20th July 2008, 4:47 PM
Except that an event in the future DID change the past in this case.
Okay let's try this from another angle.
Think of a loop that isn't a paradox working this way. Let's say the events of the time travel LEAD to the event that sent them back in time to begin with. If the future events have nothing to do with the past, what, would the past suddenly fill up with more and more copies of the time traveller? Think about it. If you are saying the past "just is", that the person spawned out of nothingness in the paradox world, then there's no connection with the future. In other words, the person in the future travelling back in time has no connection with the version that came out of the time portal, and that means that when the future guy steps in, he steps out along with another one of himself at the same time, and that happens infinitely.
Okay let's try this from another angle.
Think of a loop that isn't a paradox working this way. Let's say the events of the time travel LEAD to the event that sent them back in time to begin with. If the future events have nothing to do with the past, what, would the past suddenly fill up with more and more copies of the time traveller? Think about it. If you are saying the past "just is", that the person spawned out of nothingness in the paradox world, then there's no connection with the future. In other words, the person in the future travelling back in time has no connection with the version that came out of the time portal, and that means that when the future guy steps in, he steps out along with another one of himself at the same time, and that happens infinitely.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)