's—although it was slight—progressed or digressed the protein strand until there was no common ground to determine where the individual’s linear current self ended. It was also impractical to mutate the entire human race to keep track of their linear selves.
<br />
<br />Jude had decided some time ago to not worry about it. He felt that what he did now, inevitable would affect his most current linear self and so he could argue that all instances of a person were linear and affecting each other to eventually bring about an end result.</span>Caphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03409275957155945665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-17461800592352530692011-01-17T10:43:00.000-08:002011-01-17T10:49:27.591-08:00Another Swedish Time TravelerAlberto sent me <a href="http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/man-arrested-at-large-hadron-collider-claims-hes-from-the-future-49305387/">this article</a> about a man who was caught trying to sabotage the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland last year - he claimed to be from the future. The article is an April Fools joke from the site, but I did like this part...<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">Police said Mr Cole, who was wearing a bow tie and rather too much tweed for his age, would not reveal his country of origin. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">"Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I'm here to stop it ever happening."</span></i>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-51372247342211318302011-01-09T22:19:00.000-08:002011-01-09T22:48:23.414-08:00Håkan Nordkvist: Swedish Time TravelerHåkan Nordkvist claims to have traveled to the future where he enjoyed spending quality time with an older Håkan Nordkvist. His means of time travel is not unlike how one might enter Narnia, but he does have some video proof...<div><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qBUv4j3DINE?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qBUv4j3DINE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object></div><br />Thanks to Alberto for sending me the link!Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-76255774104662039062010-12-25T11:43:00.000-08:002010-12-25T11:43:27.721-08:00The Bee's Ability to Tell TimeI am currently reading a book called "Time". It discusses the different aspects of the element of time. It is written by Eva Hoffman, and goes through the human relationship with time through out body, culture, and mind. The understanding of time in regards to ourselves is an interesting concept.<br />
<br />
In regards to time and our body, I have found a new appreciation for our "biological clock" and how it related to our lives so specifically. How in relation to our surroundings we judge time differently, or how our biological clock knows when our metabolism should start running (even if we don't help in the morning), or how during pregnancy a womans body relies on their biological clock in relationship to stages of the pregnancy, all the way down to the 40 weeks of pregnancy and birth of all health babies around that same time period--or how the body knows when it is time. <br />
<br />
However, one thing that I had not know, or not thought of was that of the bee, and their own abilities in relation to time. Bee's, through their dance or "waggles" are able to not only give details directions on how to get to the flower(s) that are pollinating, but are able to give accurate details indicating when <i>time</i> during the day the flower is best pollinating. The bees biological clocks are able to judge and give accurately a telling of the time in which a certain location of flowers are pollinating. I thing this is an incredible example of the differences in viewing time.<br />
<br />
There will be more to come as I continue reading this book. It's a new and different insight to time and its personal relationship with us.Caphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03409275957155945665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-38142045904597940272010-11-18T07:45:00.000-08:002010-11-19T06:45:18.224-08:00Benjamin Sisko And An Alien Species Discuss Linear TimeIn the first episode of <span style="font-weight:bold;">Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</span>, Comander Sisko makes first contact with an alien species which communicates with him through his memories in what is one of the coolest sequences I’ve ever seen in any science fiction story. As part of that conversation, if becomes clear that the aliens do not experience linear time the way humans do and here are some selections from the script written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller…<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><b>SISKO:</b> You and I are very different species, it will take time for us to understand one another.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> What is this “time”?</span><br /><br />Later…<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><b>SISKO:</b> It can be argued that a human is ultimately the sum of his experiences.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> “Experiences”? What is this?<br /><b>SISKO:</b> Memories. Events from my past.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> “Past”?<br /><b>SISKO:</b> Things that happened before now… You have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> What comes before now is no different than what is now, or what is to come – it is one’s existence.