The Time Traveller's Mother In-Law

[Blaze]

Anybody see this video from a Charlie Chaplin short shot in the 20's? Apparently, during one of the scenes an extra walks by in a snazzy fur coat and appears to be talking on a cell phone. What are people's first reactions to this anomaly? That she's a time traveler of course! I don't know who came up with this explanation, but I love it and wanna believe.

[alt.mobius]

well it couldn't be your standard cell phone, since cell phone networks didn't exist back in 1921.....therefore our "chrononaut" wouldn't get any reception (can you here me know?....not in 1921). So maybe this person is talking on some sort of "temporal communicator" that allows him/her to talk to people in the future.

the laws of physics do not specifically prohibit time travel (into the past or the future) so its theoretically possible, but highly, highly improbable. but people also once said that about one day building an 'airplane'. so like Blaze, my heart and imagination want to believe this no matter how much my logical mind wants to dismiss it.

[El Santo]

I assume it's a nutcase that was just smart enough to predict the invention of the cell/portable phone....and is having a very heated conference call with Atilla the Hun and The Abominable Snowman about the downfalls of the modern 20th century economy.

[nacho]

the popular theory seems to be that it's just an old clunky handheld hearing aid from the time period.

[Max Power]

I guess nobody is going to comment on her clown feet flopping around like she's walking on a couple of tunas? I think she is from our future as well. Apparently Natural Selection has chosen giant walrus feet.

[Beldo]

well it couldn't be your standard cell phone, since cell phone networks didn't exist back in 1921.....therefore our "chrononaut" wouldn't get any reception (can you here me know?....not in 1921). So maybe this person is talking on some sort of "temporal communicator" that allows him/her to talk to people in the future.

the laws of physics do not specifically prohibit time travel (into the past or the future) so its theoretically possible, but highly, highly improbable. but people also once said that about one day building an 'airplane'. so like Blaze, my heart and imagination want to believe this no matter how much my logical mind wants to dismiss it.

I've heard recently that it wouldn't be possible to travel back in time, that it would only be possible to travel back to when the time machine was created, but that going into the future is theoretically possible (but not likely).

[alt.mobius]

I've heard recently that it wouldn't be possible to travel back in time....

...that it would only be possible to travel back to when the time machine was created...

i think you are contradicting yourself here.

The most plausible (and physically realistic) ideas for time travel into the past are limited to travel within the range of time that the machine has been turned on like you mention. So if you turn the machine on, then wait a week, at that point you will be able to travel back in time at most one week to the day you turn it on and no further.

However, there are some more exotic Quantum physics interpretations in which there are up to 6 physical dimensions and by finding a way to move about in other dimensions that we don't consciously perceive, it would be possible to move along time forward or backward as far as you want.

what's interesting is that there are actual working science labs in the US, Russia, and some believe China where they do full scale serious research and development on time travel, including time shifting experiments on insects and mice.

[Beldo]

I don't think I was contradicting myself for the purposes of this discussion, since we're talking about going back in time to 1928. I'm saying according to the theory I read, it wouldn't be possible to go back to 1928 unless the time machine had been created and turned on in 1928. And barring the extra dimensions theories, that's the popular theory about the limitations of time travel, no?

[Macho]

However, there are some more exotic Quantum physics interpretations in which there are up to 6 physical dimensions and by finding a way to move about in other dimensions that we don't consciously perceive, it would be possible to move along time forward or backward as far as you want.

I thought the current thought was 11 dimensions (10 spatial + 1 time).

Back on topic though-- how 'bout them giant walrus feet!

[alt.mobius]

...And barring the extra dimensions theories, that's the popular theory about the limitations of time travel, no?

you are correct.

I thought the current thought was 11 dimensions (10 spatial + 1 time).

i think i mis-spoke here. let me re-state my earlier post:

"...there are some more exotic Quantum physics interpretations in which there are at least 6 physical dimensions..."

plus i think if you look at the video at about 0:52, the person seems to text "OMG LOL" on the device he is holding. that seems like proof of time travel to me.

[Not_RMR]

so many folks here with THE MINDS OF FUCKING SCIENTISTS!

[Blaze]

The guy walking by her seems like he's opening a jar of peanut butter.

[Lushus]

The guy walking by her seems like he's opening a jar of peanut butter.

A jar of peanut butter FROM THE FUTURE!!

[Not_RMR]

they didn't even have jars in 1928!!!!

[Max Power]

I think it is frightening to consider how unstable the Earths crust must be years from now - in order for natural selection to choose those snowshoe feet. She could probably walk across ice only an inch thick as her weight would be distributed over 5 square feet of shoe area.