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I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead. I have lived many lives. New careers, new cities, new

I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead. I have lived many lives. New careers, new cities, new countries, new friends, new families. By my count I’ve lived 14 iterations of life and counting. New lives are always beckoning. After awhile you get good a recognizing the ones worth stepping into.

owebmaster 1y ago
> I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead. It also hides the incapability of many to do what they should to succeed. Most people already know what they should do different to succeed without going back in time but still they do not have the will power to do it and they probably would still not have if they had a time machine.
- MangoToupe 1y ago
  Ironically, I think characterizing life as a question of success-or-not was THE major barrier in my life to finding the contentment I was actually looking for.
  - owebmaster 1y ago
    Did you succeed in finding contentment after realizing that?
    - MangoToupe 1y ago
      I think contentment finds you.
- jampekka 1y ago
  What do you mean by succeed? I find learning to not care so much about succeeding - at least in the usual criteria imposed by the society - is maybe the best thing I've learned since touch typing.
  - owebmaster 1y ago
    > What do you mean by succeed? Having an objective and achieving it. Not an overall expectation of winning in life but saying "I want to go to the gym 5x a week for 1 year" or "I want to be able to run 10km" and achieve it.
FinnLobsien 1y ago
It's true that life can always evolve and change, new opportunities open, responsibilities appear, etc. But in other ways it's not true. For example, there's no way to be 19 again and be in college, date the person who, looking back was clearly into you. Study the thing you really wanted to study (not what you thought would be best for your career), etc. I think the fantasy of going back isn't about being unable to change, it's about "getting it right this time"
- card_zero 1y ago
  Central to the plot of Back to the Future Part II (for some reason not referenced in the New Yorker) is the sports almanac with information about future results. Any fantasy of going back and getting it right hinges on this kind of transfer of knowledge back into the earlier situation. The problem is then whether the information is subtle enough to be interesting, that is, to prevent the fantasy from devolving into a mere cheat to get rich by knowing things in advance. In practice the time traveller would at least attempt to invest early in bitcoin, learn the skills that will be in demand, befriend the awkward person who is going to be cool and successful later, and other cheaty stuff. I suppose a better fantasy would involve going back into a similar but rearranged situation, with all the variables and trends changed to prevent predictions.
  - SkyBelow 1y ago
    It is an interesting thought experience, what would you do differently if you have your current wisdom, but not your current knowledge. This isn't a clean distinction, because people see different boundaries on what is wisdom and what is knowledge, but I think it is an interesting thought experience all the same. If I had my current wisdom but not my current knowledge, there are still some big differences in what I would do. Not on the level of bitcoin as that seems fully on the knowledge side, but things like getting healthy habits started earlier, waste less time on certain entertainment pursuits, and take certain opportunities much more serious even when they didn't align with my expectations. Sometimes I wonder what I would do different today if I had the wisdom of me from 20 years in the future.

owebmaster 1y ago

> I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead. It also hides the incapability of many to do what they should to succeed. Most people already know what they should do different to succeed without going back in time but still they do not have the will power to do it and they probably would still not have if they had a time machine.

MangoToupe 1y ago
Ironically, I think characterizing life as a question of success-or-not was THE major barrier in my life to finding the contentment I was actually looking for.
- owebmaster 1y ago
  Did you succeed in finding contentment after realizing that?
  - MangoToupe 1y ago
    I think contentment finds you.
jampekka 1y ago
What do you mean by succeed? I find learning to not care so much about succeeding - at least in the usual criteria imposed by the society - is maybe the best thing I've learned since touch typing.
- owebmaster 1y ago
  > What do you mean by succeed? Having an objective and achieving it. Not an overall expectation of winning in life but saying "I want to go to the gym 5x a week for 1 year" or "I want to be able to run 10km" and achieve it.

FinnLobsien 1y ago

It's true that life can always evolve and change, new opportunities open, responsibilities appear, etc. But in other ways it's not true. For example, there's no way to be 19 again and be in college, date the person who, looking back was clearly into you. Study the thing you really wanted to study (not what you thought would be best for your career), etc. I think the fantasy of going back isn't about being unable to change, it's about "getting it right this time"

card_zero 1y ago
Central to the plot of Back to the Future Part II (for some reason not referenced in the New Yorker) is the sports almanac with information about future results. Any fantasy of going back and getting it right hinges on this kind of transfer of knowledge back into the earlier situation. The problem is then whether the information is subtle enough to be interesting, that is, to prevent the fantasy from devolving into a mere cheat to get rich by knowing things in advance. In practice the time traveller would at least attempt to invest early in bitcoin, learn the skills that will be in demand, befriend the awkward person who is going to be cool and successful later, and other cheaty stuff. I suppose a better fantasy would involve going back into a similar but rearranged situation, with all the variables and trends changed to prevent predictions.
- SkyBelow 1y ago
  It is an interesting thought experience, what would you do differently if you have your current wisdom, but not your current knowledge. This isn't a clean distinction, because people see different boundaries on what is wisdom and what is knowledge, but I think it is an interesting thought experience all the same. If I had my current wisdom but not my current knowledge, there are still some big differences in what I would do. Not on the level of bitcoin as that seems fully on the knowledge side, but things like getting healthy habits started earlier, waste less time on certain entertainment pursuits, and take certain opportunities much more serious even when they didn't align with my expectations. Sometimes I wonder what I would do different today if I had the wisdom of me from 20 years in the future.