<br /><b>SISKO:</b> Then for you, there is no linear time.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> “Linear time”? What is this?<br /><b>SISKO:</b> My species lives in one point in time. And once we move beyond that point, it becomes the past. The future, all that is yet to come, does not exist yet for us.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> "Does not exist yet"?<br /><b>SISKO:</b> That is the nature of linear existence. </span><br /><br />The aliens later appear to Sisko in one of his memories of a day he spent with his late wife at the park…<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><b>ALIENS:</b> "Jennifer".<br /><b>SISKO:</b> Yes. That was her name.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> She is part of your existence.<br /><b>SISKO:</b> She is part of my past. She is no longer alive.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> But she is part of your existence.<br /><b>SISKO:</b> She was a most important part of my existence. But I lost her some time ago.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> “Lost”? What is this?<br /><b>SISKO:</b> In a linear existence, we can’t go back to the past to get something we left behind. So it’s lost.<br /><b>ALIENS:</b> It is inconceivable that any species could exist in such a manner… You are deceiving us.<br /><b>SISKO:</b> No. This is the truth. This day, this park… it was almost fifteen years ago. Far in the past. It was a day that was very important to me. A day that shaped every day that followed. That is the essence of a linear existence. Each day affects the next.</span><br /><br />There’s much more to this exchange, including how our actions have consequences, how our past affects our future, and how Commander Sisko personally remains emotionally trapped in one particular moment from his past.<br /><br />I recommend everyone watch it. It’s some awesome stuff!Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-76943205142168156692010-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:002010-11-11T18:55:55.091-08:00B Minus Time TravelerRob's post about Ignorant Time Traveler got me thinking about this classic sketch from the Ben Stiller Show...<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PGjKL9UZiMU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PGjKL9UZiMU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-49541876073976065722010-11-05T13:59:00.001-07:002010-11-05T13:59:37.589-07:00The Ignorant Time TravellerThere are those that claim you can't go back in your own timeline and change anything without introducing a paradox of some kind, correct?<br /><br />Incorrect. <br /><br />First of all there is the case of the Ignorant Time Traveller. If someone who had never heard of the Titanic were to go back in time and inadvertantly convince it to go off-course (and therefore avoid the iceberg), there is no paradox, since there is no reason why the Ignorant Time Traveller wouldn't do it again.<br /><br />The Ignorant Time Traveller could travel to places and times with which he or she was unfamiliar, and even if the changes were deliberate rather than accidental, they would still not necessarily introduce paradoxes.<br /><br />It is naturally possible that the Ignorant Time Traveller could accidentally kill a key ancestor, or somehow affect something that prevents his or her ultimate ability to travel in time, but it's not guaranteed - it is possible that the Ignorant Time Traveller would not, and that's the point.<br /><br />There is also a scenario where time travel is possible even with those who aren't ignorant. Though the Knowledgeable Time Traveller could not prevent the Titanic disaster, he or she could arrange for a rescue ship to save everyone and take them somewhere (or some time) where they couldn't (or wouldn't) tell anyone who they were. Perhaps even to a point in the future, beyond the point from which the Knowledgeable Time Traveller originally went back.<br /><br />Of course, this would require a great deal of precise knowledge about the Titanic disaster so the right evidence could be left behind. Perhaps he or she would have to bring and leave behind certain realistic-looking corpses, know exactly when and where to show up, and with what, in order to leave no evidence of the rescue mission behind. In essence, he or she would have to be a Very Knowledgeable Time Traveller to leave no evidence of the incursion.<br /><br />Though paradoxes are still possible, the absence of paradoxes is also possible.<br /><br />Therefore, time travel within one's own timeline without paradox is possible at opposite ends of the spectrum: the Ignorant Time Traveller and the Very Knowledgeable Time Traveller, but not necessarily at any point in between.Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-87302149889641583742010-10-28T15:36:00.001-07:002010-10-28T15:43:29.488-07:00Time Traveling Silent Film Extra?I've had a couple friends (thanks guys) send me this video with what appears to be an old lady using a cell phone in the background of a 1928 Charlie Chaplin film. Or as the poster suggests maybe it's a man in disguise (not that that would make a difference other than to address people's stereotypes of overweight old ladies not being time travelers).<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y6a4T2tJaSU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y6a4T2tJaSU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Now there weren't cell satellites back then right? Unless the future went back and sent one up. Or maybe they have different technology in that old lady's time that doesn't require satellites and towers to use a cell phone. Who is she talking to? Another time traveler? Maybe it's come kind of communicator with the ship that is orbiting above? I don't know. What do you think?Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-24239554147441183582010-10-26T20:11:00.000-07:002010-10-26T20:17:00.719-07:00A Warning From Mister Spock<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">"Suppose an unscrupulous man were to gain certain knowledge of man's future. Such a man could manipulate key industries, stocks and even nations - and in so doing, change what must be. And if it is changed, captain, you and I and all that we know might not even exist."</span><div><br /></div><div>- Spock (Tomorrow is Yesterday)</div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-30252979991649865372010-10-26T11:58:00.000-07:002010-10-26T12:38:08.567-07:00Ethics Of Time Travel Sex (Quantum Leap and Being Erica)Remember when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Beckett">Sam Beckett</a> would jump back into someone else's body and would end up having sleeping with a lady? I always felt a little weird about that. First because it seems wrong that he would be making that decision for the person whose body he is in. And second, it seemed kind of like he was taking advantage of the woman he was with - since she was making her decision based on the person she thought she was being with. <div><br /></div><div>It seems kind of unethical. But at the same time, if Sam is going to be bouncing around in time for the rest of his life, does that mean he has to be celibate for the rest of his life? He's doing a lot of hard work to fix the wrongs of history, shouldn't he be able to get a little something for himself? </div><div><br /></div><div>Also I've been watching a show on Hulu called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_Erica">Being Erica</a> (which is okay, but so far nothing great), where a girl keeps jumping back through time into her own body to fix some personal mistakes she's made in her life. In one episode, she goes back to when she was in high school and she ends up sleeping with a teenage boy. </div><div><br /></div><div>So that got me wondering if that's wrong or not. She is mentally and emotionally an adult even though she is physically inside her teenage body. But the boy is mentally, emotionally and physically a minor. So let's forget for the moment about the morals of pre-marital-sex and the ideas about whether teenagers should participate in consensual sex with each other (since we may have different views on that) - I think I can assume that we would agree that an adult sleeping with a teenager is immoral. So based on that assumption, did she do something wrong? Or does the fact that their bodies are the same age make it <i>not</i> wrong? </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know. It's something to wonder about. What kind of rules should a time traveler follow in these types of situations? What do you think?</div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-39793320876505654192010-10-22T08:19:00.000-07:002010-10-26T12:38:37.891-07:00To The Best Of Our Knowledge: Facing TimeOn a recent episode of PRI's To The Best Of Our Knowledge, they discussed a couple interesting aspects of time. <a href="http://wpr.org/book/090315a.cfm">CLICK HERE</a> to listen to the podcast where they discuss...<div><br /></div><div>A mechanical clock which measures astronomic and calendric cycles which is being designed to run for ten thousand years. </div><div><br /></div><div>Is time travel science fiction or science fact? </div><div><br /></div><div>In a musical composition, does time flow from point A to point B? </div><div><br /></div><div>The cultural revolution of slowness. </div><div><br /></div><div>An Aboriginal concept which rejects linear time. </div>Matsbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075673733386181090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8540484915710987134.post-18048281820995634432010-10-11T15:57:00.000-07:002010-10-11T15:58:11.531-07:00Is Time Travel Impossible?<object width="480" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/jwplayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars"value="height=390&width=480&file=http://newvideos.xtranormal.com/web_final_lo/020c5504-d587-11df-bc4e-003048d6740d_5_web_final_lo_web_finallo-flv.flv&image=http://newvideos.xtranormal.com/web_final_lo/020c5504-d587-11df-bc4e-003048d6740d_5_web_final_lo_poster.jpg&link=http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7332519&searchbar=false&autostart=false"/><embed src="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/jwplayer.swf" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=390&width=480&file=http://newvideos.xtranormal.com/web_final_lo/020c5504-d587-11df-bc4e-003048d6740d_5_web_final_lo_web_finallo-flv.flv&image=http://newvideos.xtranormal.com/web_final_lo/020c5504-d587-11df-bc4e-003048d6740d_5_web_final_lo_poster.jpg&link=http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7332519&searchbar=false&autostart=false"></embed></object><object width="480" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/embedded-xnl-stats.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.xtranormal.com/site_media/players/embedded-xnl-stats.swf" width="1" height="1" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object>Robert Vollmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08275044623767553681noreply@blogger.com4