Logicless Logic

time machine.

Reading Zhen Yu's post on time machines, my brains remains whirred into action like an automatic egg beater. Time has always been an area of fascination in the minds of humans. Ideas of time travel have been explored in classic works, such as The Time Machine, The Sound of Thunder and even Back To the Future, as well as in many songs by many artistes or varying quality. What is really crucial if the time travel is made possible is the action of the people. Whether knowledge of the present time is able to be brought back to the past. And whether fate can be messed with. As The Sound of Thunder has explored, any small change in the past can affect greatly what occurs in the present. Which leads to the question of whether it SHOULD be messed with.

Morals are also a great concern should time travel be made possible. People going back to the past with present knowledge of winning lottery numbers would not come as a surprise. Lottery prizes will not be attractive because everyone will win. And as Zhen Yu has mentioned, what makes one so sure he won't make the same mistakes were he placed in the same situation. And if one were able to rectify their mistakes, would life be worth living? Knowing that every step you take does not have unchangeable consequences would make life very drab. There would not be the difficulty of decision making.

As he also mentioned, maybe, just maybe, regret would face extinction. And what would the world be like without regrets?

As attractive as time travel might seem, I shudder at the consequences it could bring. As far as I'm concerned, time machines should, and probably will remain in the fantasies of people.

justin.

posted by justin @ 1:19 AM