What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Hello, for my first ever post here I.

Talking in the office, our conversation came around to:

What if you were to go back in time, what time would you go back to & what would you take with you?

Suggest a time, you have a small suitcase for what your taking back & why would you take it?

Remember that there will be no batteries or internet or most anything we use today if you go back too far.

comments came up like how could we invent & improve the motor car engine if we didn't have "x" technology then. Making things from metal is hard if you do not have the ability to mine it & knowhow.


So when would you go back to, why & what would you take?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

firstly :welcome:

i would either go back 2000 odd years to the time Jesus was around, just to hear him preach firsthand.... or i would go back to tudor times.. i love the dresses the rich women used to wear... as for what i would take hmmm need to think about that

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

What:
Survival books, mining books including mineral identification, how everything works type of books showing how inventions work, mathmatic instruction books, history books for the period & beyond.

If it was in the last century then a few almanacs so I can make some money to be able to buy shares in Microsoft, Yahoo, Ebay, Google, IBM, GEC, (insert high value company name here).

As for the time, I'd quite like to go to pre roman times or the victorian era. Somehow caveman times are a bit too far back.

17 years ago would be good too, I could stop my wedding... lol

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Meddling with time is dangerous! Have you never seen the Back to the Future films? The slightest change could change everything :D

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

:welcome: to Cable Forum, Loz. And thanks for a very interesting question in your maiden posting!

I can think of lots of times and places I'd like to go to simply to witness events unfold, but as for somewhere to go and stay a while and actually live as a member of that time and place ... that will need a little more thought. More from me later. :)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I would go back in time a couple of weeks armed with the lottery results!

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Welcome ! Please enjoy your stay.


I think I'd like to go back to 1912 and be onboard the Titanic.
Knowing what would be coming up ahead, I would make sure we changed route, but it would be briliant. The costumes, the people, and just a whole load of fun.
I'd probably take my cell phone with me.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

:welcome: to the forum loz. :D

Personally I'd go back to Monday 16th Feb 2004, and phone my mate Dave and cancel going out that night. Thereby saving Maureen's life.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

LOL, and what network would that work on in those days? :D

I would like to go back to the days that they were building the pyramids to see just how they did it. I would take with me a selection of books on medicine and engineering, but maybe the pyramid builders could teach us a thing or two about engineering.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

well it depends on the nature of the time travel doesnt it...
I would like to go back to 5 years into my own past and use my knowledge of the near future to fix some of my personal mistakes (No lottery numbers or any of that stuff), obviously to do this I would need to be able to take my own place in my past (And obviously I would have to have physically gone back in time since I am 20 now and would have to be 15 for it to work right).
As for luggage, I wouldnt need anything since I would be taking my own place and would have everything I did then. Though I think I would take my laptop (How impressive would it be to have a laptop that is 5 years more advanced than even my friends desktops).

Now if it was just straight through timetravel i.e. If I went back to my own past I would be able to see myself I couldnt do the above, I would have to choose a different time. I really wouldnt like to go back in time, how about forward? I could be like Buck Rogers :D or Fry from Futurama :D

Now if I had to go back in time I would probably also goto the time Jesus was around, maybe confirm my theory that he was either mad or had good PR (Not to offend anybody who believes in the guy, but the realist in me thinks this is more likeley).

walks away and Wonders if I have overthought this slightly :disturbd:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Back to 1984, Find "William Gates" and beat him senseless ..... It's all his fault I tell you ... it is .....

:D

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

But when you go back through history, do you change history or merely become part of it? :spin:

And even if you could influence history, in this specific case, what are the chances of the captain ordering a change of course on the say-so of one of his passengers?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

regardless of the implications of time travel i think i wouldnt mind going back to medieval / ancient greece times and being a bit of a General in an army - not using any modern weapons - i dont think id get invloved in the fighting my self but i think it would be fun - as for my suitcase probably the formula for stella artois and a load of condoms - i figured if im a general im bound to get lucky with some wenches - seems i have gone back in time to kill screw and drink beer

*i bet your all thinking i need to be locked away*

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

No, but I'd like to know which towns you like to visit on a Friday night so I can stay away :erm: ;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Probably not, but could you imagine the smugness when you say to him "Told you so."

