Let's try this again - If you could visit the past...

CocheseUGA

CocheseUGA

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Forum screwed up the first time and put my post into the Deals Forum. Let's hope that doesn't happen again...


If you could observe any moment in the past for historical accuracy (like who shot JFK, see what the Holy Grail really was, find out where Hoffa's body is) and not interact, what would it be?

I've already thought of a few, but could use some other ideas.
 
I would visit the Library of Alexandria with a camera, spare batteries, and 100s of gigs of SD cards.

I would also like to see the 7 wonders of the world before they were destroyed. And Atlantis.
 
I'd go back in time to two days ago with the lottery numbers... just to make sure they were right.

Don't judge me.
 
Your topic fits in well with my pet theory that UFOs throughout history are just sloppy time-tourists. Cattle mutilations, anal prodding= future rednecks with Rent-a-saucer.
 
I'd go back about 5 minutes to stand behind so I can watch you post this in the wrong forum. Then I'll watch you try and blame the internetz and not yourself.
 
[quote name='munch']I'd go back about 5 minutes to stand behind so I can watch you post this in the wrong forum. Then I'll watch you try and blame the internetz and not yourself.[/QUOTE]

And you would see I did exactly what I said I did. And to be pissed at the moron who keeps talking on the phone in computer lab.
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']And you would see I did exactly what I said I did. And to be pissed at the moron who keeps talking on the phone in computer lab.[/QUOTE]

At MSU there was this Indian guy who was my archenemy. He stole my seat in the computer lab once, then everytime I saw him there he would be smacking his gum loud as hell. Damn Indians.
 
[quote name='munch']At MSU there was this Indian guy who was my archenemy. He stole my seat in the computer lab once, then everytime I saw him there he would be smacking his gum loud as hell. Damn Indians.[/QUOTE]

Feather or dot? ;)
 
id go back to bible times. theres so many interesting and amazing stories in the bible id like to see what it was like to be there and what if any differences there are from the actual event to the stories in the bible. itd be cool to go to the garden of eden, see noahs ark and the great flood, sampson killing the 1000 or 10000 men single handedly, and of course jesus. thing is once id seen it id never speak of it to anyone because people could never handle the truth.


and if not that then id like to travel to the time of the dinosaurs just to see them in action. not to mentionseeing if there were any unknown forms of life on the planet then and to see what really killed them off.
 
I would first go back and change the circumstances that lead to my left ear giving me crap whenever I go somewhere where things are loud.

Then I would go see a few bands live back when they were young.

Finally, I would attempt to bring a videocamera and film Jesus's death. If it ever happened. (which i seriously doubt it did)
 
[quote name='lokizz']id go back to bible times. theres so many interesting and amazing stories in the bible id like to see what it was like to be there and what if any differences there are from the actual event to the stories in the bible. itd be cool to go to the garden of eden, see noahs ark and the great flood, sampson killing the 1000 or 10000 men single handedly, and of course jesus. thing is once id seen it id never speak of it to anyone because people could never handle the truth.


and if not that then id like to travel to the time of the dinosaurs just to see them in action. not to mentionseeing if there were any unknown forms of life on the planet then and to see what really killed them off.[/quote]
I was going to say I'd go back 5 minutes before major religions say Earth was formed to disprove them, but then your second paragraph took care of that for me.

[quote name='Jkmetal'] Finally, I would attempt to bring a videocamera and film Jesus's death. If it ever happened. (which i seriously doubt it did)[/quote] I think the "rebirth" part would be more impacting than the death part.(Nobody cares if he died, they care if he did/did not come back to life)
 
[quote name='Surferflames'] I think the "rebirth" part would be more impacting than the death part.(Nobody cares if he died, they care if he did/did not come back to life)[/QUOTE]

I believe in the lucky event you get to go back in time and watch the crucifiction, if needed you might be able to stick it out for three days or so to see both.
 
In this scenario of yours, would it be possible/acceptable to travel back to the beginning of the universe? If so, that's where I'd go.
 
I would go back in time and take credit for a famous invention. An example would be the scissors, originally created by Da Vinci.

Another obvious one would be to check on every moment in Jesus' life, for there was more to it than just His birth and death.

Go back to the beginning of the Universe to see the awesome fireworks display, see the first creatures walk on land, sit in on the Constitutional Convention, see who really stole the cookies from the cookie jar, and watch Jack the Ripper kill his victims and find out his true identity.
 
[quote name='Predator21281']
Go back to the beginning of the Universe to see the awesome fireworks display, see the first creatures walk on land[/quote]

You'd be in for a pretty long wait from the "awesome fireworks display" to the first creatures to walk on land.
 
I would go back with various albums and systems and sell them to various corporations.

Also, assuming I would be able to live through anything and come back to present at anytime, I would go back to when the universe was created, and also explore the various stages of earth.

