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Maybe I understand it wrong, but if time is not an illusion, does that mean the past still exists? Hypothetically, if we could reverse the flow of time, would t

Maybe I understand it wrong, but if time is not an illusion, does that mean the past still exists? Hypothetically, if we could reverse the flow of time, would that mean we could travel into the past? I ask this because I have a bit of a paradox regarding time travel. It's pretty simple, presumably we're all sentient beings, and our consciousness is here, now, in the present. The science fiction portrayal of time travel suggests that we could travel into the past and interact with our former selves. But if my conscious mind is here now in the year 2024, then what conscious mind are you talking to in the past? Surely my conscious mind cannot exist in two different eras simultaneously. This little "paradox" of mine has made me ponder the true nature of time. Though more likely these are just the ramblings of a person who has a poor understanding of physics.

serf 2y ago
>Surely my conscious mind cannot exist in two different eras simultaneously. mentally I think of it more like save/restore states. the future-person meeting the past person would just be past person+future person as a merged state, the past person would just be a working snapshot of everything before it without the accrued knowledge of future-person. if you're someone who believe in an untouchable intangible non-duplicable 'soul', then it breaks the framework. I see myself more as a collection of experiences, so it jibes well into that concept.
- kitd 2y ago
  A more interesting idea is whether "you" cease to exist in the present while "you" travel back in time to meet "you" in the past. Ie, If time travel is possible, are there "yous" spread across every moment of your existence? That asks questions of our idea of timeless self-identity or "soul" if you like. Like Trigger's Broom [1], are we the same person as we were yesterday? [1] https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY?si=5_URpP6si31KWIWD https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY?si=5_URpP6si31KWIWD
deleted 2y ago
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throwanem 2y ago
If I take a foot-long piece of string laid out straight, and coil it back on itself so its end meets its middle, which part of it stops existing?
newzisforsukas 2y ago
> Surely my conscious mind cannot exist in two different eras simultaneously Aside from the obvious, why not? See quantum teleportation thought experiments.
bad_username 2y ago
The idea of "block universe" follows from special relativity and suggests that not only the past "still" exists, but also the future "already" exists. In other words, all the states of the Universe from all times are physically "there". Here is a great i troduction to this concept: https://youtu.be/Md6DkWF2T-A https://youtu.be/Md6DkWF2T-A
- aurareturn 2y ago
  The ending of Interstellar was a great visualization of this idea. If you are in a higher dimension, maybe you can physically see our entire timeline of our universe.
MagicMoonlight 2y ago
There is no past you. You travel along the time axis at one speed, other things travel at other speeds. So something could take off from earth at the speed of light and come back further ahead down your line, but nothing can go back in time.

serf 2y ago

>Surely my conscious mind cannot exist in two different eras simultaneously. mentally I think of it more like save/restore states. the future-person meeting the past person would just be past person+future person as a merged state, the past person would just be a working snapshot of everything before it without the accrued knowledge of future-person. if you're someone who believe in an untouchable intangible non-duplicable 'soul', then it breaks the framework. I see myself more as a collection of experiences, so it jibes well into that concept.

kitd 2y ago
A more interesting idea is whether "you" cease to exist in the present while "you" travel back in time to meet "you" in the past. Ie, If time travel is possible, are there "yous" spread across every moment of your existence? That asks questions of our idea of timeless self-identity or "soul" if you like. Like Trigger's Broom [1], are we the same person as we were yesterday? [1] https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY?si=5_URpP6si31KWIWD https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY?si=5_URpP6si31KWIWD

deleted 2y ago

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throwanem 2y ago

If I take a foot-long piece of string laid out straight, and coil it back on itself so its end meets its middle, which part of it stops existing?

newzisforsukas 2y ago

> Surely my conscious mind cannot exist in two different eras simultaneously Aside from the obvious, why not? See quantum teleportation thought experiments.

bad_username 2y ago

The idea of "block universe" follows from special relativity and suggests that not only the past "still" exists, but also the future "already" exists. In other words, all the states of the Universe from all times are physically "there". Here is a great i troduction to this concept: https://youtu.be/Md6DkWF2T-A https://youtu.be/Md6DkWF2T-A

aurareturn 2y ago
The ending of Interstellar was a great visualization of this idea. If you are in a higher dimension, maybe you can physically see our entire timeline of our universe.

MagicMoonlight 2y ago

There is no past you. You travel along the time axis at one speed, other things travel at other speeds. So something could take off from earth at the speed of light and come back further ahead down your line, but nothing can go back in time.