5 ms·

What would a positive result have even looked like? "We found evidence of time travelers, but it's probably just a sign our model is bad?" or "We discovered pe

by powera 11y ago

What would a positive result have even looked like? "We found evidence of time travelers, but it's probably just a sign our model is bad?" or "We discovered people from the future hiding perfectly from us, until this (presumably well-known in this future) paper was published that revealed them?" If it's inconceivable that there could be a positive result, it's not science. It's fodder for publicity.

hyperion2010 11y ago
Your argument presupposes that we actually know something to be true before ever looking at the data. If you have the data and refuse to look at it because you think you already know what it says that is not science, that is dogma.
coldtea 11y ago
>If it's inconceivable that there could be a positive result, it's not science If it's "inconceivable" from the start then you're not following the scientific method, in which nothing is "inconceivable" until proven so (not even macro-world logical impossibilities, as quantum mechanics have a few). There's nothing really inconceivable about time travel. Greatly impossible yes, but totally conceivable. Physicists have even come up with a few mechanisms. And that's for the past. For travelling forward in time, all it takes is going faster (literally).
- powera 11y ago
  I find it completely inconceivable that there are secret time travelers who would be found by searching the internet. I think it's legitimately more likely that you would discover dragons living in the earth's core by searching the internet.
  - coldtea 11y ago
    With all the knowledge we have of what's possible and empirical data, your assumption is wrong. Finding time travellers on the internet would be much more likely (even if still very unlikely) than finding "dragons living in the earth's core".
tempestn 11y ago
In fact, they gave an opportunity for future time travelers to contact them, requesting that the contact be made before the offer was extended. Since they obviously knew at the time that that hadn't happened, the only value was in proving that if time travelers do indeed exist, they don't wish to make themselves known. (A fact that may seem obvious, but I could see a legitimate time traveler having a difficult time proving their existence, given that people will ignore significant evidence in the face of the impossible.) So in that case they actually know the result will be negative, but there's still some value in doing it.
- powera 11y ago
  I hate to use science fiction as an argument, but basically every sci-fi movie with time travel as a plot has no problem coming up with some way of using knowledge about the future to (at a minimum) massive profit. If Elon Musk or some other billionaire said "I'm actually from the future, here's evidence of 20 more things from the future", it would be reasonable to try to verify that claim.

by powera 11y ago

hyperion2010 11y ago

Your argument presupposes that we actually know something to be true before ever looking at the data. If you have the data and refuse to look at it because you think you already know what it says that is not science, that is dogma.

coldtea 11y ago

>If it's inconceivable that there could be a positive result, it's not science If it's "inconceivable" from the start then you're not following the scientific method, in which nothing is "inconceivable" until proven so (not even macro-world logical impossibilities, as quantum mechanics have a few). There's nothing really inconceivable about time travel. Greatly impossible yes, but totally conceivable. Physicists have even come up with a few mechanisms. And that's for the past. For travelling forward in time, all it takes is going faster (literally).

powera 11y ago
I find it completely inconceivable that there are secret time travelers who would be found by searching the internet. I think it's legitimately more likely that you would discover dragons living in the earth's core by searching the internet.
- coldtea 11y ago
  With all the knowledge we have of what's possible and empirical data, your assumption is wrong. Finding time travellers on the internet would be much more likely (even if still very unlikely) than finding "dragons living in the earth's core".

tempestn 11y ago

In fact, they gave an opportunity for future time travelers to contact them, requesting that the contact be made before the offer was extended. Since they obviously knew at the time that that hadn't happened, the only value was in proving that if time travelers do indeed exist, they don't wish to make themselves known. (A fact that may seem obvious, but I could see a legitimate time traveler having a difficult time proving their existence, given that people will ignore significant evidence in the face of the impossible.) So in that case they actually know the result will be negative, but there's still some value in doing it.

powera 11y ago
I hate to use science fiction as an argument, but basically every sci-fi movie with time travel as a plot has no problem coming up with some way of using knowledge about the future to (at a minimum) massive profit. If Elon Musk or some other billionaire said "I'm actually from the future, here's evidence of 20 more things from the future", it would be reasonable to try to verify that claim.