Just for laughs
So, I figured I’d try something with this. I suppose, if anyone looks at my blog they’ll expect it to have something to do with philosophy, and why shouldn’t it? I’m a philosopher, after all.
In that regard, I’ve decided to see if random wanderers would be interested in joining a discussion of philosophy. Now, this first topic may not necessarily be “philosophical” in the strictest sense, BUT it is something that interests me, and hell, science is a philosophy of sorts, and lots of “sciences” are more closely related to root philosophy like logic than any science.
Time Travel: A Study was to be a research paper by my associate and former colleague James S. Jennings. Mr. Jenning’s research did not get off the ground. In fact, it was partly my fault, because at the time this was taking place roghly 5 years ago, he was without Internet access most of the time, and the primary research lane we had chosen, being starving high school students in a small town in rural Illinois (technically, TWO small towns, but, that’s not really important), was naturally, online.
Out of ignorance, we established a Yahoo Group themed around our research to attract other like minded scholars to contribute their ideas. We, in actuality did attract the attention of one person, a fairly intelligent fellow, who as I have not asked for permission to share his name or his thoughts, will remain anonymous, however, we also attract a host of people who used our group for uploading irrelevant materials, contributed nothing in terms of research or even musings, and generallly just bothered me.
I say me because I had regular Internet access and was put in charge of maintaining the group, thought I was not obligated to pursue independent research. I did make conjectures and other things, but nothing backed up with any sort of fact or even theory.
So, I’ve been rambling, so I’ll get to the point. Recently, while checking my little used email accounts, I discovered someone had left a comment spouting a less than credible theory, which it so happens, actually reminded me of the group and piqued my interest in the subject again. Sooo… it’s been on my mind.
Let’s get down to brass tacks. The questions I pose to you are as follows: What technical scientific evidence do think (or know) exists, and how and why does it prove or disprove plausible time travel? In my personal opinion, I tend to think that wormholes and string theory allow that time travel might be possible, if you tamper with the fabric of the universe enough. Any scientists out there who can expound upon these ideas?
Another more philiophical pair of questions about the ethics of time travel: first, is it wise to allow Joe Public access to time travel? If not, then is it ethically acceptable for the government or scientific community to disallow the access to what would undoubtedly be a miracle of modern science? In that vein, would altering history be plausible or ethical? No doubt some changes could be good. Preventing assassinations of prominent figures like JFK, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Abraham Lincoln or preventing certain cruel or poor leaders, like Hitler or Stalin, from rising to power wouldn’t be bad, would it? On the other hand, if we are given a gift such as this, would it be an abuse of our civilization’s not inconsiderable power to change thingsto suit what we think should have happened?
In a general note, I’d like to ask for opinions of all kinds, using any sort of argument you would care to. I seek perspective from everyone and everything, though I do believe certain things provide more credible arguments. With that in mind, if you do wish to join in a discussion, please do have an ACADEMIC argument. Insubstantial arguments will be ignored, for the obvious reason that you can’t argue with nothing. One last thing, please let’s keep this debate civilized.
End rant.
