There is a great difference between the past and the future in terms of philosophy (and probably physics): the past is already determined, it happened, whereas the future is merely a yet non-existent aggregate of all the possibilities. In reality, if you could travel back in time and change something, the consequences of this would most likely be so unpredictable and drastic that it would have possibly been better to leave everything as it is.Īt the same time, travelling to the future would probably have no negative consequences. So, how is it possible to anticipate any specific results (and, more importantly, positive results) when intending to change the course of history, with billions of people’s lives involved? Therefore, all these “I would kill Hitler” talks are nonsense. For a brief example: can an average person predict how his or her actions will affect his or her own life in the next five years? I suppose not. It is extremely convenient to be living in the 21st century, enjoying all of its benefits and progress, and make statements like, “I would change the course of history.” But, how can one be sure that their actions would not cause unexpected harm? Historical processes are so complicated and versatile that no one can possibly predict the outcomes of one’s actions. The most dreadful historical events shaped the world as we know it today. The same can be said about World War II, the death of one of America’s brightest politicians, and about anything else: the world has always moved on, and there has been no such disaster that humanity has not been able to survive and adjust to. But, as it turned out, the world did not stop spinning it moved on, it somehow adjusted to the presence of nuclear threat. I know people who, when discussing this subject, make claims like, “If I could only go back in time, I would kill Hitler,” or “I would prevent the creation of nuclear weapons,” or even “I would save Kennedy.” When I hear this, I often wonder: how can they be so careless and light-minded? Just yesterday, I was thinking about the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki undoubtedly, it was a terrible tragedy, and perhaps for people living back then, this event could have looked like the beginning of the end of the world. Of course, I am aware of the fact that time travelling is impossible, and it will remain so in the nearest future however, whenever someone asks me whether I would want to travel back or forward in time, I cannot help but think of the consequences of such a journey. This thought has always seemed rather disturbing to me I believe that what has already happened should remain in the past. I remember Howard Lovecraft’s characters travelling into the ancient depths of time to meet strange beings that ruled Earth long before humanity existed I remember Ray Bradbury’s safari in the prehistoric era, when a man accidentally stepped on an insect, causing unbelievable changes in the future I remember countless science-fiction movies about time travelling, starting from the “Terminator” franchise, and ending up with the surrealistic “Twelve Monkeys,” grim “Looper,” and weird and disturbing “Donnie Darko.” One common feature about almost all of such movies is the idea that by evoking changes in the past, one can change the future. Anyways, “The Time Machine” was the first novel to have awoken my interest in the idea of time travelling.Īs I grew up, I read many other novels and stories on the same subject. The symbiosis between these two species (Eloi received their clothes, food, and goods from Morlocks, while serving as food to them) shocked me the most, as well as the idea that these two species emerged from the class division existing in Great Britain during the times when Herbert Wells lived. The former, as you may remember, are creatures dwelling underground, maintaining and controlling ancient machines, whereas the latter are a caste of light-minded, happy beings living on the surface. I remember how surprised and even astonished I was by the idea of the evolutionary division of humanity into Morlocks and Eloi. When I was a teenager, one of my favorite books was “The Time Machine” by Herbert Wells.
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