Why Can’t We Time Travel?

Main Script

(Aurel)

(Takes off his watch) Time, such a fickle thing isn’t it? With each second passing, the future
takes the place of the past and leaves it to solidify, making each passing second irreversible.
However, what if we’re able to change that? What if we gain the ability to travel back to the past
and change something that we didn’t like? Such an idea may seem desirable for many of us. But
unfortunately, today we’re going to give three reasons why we could not do such a thing as time
travel

(Title Screen)

1. The Bootstrap Paradox

(Christo)

The Bootstrap paradox is basically saying that if an object or information is sent to the past from
the future, it would enter a state of infinite causal loop in which it will no longer have a
discernible point of origin. Now I understand, that may sound a little complicated; so let’s take
an example.

One day, there’s someone who really enjoys a book. And we mean really. So much in fact, that
he used his personal time machine to go into the past and thank the writer of that book
personally. But when he met the writer, by pure coincidence, he was writing. So he came up to
the writer and said “I’m from the future. This book’s really good, thank you for writing it”. And
then went back to the future, the writer, in confusion, took that book and started reading it, and
found that he really enjoyed the book. So he decided to copy that book entirely, and sell it.

But then, who wrote the book in the first place? This is what we meant when we mentioned an
infinite causal loop. Because if Noel hadn’t went back in time to give the book to the writer, the
book wouldn't have been written, and this would make the book lose a discernible point of
creation.

And that’s paradox number one.

(Title Screen)

2. The Hitler Paradox

(Noel)
Now the Hitler paradox is basically saying if a time traveler were to travel to the past an alter the
past, by say; killing a person. The time traveler would cease to exist because an altered time
continuum would be a reality in which the time traveler does not exist.za `

Let’s take an example, Say that after learning about world war 2, our friend Willy decided to go
back to 1940 to save the world from Hitler’s evil deeds. So he took his gun, brought out his time-
travelling device, set the year to 1940, and travelled to that year. When he arrived, he was
conveniently placed in the office of Adolf Hitler. And even more conveniently, he was sitting
there, defacing him while reading a few documents. So he walked carefully to avoid being
noticed, and finally walked up to him and shot him. Done, the world’s saved from the would-be
evil deeds of Adolf Hitler. Yet after he killed The Fuhrer, he started to flicker, getting more
violent by the second, and finally vanished into thin air. Why is this happening?

This is what we meant by our first statement. Because by killing Adolf Hitler, Willy’s father and
mother might not have existed due to the different course the progression of time will take. And
hence no Willy would have been born.

And that’s paradox number 2