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

if anyone's ever played command and conquer red alert they would know what i was on about... do like einstein did and go back and erase hitler from existence ;)

and get rid of stalin saddam hussein just for good measure...

...though we might end up with a weird "future" if all the baddies didnt exist...

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

You could also get that diamond necklace & make sure that you have a decent survival suit just in case they do not believe you.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I'd nip back to 1971 and invent DISCO !!

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2004/07/19.jpg

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

if you did that i would go back to an hour or two before you were due to arrive, and wait to kill you ;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Very good point there.
I doubt history can be changed then in that case as then it would disrupt a million other things down the line.
Anyone think it could be possible ? I dont know.
Still it would be fun to be onboard, before the sinking obviously.
Maybe I could go and sabbotage the engines to stop the boat going any further towards the iceberg and save the day.


Good idea. On ebay that could bring me quite a nice retirement fund.


Erm.... White Starline Mobile Network ofcourse
;)
Forgot about that slight problem.
Erm in that case I'd take some kind of invention we have now and sell it to them and get ritch.

I'd also like to go back to when my parents were younger. Imagine I'm like 22 and I'd go back and see my parents around the same age. Scary.


However that raises another question. If I go back in time am I going back as myself in the state Im in, (aged 22) or going back to my age of however many years ago.

This topic is very fascinating.
Well done for starting it and joining the forums.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

No, go back in time and kill him and take his place! Mwahahahahaaaa!!!

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Errrr..I have enough trouble living in the present timeline.If I went back in time particularly back to a less technological or knowledgable period I'd really have trouble coping.


So I think I'd pass.I'd rather go to the future.:)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

And best of all, we wouldn't have to but up with THAT film. Brillaint idea :)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

No its not - if you went back in time and changed things, by definition its already happened, so therefore everything would still be the same.

Stooopid.... Tsk ;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Me too...and I'd take a camcorder just to prove you all wrong!!!! :D :D :spin: :disturbd:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Ah, but would you tell him about the wars that have been fought in his, and the churches name? (BTW, i am not religion bashing, i just wonder if things would be the same if you did)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

And we'd let you just to see the look on your face when you realise Jesus was the 2000 year ago equivelant to that drunk every city center has that shouts abouse at anybody that doesnt fit his rather odd standards.

Just kidding :D ;) :disturbd:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

No need - He'd already know :D

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Invent your own Operating System and call it "Nem-ess-Dos" :D :rofl:


I'll get me coat..

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I dont need think about this hypothetically anyway, Ive allready been told I must go back to the 1980's and Terminate Sarah Connor, my PC told me :D


What? why are you all looking at me like that?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

:rofl: :LOL:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I think you deserve an, Incog special, 'punny' award for that one :D

going back in time to see the 'true version' of events, has been debated often, the 'uncertainty principle' still applies - the event can be affected by the observation - however I wouldn't be surprised if Incog is also correct with her post - i.e. that 'travel' to the future may be possible, but not 'travel' to the past?

Bob Shaw's 'Slow Glass' stories are good for an illustration of what I mean :)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Its allready possible to travel forward in time, though only by seconds.
Its a fact that when traveling at supersonic speeds time affects you less than it does when you are stationary or traveling at sub sonic speeds.
From what I remember the effect is so slight that 4hr flight might only move you 1 second into the future, so allthough the flight only took 4hrs to you it actually takes 4hrs 01second to everybody else.

Obviously this is useless to us for a practical time machinethough it does shed a tiny bit of light on how time works and may lead to a soloution for making time travel a reality. :D

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Yes but what if you went back to the 2nd world war and the time machine dumped you in the middle of the war zone, you get shot and you die.
Then what happens to the future as it has already been written and it is there as you have travelled back in time but now you've just died so does that mean you die then at the time and it changes history or your life continues and you died at that moment meaning you never return to the present.

:erm: Hmmm

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Yep. Time dilation. Very interesting subject.


A good explanation:

Einstein's Twin Paradox -

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstei...win/twin2.html

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/twin.html

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Very good explanations except this silly mistake in the first article...

Shouldnt the one in the rocket see your clock moving more quickly? not slowly?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

That's a worry :erm:

Anyway, the grandfather paradox doesn't work if we live in a multiverse.
You'd simply transport into the universe which was expecting you, and should you then kill your grandfather before your father was born, then you would just be killing that universe's equivalent of your grandfather and so wouldn't cause a paradox

Now, has anyone seen where I've put my sonic screwdriver?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Well, to the one in the rocket, you on the ground are moving at speed.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Each person observes the other person's clock as running slowly....hence the paradox. [EDIT: As Xaccers said, to the person in the rocket, it is the person on Earth who is moving fast...and moving clocks appear to run slowly]

It goes into more detail in the 2nd link I gave. It also explains how the paradox is solved.


Another interesting thing the 2nd link mentioned...according to general relativity, clocks at high gravitational potential run more quickly. (time dilation comes from special relativity).

Reminded me of something I read ages ago (can't remember where though)....a clock held at the top floor of a huge skyscraper will run faster than a clock held a ground level, due to the gravity.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Do you recover that time? Or is it only relative at the time of the journey?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Maybe it slipped quietly into a seperate universe? The same one all the lost Ballpoints and odd socks go to?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

yes so like I said the one in the rocket should see your clock running more quickly, not slowly like it said in that paragraph I quoted. ;)

That doesnt work. Time is relative so the person caught in the slower passage of time will see everything else running faster. i.e. the person in the rocket will see the people on Earth moving quicker than they infact are (This includes clocks ;) ) It is only the person on Earth that will see the clock on the rocket running slowly (Not Both) as I said they worded that paragraph incorectly. The episode of Red Dwarf season 4 episode 4 'White Hole' is a good example of this (I can provide a link to the small segment of the show if anybody is interested).
as mentioned in this snipet from your second link... unless im missing something :)

Interesting stuff, I have held a personal theory now, and have for a while now that time bareley exists between stars. If time is directly proportional to the amount of gravity present, and since stars produce gravity time will bareley exist in the voids between them.
As such a journey that will take 50 years to travel to another solar system could take hundreds of years from our viewpoint on Earth, yet anybody onboard the ship would reach thier destination in the afformentioned 50 years from thier own perspective.

Though I have another theory wich is related yet completeley confuses me as to what to make of the outcome.
Though before I will bother explaining this sister theory I have a question...
How do we calculate the distance between sol and its neighbours?

Shouldnt that be the other way around? I thought gravity became stronger the closer to the core of the planet you get, not the closer to the upper atmosphere you get? and if clocks run faster at higher gravity wouldnt they run faster the closer to the ground you get?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

For the sake of this please dont worry about paradoxes, time dilation or any adverse effects from killing your grandfathers etc.

We were more concerned with things like I.E.
If you were going to "invent" the car, where would you get the steel to build the chassis/engine? Where would you get the ore to make it, how would you mine it, how would you smelt it etc.
Then how would you mill out the cylinders, make the o-rings etc.

Just a simple thing like "invent the car" requires the invention of so many other things first.

Etc... then list could be endless.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

i think your all missing the point of going back in time - care free sex loads of beer and fun fun fun!!!!!

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

But would it be?

Care free sex, but would you have got plenty & would there be no cares?
Wer'nt things a bit more strict in olden times, where free sex was not always free as you had to marry first etc.
Unless your talking about the 60's.

