"How can someone prove to you they have time traveled?"

apparently, all you need to do is tell your story and offer friends and family as corroborating evidence and never, ever, let the truth get in the way of the story.

I am not a big believer in time travel also. I feel the past is gone, not "recorded" on some galactic tape recorder for us to go back to and the future has not yet happened so it can't be visited.

But I'm not toally a skeptic. Part of me wants to believe it can happen because I think it would be cool.

Here is the question I have, Why would you want to prove you are a time traveller anyway? If you did, you know the govt would rush in to silence you.

The only reason I can see someone wanting to prove they are a time travller is to stop a person from getting hurt or a major disaster from happening.

How can someone prove to ME they have time traveled?
Thats easy.
Go forward, or back, and find me, then have me write me a letter containing things only I would know.
Return to me (here and now), give me the letter from my future or former self, and then I MIGHT believe you time travelled.

I believe it is impossible to prove time travel. Note I said believe verses making statements as if I really know or have proof. Anyway, because of these wonderful world lines that make it all work and solve any real problems that seem to arise, it is not possible to have proof. It would be on another world line and the person would end up on another line preventing proof from existing where it is needed.

So therefore, they may be many time travelers in our time frame but they know not to mention it or try to convince people of it. The future travelers know of this situation and keep quiet.

This has been fun to read, and to think about. Thanks OTD.

The use of prediction evidence has been rebuffed by saying that people would think the predictions were arrived at psychically, seeing that as more probable.

I have reservations about the truth of that. OTD has said that the aim is to convince hardened skeptics. A hardened skeptic seeing remote viewing as an acceptable explanation seems unlikely. To me.

I have no reservations at all, though, in saying that an alleged time traveller who could not provide some decent predictions would not impress me at all. It's entry-level stuff in the time-travelling biz.

Transcribe SOTU and the Queen's speech for your target year (because they're likely to be widely recorded media events); write down the times locations and intensities of say 5 geological events. Encrypt them with a sturdy key. Bring the file back. Buy yourself a Verisign key (400 clams last I heard, raise it with an evening at the track), and sign the encrypted file with it, then distribute it by every means available. Email popular blogs, upload them to filesharing networks, distribute on floppies. If you're feeling energetic, look for a building that's demolished after the events described, nip back and embed a copy in its foundations (on a DVD-R for extra credit). Tattoo it on a walrus's fundament (make sure it's a healthy and placid walrus). Wait until the events have happened. distribute the decrypting key. Hilarity ensues.

The point of encrypting is to prevent the material from influencing the events.

The point of signing is to have a publicly available record of the time of signing. 'They' might prevail upon Verisign to disavow your signature, but if you've done a good enough job of distributing the material there should be enough people with a clear memory and server logs to back you up. Plus the walrus's tattoo will have aged visibly.

That's a whole lot of rigmarole to go through, but then time travel's a whole lot of claim.

Thanks once again for the chance to have some fun,
h

In the movie "Frequency" a guy from the past places a wallet under a floor board, so that the guy from the present could find it. With that in mind, I suppose a time traveller could go back in time and do the same thing to prove it to me.

Hey, all!!

It's been a long time since I've peeked in this thread. It had sunk for a while. My follow-ups will be delayed more because I've just gotten busier.

However, I did want to respond and say thank you both for adding your thoughts.

heiliger , you suggested, well, a lot. LOL There is so much involved in your offering that at first glance it seems to be pretty effective.

First though, you said,

A hardened skeptic seeing remote viewing as an acceptable explanation seems unlikely. To me.

I disagree. I think a hardened skeptic would default to any possible plausible explanation rather than submit to a time travel theory.

The CIA, after all, first had programs to study and use remote viewing for intelligence gathering purposes. This, then, would be a more plausible answer to a skeptic rather than believing that someone physically traveled to the past or future.

There are many other reasons, you would see, that skeptics would use to explain away the possibility. The human belief system actually creates the world we see around us, so you're up against a very powerful opponent.

You said,

I have no reservations at all, though, in saying that an alleged time traveller who could not provide some decent predictions would not impress me at all. It's entry-level stuff in the time-travelling biz.

For someone to have immediate access to a time travel device, and free reign to fact check and return with that information you are right on. They should be able to hop on, travel to "whenever", and return with that info.

However, how many other people have been able to made accurate predictions of events that have come to pass?

Is it a large enough number that a skeptic would be inclined to think these were simply "predictions" and not the results of a person physically traveling to our future? Just a question.

Right now, the time travel issue on ATS and elsewhere is meeting some pretty tough resistance. Many people don't even find it an issue worth speculating about...

