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- The researchers say that if you’re concerned about paradoxes in time travel, you shouldn’t be.
- Based on a large amount of complex math, the team says they have determined that the paradoxes related to time travel would correct themselves.
- For example, you could go back and interact with your past self without ruining your future or even changing it in a measurable way.
Time travel is, of course, pure science fiction, at least for now. Various theories have suggested that time travel, including the past, may be possible based on our understanding of physics. However, one big question remains, and it’s one that is often addressed in movies and TV shows that dabble in alternate timelines: what about the paradoxes?
A simple example of a paradox often mentioned in fictional time travel stories is the seemingly high risk of altering the past in such a way that the time traveler ceases to exist. Interacting with parents or grandparents, for example, could change their destiny and ultimately lead to the time traveler never being born in the first place. Now, a new study suggests that we may not have to worry about those things.
Like everything related to the notion of time travel, the article analyzes some very hypothetical concepts. Written by a University of Queensland graduate student and her physics professor, the article examines classic cases of paradoxes and explains that, theoretically, paradoxes would self-correct to maintain the state of the “future” if we were to go back in time.
The researchers explain that based on the theory of general relativity, it should be possible to go to the past and even interact with ourselves. Using some math that I don’t even pretend to understand, the duo advocate paradox-free time travel based on the idea that no matter what you’ve changed in the past, corrections would be made automatically so that the future won’t be like this. impacted in a measurable way.
“Let’s say you traveled back in time, in an attempt to prevent COVID-19 patient zero from being exposed to the virus,” said Dr. Fabio Costa, co-author of the work, in a statement. “However, if you prevented that person from getting infected, that would remove the motivation to go back and stop the pandemic in the first place. This is a paradox, an inconsistency that often leads people to think that time travel cannot occur in our universe. “
Well, what is the solution? After doing calculations, the duo say that, in theory, reality would just fix itself one way or another.
“In the example of patient zero with coronavirus, you could try to prevent patient zero from getting infected, but by doing so, you will either contract the virus and become patient zero, or someone else will,” explains Germain Tobar, lead author. “No matter what you did, the outstanding events would just recalibrate around you. This would mean that regardless of her actions, the pandemic would occur, giving her younger self the motivation to go back and stop it. “
That’s pretty mind-boggling stuff, and of course there’s really no way to prove whether it’s true or not as we don’t have the ability to time travel and based on everything we think we know about it we’re still a long way from achieving that breakthrough. However, if you find yourself on the sidewalk, don’t be afraid. Apparently everything will work out in the end.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as a technology editor at The Daily Dot and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and in many other print and web media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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