Loads of beer?
Would it have been any good? would it be like the beer of today?
How would you pay for the beer? you'd need to either get a job (and that may not pay too well) or use your knowledge of today to become rich & powerful then.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

My idea of going back in time would be to experience life in other times, not to change the course of history. There are many unknowns about the past that I would love to know the answers to. Things like how they managed to build the pyramids and other amazing feats that defy logic. Could it be that someone, maybe in the future, did (will) go back in time and show the ancient Egyptians how to do it?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

If nobody now knows how they did it, how can someone go back in time to show them? ;) :spin:

One of the first things I realised studying archaeology is that modern humans have a tendency to equate a lack of technological advancement with a lack of intelligence. When you actually hold ancient artefacts in your hands - like a perfectly carved ceremonial axehead, made of polished Langdale slate - you realise that these people were just as real and just as intelligent as you or I, and in some cases more so. I am sure the Egyptians managed to build the pyramids all by themselves. Just because we can't work out how to solve a problem using a limited set of tools and resources doesn't mean that nobody back then was capable of solving it!

If I were to go back in time, I might visit Egypt too, to watch them building the pyramids and to ask them what the Sphynx is for. However I would nip forwards in time first to acquire some Universal Translator kind of technology as I am a right dunce at learning other languages.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I think that you missed my bit about someone in the future going back in time to show them how to do it. Just because AFAIK nobody today knows how to do it, doesn't mean that someone tomorrow will not know.

Whilst most people think that ancient civilizations did not have the knowledge that people of today have, they could in fact have been more knowledgeable. For all we know mankind could have eminated from another galaxy and somehow got stranded here or some calamity could have wiped out a previous civilization.

We can only judge things by our current knowledge which may very well be very limited. Many of the things that we take for granted today could hardly have been imagined possible in the lifetime of some people alive today. What might be classed as cutting edge technology today may be thought of as very primitive in a hundred years time. Time travel may become a possibility in the future of some people alive today. The question is how will that affect the past?

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Didn't someone suggest that time travel couldn't be possible, because if it was all the major world events would be swarming with tourists from the future, and there was no evidence of this?

Oh, and Mr Dave Stones - I'll have my special funky disco medallion capable of emitting beams of grooviness to thwart your evil sabotage. Remember: disco's like a bad cold; it just won't go away ! :cool:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Someone has been watching too much Dr Who.;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

i don't think things would be any different.... he preached his message, one of love.... and it was humans that decide to fight.... the only way to stop it would be for God to stop our free will..

i sure as heckers hope you didn't prove me wrong :erm: :confused:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

...you know what I meant.....

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Yes, because that would be the Blinovitch Limitation Effect, you see... ;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I know it doesn't work, that's the point - it's a paradox. As the 2nd link says, the problem states that using special relativity, *both* people will observe the other person's clock to be running slowly.


The article in the link then goes on to say how it is solved. End result: yes, only Jane's clock is running slowly, as time is slower for her due to time dilation (but, the initial paradox does say both run slowly - hence why it's a paradox).

Yeah, that bit is another solution for the paradox - it takes into account General Relativity (gravity), instead of only Special Relativity, & shows that only Jane's clock will be running slowly.

A quick Google came up with....parallax

http://www.wonderquest.com/parallax.htm

http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae71.cfm


Sorry, I didn't word that very well. General relativity says that clocks run slower in high gravity (& so faster in lower gravity). This has actually been shown....e.g. The clocks in GPS satellites have a slight speed-up due to being in lower gravity, & GPS devices have to take this into account. Although there are other, competing, factors, so this is not always true.

LOL, sorry. Back On Topic....



I'd like to go back to Ancient Greece or Egypt. Also be interesting to see the time of the Incas, Aztecs, Maya, etc in South/Central America.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Good points, and if someone is going back for carefree sex, either take plenty of condoms or penicilin!
We may be able to cure a dose of the pox today, but back then if you caught something you could end up with ulcers down to your bones and going mad from the pain, then eventually dying.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I would go back to 1966 when England won the World Cup.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I would love to experience other times such as the dawn of man, roman times, tudor times, the big days in history (JFK, Man on moon, cuban missile crise, september 11th (again) ) and also back to a few weeks ago where i would have put £2000 on greece winning the european cup and guessing the right lottery results every week

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I've often thought of this...