You offered,

Transcribe SOTU and the Queen's speech for your target year (because they're likely to be widely recorded media events);

Would this be ultimate proof to you of time travel? What if you knew the Queen's speech writer through the friend of a friend? Would someone suggest this? Would someone so disinclined to even speculate on time travel think of every other possible reason you may have been able to have the Queen's speech written down?

Also, your reason for encrypting and all of that may not reach people unfamiliar with those security precautions. In the case of DNA proof, there are people who don't understand how DNA works, and simple encryption may not be proof enough for these people.

You also said,

write down the times locations and intensities of say 5 geological events.

Have events such as these ever been predicted? What if you know seismologists? What if people "suspected" you knew seismologists? Proving something like this to one person has been easier than proving it to a large number of people. And that is because of our tendency to attach very prosaic explanations to phenomena.

The rule of Occam's razor comes to mind,

"...All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one."

SOURCE

I don't mean to be a jerk and deflate everything you've offered, but as in the case with the walrus, imagine you are actually seeing that story on the news. What do you suspect your skeptical friends might say watching that?

Do you think they would see a tatooed walrus and think that someone MUST have time traveled, or would they think of a more prosaic answer?

And you mentioned there is a whole other obstacle to deal with beyond simple skepticism and that's the "bad guys" (yes, you guys are bad),

The point of signing is to have a publicly available record of the time of signing. 'They' might prevail upon Verisign to disavow your signature,

You have given the time traveler a lot of work to do. I wonder if they see the end worth the means...

Thank you very much, heiliger , for your thoughts, and my apologize for being insufferable. My sincere hope would be that it would not be difficult to prove this; but the reality may show itself to be very different...

Hi, speaker! I saw that movie too. You said,

In the movie "Frequency" a guy from the past places a wallet under a floor board, so that the guy from the present could find it. With that in mind, I suppose a time traveller could go back in time and do the same thing to prove it to me.

Would that prove it to you, or would your mind not be able to accept time travel as a reality? Actually, throughout this thread, I think we decided that it was definitely easier to prove time travel to one person as opposed to a large number of people.

To me, if certain things are possible, like ETs and ufos, which clearly indicate wildly advanced technology, then why can't time travel be possible?

If one of your answers is that we haven't seen proof of it, either through artifacts, or public releases, etc., you really have to ask yourself if those are valid reasons.

From what I understand, there are natural barriers, or laws in place with regard to the technology itself, as well as with how much it is allowed to affect and interact with the necessary, natural evolution of the human race.

I do know, however, through research and personal accounts, that we are on the verge of having broad access to time travel and other technology in our very near future. At least this is my belief.

So proof may not be an issue very soon...We'll see...

Thank you very much for your post!!

ozmorphus, you said,

I am not a big believer in time travel also. I feel the past is gone, not "recorded" on some galactic tape recorder for us to go back to and the future has not yet happened so it can't be visited.

This may not actually be how the universe works. Also, the "tape recorder" theory may not even be necessary to use time travel. There may be other possibilities that you haven't thought of.

You asked,

Why would you want to prove you are a time traveller anyway? If you did, you know the govt would rush in to silence you.

It's a good question. It's one to ask a time traveler. For the purpose of this thread, I wanted to see if it was even possible to prove time travel. I also wanted to get a feel for where the current social consciousness was with regard to time travel.

You said,

The only reason I can see someone wanting to prove they are a time travller is to stop a person from getting hurt or a major disaster from happening.

This would be a selfless motivation. If I could time travel, I would try to do the same. You wouldn't need to prove it by doing those things, you could just do them and remain anonymous.

I think it would be cool too!! And, I believe, we will be using this technology on a broad scale in our near future. A fair amount of people see this happening. There is a lot of speculation wrapped up in the release date of this technology, but with the obvious, immense presence of ufos and ETs what isn't possible in this universe?

Hi, 11Bravo! You said,

Go forward, or back, and find me, then have me write me a letter containing things only I would know.
Return to me (here and now), give me the letter from my future or former self, and then I MIGHT believe you time travelled.

The key word is "might". It's clear that proving this is a difficult proposition. I think it takes a level of "receptivity" and open-mindedness in the person you are trying to prove it to.

You first have to believe that time travel is possible. If you don't, then the discussion is over before it's begun. For these folks, no proof is good enough. And that's fine; they have some work to do on themselves.

But to limit the possibilities before you've even set out is to confine yourself to a very small and boring existence. Fortunately, this universe has a lot more in store for us, skepticism or not.

To people who say it's not possible, I say anything is possible.

Thank you for your thoughts, 11Bravo!!

Hey, roadgravel!!

You said,

I believe it is impossible to prove time travel. Note I said believe verses making statements as if I really know or have proof.

Thank you for being honest. I think it's possible to prove, I just don't know the most effective way to do it. I know that things don't always unfold or happen how we would expect or believe they would happen. The uncertainty factor...

You offered a possible scenario,

Anyway, because of these wonderful world lines that make it all work and solve any real problems that seem to arise, it is not possible to have proof. It would be on another world line and the person would end up on another line preventing proof from existing where it is needed.

I think I'm reading your statement correctly, but it seems you're talking about "world time lines" (as opposed to "personal time lines").

These, I admit, are two concepts that I was introduced to just recently. I don't understand them, and can only take them as speculation at this time.

You seem to take these concepts as fact, but I would ask why you chose to do so. What has lead you to take these theories as fact?

There is a lot of information floating around with regard to the theory of time travel, and some of this information, as you have stated, seems to be accepted as fact before time travel has even been utilized. This seems, to me, to be putting the cart before the horse.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't know how sure you can be about a theory that has seen no practical application and, for all intents and purposes, seems more speculation. I don't, however, discount your thoughts on the matter.

Finally,

So therefore, they may be many time travelers in our time frame but they know not to mention it or try to convince people of it. The future travelers know of this situation and keep quiet.

I think time travel is a simple concept, practically speaking. But I also think that there are funny little rules in place that could be thought to be in accord with your statements above to some extent.

I think our notions of time travel, and the laws that apply to it will very much have to be rethought. I think it's important not to cling too tightly to, and accept without question, even our limited beliefs about time travel and the laws that apply to it. Especially when we haven't even seen it in practice yet.

There is a protocol, as well as natural laws that apply to time travel. It is my belief and my hope that we will become versed on these things in our very near future. So these questions can be answered in no uncertain terms.

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this matter, roadgravel!!

I havn't read all of this one yet, but I did make an anonymous post about it.

Posted by anon_102097 on 11-03-07 @ 10:20 AM

This anonymous post is in response to ATS thread: "How can someone prove to you they have time traveled?"

Hi, just popped in to see what is up.

I have been reading up on remote viewing. This is a natural thing for people to do. Over the course of history, there have been many instances of this. Some more notable instances of this can be found in works such as the Bible. To deny this is truth is not denying ignorance, but rather denying fact.

I have seen this cry for proof as merely someones atempt at denying truth when it is presented.

What would be the gain from disclosure? The people who will accept time travel as reality already know that it is right, because they are people of vision. All great discoveries and technology in use today are the result of visionary thinking.

Here is remote viewing for beginers 101. I for one plan to conciously use 100% of my brain's capacity from here on through the remainder of my time on earth.

If you are trying to deny this exists, your mind will never accept any kind of proof a time traveller could provide. That my friends is logic 101.

We have all of the tools, people of earth, you just need to unlock the tool shed, open it and find out just how incredible the tools you have are.

I time travel a couple times a year. Forwards and backwards The russians have a time travel method, you just pass out and wake up with a headache "Russian time travel: Drink Vodka, wake in future!"

win 52, your post, as are all of your posts, is very much appreciated!!

The idea that remote viewing may have been used in the bible is a very novel idea. That's actually very intriguing...

And you're right, it does take a sort of vision to see what's not right there in front of you; to envision how things could be; to abstract from what exists right now.

It takes a sort of foresight, vision, and imagination, and I believe you have this perspicacity, if you'll allow me to use a word with so many syllables.

Thank you for your contribution here and elsewhere!!

AlphaAnuOmega, the headache is the worst part. In the future, when we've perfected it there won't be anymore headaches. Hopefully...

Well, I don't know if anyone has read this article yet - but it's titled: You Can't Travel Back in Time, Scientists Say

here is the link - have fun...
news.yahoo.com...


(not saying they are right - just posting it for the thread)

Hi again,

I very definitely didn't say that a bunch of predictions would be sufficient, but that they would be necessary. They would have to be part of the deal, or my own ability to believe would be impacted. You understand I'm speaking only for me.

If I read your objection to the SOTU suggestion right, you're saying a conman could write down, encrypt and publish a SOTU speech a year in advance and then nobble the president's speechwriter to use that speech verbatim a year later.