[quote name='Rocko']You'd be in for a pretty long wait from the "awesome fireworks display" to the first creatures to walk on land.[/quote]
:D
 
Travel back to 1985 and warn Doc Brown about the Libyans and then 1885 to make sure Buford Tannen gets a face full of shit.
 
[quote name='Zen Davis']I'd go back in time to two days ago with the lottery numbers... just to make sure they were right.

Don't judge me.[/QUOTE]

What good would that do without interaction?
 
[quote name='Rocko']Everyone seems to be ignoring the following part of the OP's conditions:


.[/quote]

Don't have to interact. By virtue of the observer effect, time is affected merely by the act of time traveling alone.
 
[quote name='PenguinMaster']What good would that do without interaction?[/quote]

Yeah, it's much smarter to travel to the future, find out when the next biggest payout for the lottery in your own time period would be, write those numbers down and then go back home and buy your ticket numbers.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']Don't have to interact. By virtue of the observer effect, time is affected merely by the act of time traveling alone.[/quote]

...I don't want to get into some scientific discussion or whatever that article is about, I'm jsut saying that whoever said stuff like "I'd go and sell new systems in the 1980s" isn't really want the OP wanted.
 
[quote name='Rocko']...I don't want to get into some scientific discussion or whatever that article is about, I'm jsut saying that whoever said stuff like "I'd go and sell new systems in the 1980s" isn't really want the OP wanted.[/quote]

Touche.
 
No one wants to see the dinosaurs or the Cretaceous/Jurassic/Triassic periods?
edit: and the mega-fauna mammals that evolved after the dinosaurs went extinct.


Seeing WWII would be pretty insane too.
 
Seeing Mega Fauna mammals and dinosaurs would be pretty neat.

... Anything involving human history? I'd take a pass on. I'm not one of those folks who believes 'things were better in the past!'

What would you get to see, really? People being awful to each other. Casual racism / sexism. Serious hardcore pollution (London Fogs anyone?) War.

Sure. You'd get to see '50 Mustangs and such when they were new. Big. Deal.
 
Well....what if the time you travelled back to was a parallel universe, and everything you saw to be true in the past was really untrue in our timeline.

Having said that, Jesus and the Lotto thing.

Edit: I forgot. Yeah, Lotto is no gouda. Maybe.....idk....what's like a HUGE event from history.....that you would benefit from non-interactive observance? I have no idea. Maybe the huge comet or whatever that hit the Yucatan. That would be pretty devastating. I hope I wouldn't be there in a physical sort of way, though.
 
[quote name='Gourd']
Sure. You'd get to see '50 Mustangs and such when they were new. Big. Deal.[/QUOTE]
:whistle2:k

Anyways, I was just gathering some possibilities for an idea I had. (No, not actually travelling back in time) Some interesting ideas ya'll have. Keep them coming.
 
[quote name='Stoneage']Well....what if the time you travelled back to was a parallel universe, and everything you saw to be true in the past was really untrue in our timeline.

Having said that, Jesus and the Lotto thing.

Edit: I forgot. Yeah, Lotto is no gouda. Maybe.....idk....what's like a HUGE event from history.....that you would benefit from non-interactive observance? I have no idea. Maybe the huge comet or whatever that hit the Yucatan. That would be pretty devastating. I hope I wouldn't be there in a physical sort of way, though.[/quote]

What're you talkin' about? Lotto can be done. I already posted how a few posts below:

[quote name='jaykrue']Yeah, it's much smarter to travel to the future, find out when the next biggest payout for the lottery in your own time period would be, write those numbers down and then go back home and buy your ticket numbers and win.[/quote]
 
[quote name='Rocko']You'd be in for a pretty long wait from the "awesome fireworks display" to the first creatures to walk on land.[/quote]Eh, assuming this time machine or wormhole works more than once, or twice if you count going and coming back to this time, then I would really only be waiting a few seconds.;)

Also, I would want to watch a Caveman actually try to take down a mammoth or a buffalo with only his spear without tiring the beast out first.
 
I would want to see a lot of the Biblical events firsthand (The first Christmas, first Easter, and Garden of Eden would each be at the top of my list - and I suppose possible with the rule of not interacting - was it Da Vinci who painted a picture of himself observing Christ's crucifixion?).

Those really trump all else though there are a lot of other 'mysteries' I would be interested in seeing as well - Egyptians building the pyramids, Area 51, etc.

Somebody mentioned their theories - it touched on 2 of mine as well (one silly, one somewhat serious though impossible).

I was talking about spontaneous combustion with a kid one day - he theorized that it happens when a person tries to burp and fart at the same time :D My theory was that it was God's way of preserving the space-time continuum. Someone goes back in time, they're about to step on the proverbial butterfly *Boom!* Wiped out, just like that. (Be careful if you ever time travel!)

