Einstein’s time dilation theory teaches
that traveling forward in time is possible. Scientists have tested this theory
on small scales, like with subatomic particles. It has proven sound. Today the
formulas for time dilation are worked into our GPS systems, which wouldn’t
perform accurately without them. All this bodes well for traveling forward in
time. However, is it possible to travel back in time (at least in theory)?
I have heard a TED Talks expert claim that
traveling back in time is just a natural progression of the existing time
dilation formula. It goes something like this. As one approaches the speed of
light, time gradually slows down. When the speed of light is reached, time
utterly stops. When one exceeds the speed of light, one reverses course and
travels back in time.
This “reverse time travel” leads to all
sorts of discussion about parallel physical universes, which I found
entertaining to play with. The claim is that if one were to travel back,
whatever s/he does in the past might seriously unsettle life in the present. To
avoid such tampering, the time traveler will have to enter a double of our
universe.
Despite all the fun in my intellectual
sandbox, I bear serious doubts about parallel physical universes. Usually, when
I encounter a deep idea, I try to see if it’s mentioned or even hinted at in
the Torah, as I understand it. I never encountered as much as a hint of this
idea anywhere in my Torah studies. Admittedly, this alone doesn’t mean much.
It’s very silly for me to think that I know even a tiny drop of the Torah given
to humans, let alone its counterpart which still lingers in the mind of God.
Still, if this step is missing I am left wondering.
Next, I began to question of which is less
complicated issue, (a) to deal with the possible problems in the present caused
by a time traveler tampering with the past or (b) to create a whole new
physical universe just to accommodate someone who has traveled back in time?
Certainly, creating a whole new universe
sounds like a far more complicated alternative. This is true even if staying in
the same universe would alter the present shocking ways - such as people
suddenly appearing or disappearing before our very eyes; because of who was or
wasn’t born as a result of the new causes planted in our universe’s past.
However, as my younger daughter pointed out
to me, these shocking complications do not necessarily have to be. Let’s say
someone traveled to the past. Whatever, s/he did is already incorporated into
our past. It is after all the past! As a result, our present has already
accounted for it. Perhaps, the only remaining complication to consider is what
if a traveler where to meet his/her younger self. Under those conditions would
they still be two separate human beings, sort of like identical twins, or would
they be one consciousness/soul operating through two bodies?
Even though a less complicated scenario is
not an automatic indication of a true scenario, with all else being equal, it’s
probably a more likely one. Therefore, I feel that it should at least be
accorded first consideration.
------------------O------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment