Time Travel, truth, and Tweets

To Donald: A sweet tweet is worth more than a thousand trivial tweets.

Advocates of “cookoo” theories often chime the loudest and are always on time.

______________

That Pesky Time. On the time travel paradox. One of the most frequently applied scenarios against the possibility of time travel is the “grandfather” paradox. Here it is. Right now, you travel back in time with a pistol to see your grandfather walking in a park long before he has even met your grandmother. You shoot and kill him. Therefore, grandpa never meets grandma, and thus you cannot exist to travel back in time. (This where the time travel paradox usually ends. But it goes on…) Now then, since you don’t exist you couldn’t have traveled back in time to kill grandpa. Thus grandpa does meet grandma, and eventually you are born. But now you can travel back to make the kill. This repeats ad infinitum. What seems to be created is a time-conflict. Kill, no kill, kill, no kill, … Doesn’t this set up some bizarre perpetual time loop? Tricky.

Such a paradox sound similar to the Zeno-type paradoxes for distance. One problem with resolving them back in their day and for about the next two millennia, was that the language to discuss was unavailable, in fact, not even invented. Even if someone said what we understand now, it would have been be rejected. Eventually, with new concepts of infinity and infinite processes the Zeno paradoxes have been resolved. It seems a similar concepts for time are needed to resolve the grandfather paradox. Yes, we are suggesting the need for inventing new ideas, of which none can conceive just now. Recall, Pasteur suggested new ideas and language for the explanation of disease. Rejected at first, incontrovertible analysis emerged; suddenly we had bad germs. Inoculations, vaccines, and more have saved our lives.

Currently, the multiverse idea is rampant, and provides an explanation to our paradox. It proposes that there are an infinity of universes, somehow existing in parallel, but unable to communicate. At every instant, the current branches to a new universe. In the context of our problem, when the grandson kills his grandpa, then time branches to another universe. An entire TV series, Fringe, was dedicated to a possibility of exchanges between just two of these. Good series, but riddled with difficulties.

______________

For a new revelation, it is as often said, first you need the concepts, then the language, then you discuss, then you become accustomed, then you accept, and finally then the problem is solved.

______________

Evangelist Franklin Graham, son of American religious icon Rev. Billy Graham, has indicated God intervened in the past presidential election. Cynical critics will say, “Graham claims God hacked the election,” ecclesiastically speaking of course. This errant diatribe diminishes all, even the most devout Muslims and atheists.

______________

Want to make a million? Lays chips has a contest going to select their new chip flavor. Submit your idea by March 19. Win your bucks.

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I. I. Introduction. Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II. ...

The Lemming Instinct

In certain vital domains, a pervasive mediocrity among practitioners can stifle genuine advancement. When the intellectual output of a field is predominantly average, it inevitably produces research of corresponding quality. Nevertheless, some of these ideas, by sheer chance or perhaps through effective dissemination, will inevitably gain traction. A significant number of scholars and researchers will gravitate towards these trends, contributing to and propagating further work along these established lines. Such a trajectory allows an initially flawed concept to ascend to the status of mainstream orthodoxy. However, over an extended period, these prevailing ideas invariably fail to withstand rigorous scrutiny; they are ultimately and conclusively disproven. The disheartening pattern then reveals itself: rather than genuine progress, an equally unvalidated or incorrect idea often supplants the discredited one, swiftly establishing its own dominance. This cycle perpetuates, ensurin...

Principles of Insufficiency and Sufficiency

The principles we use but don't know it. 1. Introduction . Every field, scientific or otherwise, rests on foundational principles—think buoyancy, behavior, or democracy. Here, we explore a unique subset: principles modified by "insufficiency" and "sufficiency." While you may never have heard of them, you use them often. These terms frame principles that blend theory, practicality, and aspiration, by offering distinct perspectives. Insufficiency often implies inaction unless justified, while sufficiency suggests something exists or must be done. We’ll examine key examples and introduce a new principle with potential significance. As a principle of principles of these is that something or some action is not done enough while others may be done too much. The first six (§2-6) of our principles are in the literature, and you can easily search them online. The others are relatively new, but fit the concepts in the real world. At times, these pri...

First Blog

Search This Blog