My other theory parallels the topic. If we ever overcome the speed of light (wormhole, whatever doesn't matter), then turn around and look back at the Earth (powerful telescope, whatever), having moved faster than the speed of light, we would actually be seeing the past. (Just like in astornomy they tell you the star you see blowing up actually blew up X number of years ago, it just took that long for the light to get here). Theoretically, with the right calculations you could witness quite a few historical events - but probably only the ones that happened outside.
 
[quote name='munch']I'd go back about 5 minutes to stand behind so I can watch you post this in the wrong forum. Then I'll watch you try and blame the internetz and not yourself.[/QUOTE]
I was thinking the same thing only I was gonna post in the other forum "How is this a deal?"
 
[quote name='jaykrue']What're you talkin' about? Lotto can be done. I already posted how a few posts below:[/QUOTE]
I was referring to past-only travel. Not the "where we're going, we don't need roads" kind.

Love your catalogs, btw.....not.
 
[quote name='chosen1s']I would want to see a lot of the Biblical events firsthand (The first Christmas, first Easter, and Garden of Eden would each be at the top of my list - and I suppose possible with the rule of not interacting - was it Da Vinci who painted a picture of himself observing Christ's crucifixion?).

Those really trump all else though there are a lot of other 'mysteries' I would be interested in seeing as well - Egyptians building the pyramids, Area 51, etc.

Somebody mentioned their theories - it touched on 2 of mine as well (one silly, one somewhat serious though impossible).

I was talking about spontaneous combustion with a kid one day - he theorized that it happens when a person tries to burp and fart at the same time :D My theory was that it was God's way of preserving the space-time continuum. Someone goes back in time, they're about to step on the proverbial butterfly *Boom!* Wiped out, just like that. (Be careful if you ever time travel!)

My other theory parallels the topic. If we ever overcome the speed of light (wormhole, whatever doesn't matter), then turn around and look back at the Earth (powerful telescope, whatever), having moved faster than the speed of light, we would actually be seeing the past. (Just like in astornomy they tell you the star you see blowing up actually blew up X number of years ago, it just took that long for the light to get here). Theoretically, with the right calculations you could witness quite a few historical events - but probably only the ones that happened outside.[/quote]
Technicially you wouldn't actually be able to see the earth if you were traveling away from the earth at the speed of light or faster then it. Since the light from earth would have to travel the same distance you are traveling, it would be slighley behind you the entire time. It would be similiar to shooting a bullet then another bullet, the second bullet would never catch up with the first. Once you did stop you would only be able to witness the events which took place since you had left the earth (presuming you were traveling at the speed of light). If were traveling after then the speed of light you actually wouldn't be traveling a distance at all, you would be traveling through time so whether you travelled away from the earth or not would not matter.
You could use a wormhole to fold space-time so that you could travel somewhere before you actually left, but that brings about many parodoxs.

Nice thing is that most physicists who study time travel (usually as a hobby since it isn't really a researched topic in main stream science) do agree that if one did travel back in time he wouldn't be able to interact with the Universe in anyway. Which means if you used a wormhole to travel back in time you would see yourself get into the wormhole, but would not be able to interact in anyway with your previous self.

If I traveled back in time....

I would see how the bible came together, and who wrote it.
See geniuses such as Netwon, Einstein, Da Vinci, Ramanujan, Wittgenstein, etc..in there prime.

most importantly I would like to find out how I actually did travel back in time.
 
I'd like to go to Roswell in the 50's during the "supposed" alien crash and see if there REALLY was an alien and what it looked like.

Or go to the very first sighting of Nessie, that would be kinda fun.
 
[quote name='ighosty']Technicially you wouldn't actually be able to see the earth if you were traveling away from the earth at the speed of light or faster then it. Since the light from earth would have to travel the same distance you are traveling, it would be slighley behind you the entire time. It would be similiar to shooting a bullet then another bullet, the second bullet would never catch up with the first. Once you did stop you would only be able to witness the events which took place since you had left the earth (presuming you were traveling at the speed of light). If were traveling after then the speed of light you actually wouldn't be traveling a distance at all, you would be traveling through time so whether you travelled away from the earth or not would not matter.
You could use a wormhole to fold space-time so that you could travel somewhere before you actually left, but that brings about many parodoxs.

Nice thing is that most physicists who study time travel (usually as a hobby since it isn't really a researched topic in main stream science) do agree that if one did travel back in time he wouldn't be able to interact with the Universe in anyway. Which means if you used a wormhole to travel back in time you would see yourself get into the wormhole, but would not be able to interact in anyway with your previous self.

If I traveled back in time....