As for knowing some seismologists, if the seismic predictions are precise enough and far enough in advance, I doubt that would be of any use. We're talking about pinpoint precision here, not "well there might be quite a strong quake somewhere near Africa next year". By bringing back records from after the event it's possible to achieve a level of accuracy which could only be faked by being a close personal friend of Lex Luthor.

seeya,
h

the sports bet thing would not necessarily work, as the time travellor would be changing history ever so slightly with each thing he does.
even if he is careful not to interract too much with the past, he is setting up a domino effect rippling through time, altering his and our future.
the smallest glance could change the future.
OUR universe only has enough room to fit everything in its own universe, our time is like a finished puzzle, Throwing Doctor Who into the mix would be like adding a piece THAT WILL NOT FIT and/or effect the puzzle.
Now, once could say, that his own information would "update" itself ala Back to the Future, but I am a firm believer in alternate timelines/parralel universes. I don't believe he would be able to get back to his EXACT time.
sorry for the spelling.lol.



[edit on 12-3-2007 by jetflock]

Ive seen and read a good amount of post in this thread but not all. What im going to say is something i think people are or havent considered? Im a fan of quantum theory this is were i get my information from on this topic. Everyone talks about a machine. I think its simpler than that. Everyone knows humans use only 10% or more/less even a genuis maybe he uses a little more. So the other 90% or so percent what is it for. I think this is or realtion to the cosmos and super human. This is also were time travel would be possible. I remeber a friend telling me, that is also beleiver of quantum theory he said to me time travel is the abilty to first project yourself threw time. He said time travel would not be possible unless you could first do it threw you mind and project your self to the time you wished. then i said to myself sounds like its solid. Then i said like butterfly effect the movie he said yes that is the concept. he said but you could not exist in two places at once thats why your mind would need to be there first then your self you physical body would follow.


Just my 2 cents

Originally posted by kanesis


I remeber a friend telling me, that is also beleiver of quantum theory he said to me time travel is the abilty to first project yourself threw time. He said time travel would not be possible unless you could first do it threw you mind and project your self to the time you wished. then i said to myself sounds like its solid. Then i said like butterfly effect the movie he said yes that is the concept. he said but you could not exist in two places at once thats why your mind would need to be there first then your self you physical body would follow.


Just my 2 cents

You don't need the physical body to follow. That is where all the problems have been caused, using the physical aspect of time travel. It is not required and is too disruptive. Traveling with the mind viewing into history is not nearly as disruptive.

Going forward only helps you avoid potential pitfalls you would encounter by making the wrong choices. It doesn't alter the future, because the future is a result of the choices you make today. It is not written in stone...so to speak.

It is too simple.

Here is another person asking the same questions regarding proof.

I don't know if you've seen it already?

ask.metafilter.com...

For the most part, people are a society of 'doubting thomas's' and need to physcially SEE/TOUCH things in order to validate a circumstance.

Our technology today is advanced to the point of 'creating/fabricating' almost anything on the planet.

IMO, the only way to provide proof of time travelling is to bring my 'other self' back from the future (or go back in time).

Then have scientists perform a DNA check on my other self to show that the other me is really ME.

The person from the future will have my EXACT DNA/scars/etc., and will be able to coroberate my life experiences.

Not everything can be fabricated. If the "time-travel" says the limitation is that they can't provide any proof that can be used to help someone gain money, then there certainly are methods where they can prove themselves.

One being, if they can provide a full accurate report of what the weather will be like in every capital city of the world for full given year, then this will no doubt remove any doubt.

Originally posted by DJMessiah


One being, if they can provide a full accurate report of what the weather will be like in every capital city of the world for full given year, then this will no doubt remove any doubt.

That would be fine and dandy, but what if HARP was fired a few times between now and then.

How about if people made alternate choices than what your timeline projected, then things would all change?

It just isn't that simple. You should spend a bit of time doing some reading up on remote viewing. That is time traveling using your mind, not your body. That will get you headed in the right direction.

The March 24th edition of New Scientist has a great article. Neuroscientists and psychologists are all looking in to and studying "future recall" as being factual experiences. They are researching the phenomena of how "your mind can slip through time".

This seems to be quite fesable for most people to be able to do naturally. Some refer to it as ADD or Day Dreaming, but it actually is a certain state that your mind automatically goes into when you are physicaly idle.

Meditation is another way to start the process.

The results are quite different for studies on people with brain damage. Their brain waves have changed and they are not able to do this effectively.

Try not to sit and spout, do your own research.

Originally posted by win 52
That would be fine and dandy, but what if HARP was fired a few times between now and then.

Then it would show in any weather records they have. No matter what people do today to try and effect the weather, it would show in the records they bring from the future.