I'd go back to either the Xia or Shang dynasties of China (this is about 2,000 B.C.). I would be a white man and regarded as a curiosity.

I'd go in marine gear. Assume fully stocked marine, with assault rifle, bullets, flares, grenades. This is ONLY for an emergency since all the weaponry are non-replaceable.

What would I take with me? A computer and laptop stocked with encyclopedias, newspaper archives, magazine archives, books, books, and more books. As much as I can fit on it. Also include spare parts for items that will break down. However, this needs energy, so, I will also take a portable generator + diesel for the start, and move towards solar and wind energy.


The goal is to arrive, and then to intimidate people. Go see the king, intimidate him, and ask to be made the chief magus. Setup shop. Defense is the first priority, against snooping people that want to steal your stuff. Second is energy. Get your solar panels and wind turbine on top of the palace roof or something. The diesel + generator is only for emergencies.


It would be a lot of fun.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

And where would you get your solar panels from ?
I think it could go your way or possibly go wrong.
Remember when they invented the hot air baloon and people tried to shoot it down and kill the people flying above.
They might think your some mystical person from the heavens that is so different, and then steal all your stuff and kill you straight off.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

You take them with you...

Hence the guns and grenades...

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

But if they do not know what a gun does or how it works then you will have to use up some of your ammo to show them, limiting the amount that you have to stop the 1000 strong army of soldiers that will be chucked at you. :D

I wonder what you would call yourself?
Wouldn't begin with "V" would it? you could be referred to as the dictator that should not be named. :)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

:sleep: i would find away round your funky medallion. a mirror perhaps, a la evading medusa's stare? ;)

nevertheless i would find a way to eradicate the 60s and 70s and everything to do with them from the timeline, disco included :p:

in my opinion, if the 60s never happened, there would be a lot less people on drugs nowadays.... best to burn it into oblivion and live in the mindless stupor of the 50s for all eternity :Yikes:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Perhaps a big revolving disco mirror ball is what you've got in mind ?;)

What, including me, a child of the flower power revolution? This really is getting personal now ! :Yikes:

First time I've heard a self styled 'lazy-arsed student' moaning about people being on drugs ! ;) Eh, the youth of today, all dreaming of growing up to become management consultants and suchlike ... :erm:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I'd go back in time and get to know katie Holmes and Avril Lavigne.
Infact I could also warn her about Kronas ;)

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I'll take the disco over the curent bad cold that won't go away I'm suffering with.

Equally it would be very interesting to go back and see places like NASA and BAE/Aerospacial in the '50 and '60s developing space vehicles and Mach 2 passenger jets with little or no computer technology.

The latest Boeing and Airbus designs are so dependant on CAD for design and construction processes that I doubt most there would be able to concieve that those coming up to retirement age did this all on paper.

I mean that nifty gadget the Digital watch hadn't even been invented (c) H2G2.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

I'm quite sure that a future generation will postulate that we couldn't have done it by ourselves and aliens must've helped :rofl:

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

That was the point I was trying to get across - badly.

Bit like the scenareo in Terminator 2 where you have the Skynet Corporation that has made it's fortunes from reverse engineering leftover bits of the destroyed Cyborg in Terminator. See Aliens and the Future again.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

beat me to it! :D

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

Just thinking about this further - well obviously aliens must have done it because 40 years later we are unable to replicate and replace these things as they came out of service! The technology has become too challenging for us. Though Airbus may well start on a SST replacement in 2007 once the A380 production line has settled down, that would really get to Boeing, best commonality amongst their short haul fleet, long haul in large and extra large with 2 or 4 engines and Supersonic, rather wipe the competition.

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

i would take the biggest book i could find on conspiracy theories. lol

Re: What If: & what would you take with you?
 

What, to make sure they actually to happened...?!

Don't forget to take a black helicopter with you! :D