I would see how the bible came together, and who wrote it.
See geniuses such as Netwon, Einstein, Da Vinci, Ramanujan, Wittgenstein, etc..in there prime.

most importantly I would like to find out how I actually did travel back in time.[/QUOTE]

Hmm...You clearly understand the subject better than myself. I do remember something about how breaking the speed of light barrier would result in time travel anyway, so good point there.

As for the bullets and all that, I guess I'm seeing a wormhole as a means to travel from here to "there" instantaneously. So, say you travel to a spot in the universe 9 lightyears away from the Earth, you come out of the wormhole and aren't moving (relatively). You look back at the Earth and what you see is what happened 9 years ago.

Like I said, you're clearly more well-versed on the subject so perhaps I am showing my ignorance on the subject, it was just a thought. I also devised a theory on how to make something travel faster than the speed of light, but was told by a friend at the time who was ridiculously intelligent and had studies the subject that as you approach the speed of light our laws of physics and mathematics fall apart so you have to have new models to build theories on...
 
[quote name='chosen1s']Hmm...You clearly understand the subject better than myself. I do remember something about how breaking the speed of light barrier would result in time travel anyway, so good point there.

As for the bullets and all that, I guess I'm seeing a wormhole as a means to travel from here to "there" instantaneously. So, say you travel to a spot in the universe 9 lightyears away from the Earth, you come out of the wormhole and aren't moving (relatively). You look back at the Earth and what you see is what happened 9 years ago.

Like I said, you're clearly more well-versed on the subject so perhaps I am showing my ignorance on the subject, it was just a thought. I also devised a theory on how to make something travel faster than the speed of light, but was told by a friend at the time who was ridiculously intelligent and had studies the subject that as you approach the speed of light our laws of physics and mathematics fall apart so you have to have new models to build theories on...[/quote]

When you start traveling at speeds around th speed of light you have to start using special relativity to descripe motion instead of using Euclid or Newton space. Why the speed of light is impossible to get past is basically as you increase you speed towards the speed of light the amount of energy needed in accelerate becoming exponetional. Meaning that to reach the speed of light itself you would have to be putting an infinite amount of energy into whatever you are trying to move at the speed of light. That only applys to objects that actually have mass tho ( that is why photons and other massless particles can get around this). There are theoritical particles which travel faster then the speed of light but most physicist believe they don't exist since if they did most laws of quantum mechanics would have to be rewritten.
When it comes to worm holes it is a whole nother part of physics you are dealing with. When using a wormhole to travel back in time you are actually accelerating one end of the wormhole relative to the other to a very high velocity.
I'm a physics major so its only normal that I study and read about things such as these. ;)
 
I would probably go back to the first night i got laid. Ive got it in memory but I would like to do it again to.

The next thing is the Constitutional Convention where Ben Franklin and those guys wrote the constitution. I am interested in philosophy and the best way to govern and I would have told those guys about the internet and cars and oil and planes and all that shit and see what they had to say about some of these developments and how they should affect the government.
 
[quote name='ighosty']When you start traveling at speeds around th speed of light you have to start using special relativity to descripe motion instead of using Euclid or Newton space. Why the speed of light is impossible to get past is basically as you increase you speed towards the speed of light the amount of energy needed in accelerate becoming exponetional. Meaning that to reach the speed of light itself you would have to be putting an infinite amount of energy into whatever you are trying to move at the speed of light. That only applys to objects that actually have mass tho ( that is why photons and other massless particles can get around this). There are theoritical particles which travel faster then the speed of light but most physicist believe they don't exist since if they did most laws of quantum mechanics would have to be rewritten.
When it comes to worm holes it is a whole nother part of physics you are dealing with. When using a wormhole to travel back in time you are actually accelerating one end of the wormhole relative to the other to a very high velocity.
I'm a physics major so its only normal that I study and read about things such as these. ;)[/QUOTE]

Wow,

That really blows my mind. Is there a "physics for dummies" book that puts theories such as this in everyday terms and avoids all the "boring" physics? I find this kind of thing fascinating but I'm not quite ambitious enough to suffer through all the jargon and fundamentals.
 
[quote name='chosen1s']Wow,

That really blows my mind. Is there a "physics for dummies" book that puts theories such as this in everyday terms and avoids all the "boring" physics? I find this kind of thing fascinating but I'm not quite ambitious enough to suffer through all the jargon and fundamentals.[/quote]

There are plenty of books out there that would interest those who would like to know about physics but don't care so much about actual equations. I prefer books by Martin Rees, who is the astrophysics teacher at Cambridge, but others writers such as Brian Greene, Stephan Hawking, etc.. are just as good. There are also tons of books written about specific subject matter such as time travel, wormholes, blackholes, etc. You can find most at librarys or on amazon.
 
I understood Hawking to be generally over most people's heads. Seems like I heard somewhere that his "brief history of the universe" (I think that's its name) is one of the most difficult books ever written to read.
 
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