Talk:1203: Time Machines - Revision history

82.132.238.50 at 18:50, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T18:50:54Z

2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187 at 03:35, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T03:35:56Z

Bb777 at 01:08, 25 March 2025

2025-03-25T01:08:54Z

Nitpicking: physics

2021-11-09T01:12:56Z

physics

Named1.7 at 19:47, 18 December 2020

2020-12-18T19:47:29Z

Named1.7 at 19:43, 18 December 2020

2020-12-18T19:43:51Z

172.68.189.31: Bit of a flaw in the explanation . . .

2017-11-17T00:10:13Z

Bit of a flaw in the explanation . . .

162.158.255.160: My thoughts

2017-05-22T02:15:27Z

My thoughts

162.158.255.150 at 16:21, 13 March 2016

2016-03-13T16:21:35Z

Elvenivle at 15:42, 13 March 2016

2016-03-13T15:42:13Z

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	I know this is old, but I just want to pitch my idea out there: The time machine was ABOUT to actually work. Cueball flipped it off- not because time reversed to that point- but because physics didn't want an Earth-shattering paradox and just made Cueball turn it off. That's why he looks at his palms, because he's like "I didn't do that" [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187\|2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187]] 03:35, 25 March 2026 (UTC)		I know this is old, but I just want to pitch my idea out there: The time machine was ABOUT to actually work. Cueball flipped it off- not because time reversed to that point- but because physics didn't want an Earth-shattering paradox and just made Cueball turn it off. That's why he looks at his palms, because he's like "I didn't do that" [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187\|2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187]] 03:35, 25 March 2026 (UTC)
		+	:I see you subscribe to basic ontological temporal protection: i.e. that any (mis)use of time travel that would change the universe paradoxically cannot occur in the wider scope of 'block time' (or within the common past of the 'growing block' universe), thus the present must always be of a configuration that 'happens' to prevent travel to its past for it to be a viable 4D universe. (On the other hand, interactions with the past that positively reinforce the conditions of the present ''must'' always happen, at least once they "have already been going to happen" and any potential inconsistencies have settled down into a "you will always go back and do what you previously came back and did" cycle of cause and effect...) Which is as valid a viewpoint as any, without further information. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.50\|82.132.238.50]] 18:50, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

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	PARADOX ALERT!!!--[[User:Bb777\|[insert signature here]]] ([[User talk:Bb777\|talk]]) 01:08, 25 March 2025 (UTC)		PARADOX ALERT!!!--[[User:Bb777\|[insert signature here]]] ([[User talk:Bb777\|talk]]) 01:08, 25 March 2025 (UTC)
		+
		+	I know this is old, but I just want to pitch my idea out there: The time machine was ABOUT to actually work. Cueball flipped it off- not because time reversed to that point- but because physics didn't want an Earth-shattering paradox and just made Cueball turn it off. That's why he looks at his palms, because he's like "I didn't do that" [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187\|2600:1700:3CF4:1180:6C57:A298:A080:A187]] 03:35, 25 March 2026 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:08, 25 March 2025
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	. . . I think this entire explanation, while brilliant, is wrong. It's not a time TRAVEL machine, it's a time REVERSAL machine. If the machine just turned itself off, why is the countdown to activation also backwards? No, I think Stephen Hawkings' teacup just came back together. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.31\|172.68.189.31]] 00:10, 17 November 2017 (UTC)		. . . I think this entire explanation, while brilliant, is wrong. It's not a time TRAVEL machine, it's a time REVERSAL machine. If the machine just turned itself off, why is the countdown to activation also backwards? No, I think Stephen Hawkings' teacup just came back together. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.31\|172.68.189.31]] 00:10, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
		+
		+	PARADOX ALERT!!!--[[User:Bb777\|[insert signature here]]] ([[User talk:Bb777\|talk]]) 01:08, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:12, 9 November 2021
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	: Wouldn't radiation flow both ways?[[User:Named1.7\|Named1.7]] ([[User talk:Named1.7\|talk]]) 19:43, 18 December 2020 (UTC)		: Wouldn't radiation flow both ways?[[User:Named1.7\|Named1.7]] ([[User talk:Named1.7\|talk]]) 19:43, 18 December 2020 (UTC)
		+	::I believe relativistic wormholes are one-way. [[User:Nitpicking\|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking\|talk]]) 01:12, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

	A more generalized flow chart explaining the problem with time machines, assuming you get to keep moving forward: http://i4.minus.com/jqqrkqg1QKp84.png --[[User:Willowy burrito\|Willowy burrito]] ([[User talk:Willowy burrito\|talk]]) 13:17, 24 April 2013 (UTC)		A more generalized flow chart explaining the problem with time machines, assuming you get to keep moving forward: http://i4.minus.com/jqqrkqg1QKp84.png --[[User:Willowy burrito\|Willowy burrito]] ([[User talk:Willowy burrito\|talk]]) 13:17, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

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		+	It could be used to see the immediate future.[[User:Named1.7\|Named1.7]] ([[User talk:Named1.7\|talk]]) 19:47, 18 December 2020 (UTC)
		+
	I was thinking that the time machine made time continue at normal speed. It makes you travel through time, but at one second per second.		I was thinking that the time machine made time continue at normal speed. It makes you travel through time, but at one second per second.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:43, 18 December 2020
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	:The wormhole itself does not need to amplify the energy, because it isn't a closed system; more enrgy is being added to it. Interestingly though, this leads to another problem: creating a time machine portal would quite lossibly lead to the instantaneous heat death of the universe. Here is the problem: the instant the portal is opened, radiation moves through. When it comes out in the past, it fractionally increases the total energy in the universe. Logically, after the time until the wormhole is created, the energy will spread out enough that there is at least a chance that the radiation passing through the wormhole will be slightly increased. This causes ian infinite loop, or at least a loop that so dramatically changes the earth that the time machine is no longer created. [[User:Athang\|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang\|talk]]) 22:54, 6 May 2014 (UTC)		:The wormhole itself does not need to amplify the energy, because it isn't a closed system; more enrgy is being added to it. Interestingly though, this leads to another problem: creating a time machine portal would quite lossibly lead to the instantaneous heat death of the universe. Here is the problem: the instant the portal is opened, radiation moves through. When it comes out in the past, it fractionally increases the total energy in the universe. Logically, after the time until the wormhole is created, the energy will spread out enough that there is at least a chance that the radiation passing through the wormhole will be slightly increased. This causes ian infinite loop, or at least a loop that so dramatically changes the earth that the time machine is no longer created. [[User:Athang\|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang\|talk]]) 22:54, 6 May 2014 (UTC)
		+
		+	: Wouldn't radiation flow both ways?[[User:Named1.7\|Named1.7]] ([[User talk:Named1.7\|talk]]) 19:43, 18 December 2020 (UTC)

	A more generalized flow chart explaining the problem with time machines, assuming you get to keep moving forward: http://i4.minus.com/jqqrkqg1QKp84.png --[[User:Willowy burrito\|Willowy burrito]] ([[User talk:Willowy burrito\|talk]]) 13:17, 24 April 2013 (UTC)		A more generalized flow chart explaining the problem with time machines, assuming you get to keep moving forward: http://i4.minus.com/jqqrkqg1QKp84.png --[[User:Willowy burrito\|Willowy burrito]] ([[User talk:Willowy burrito\|talk]]) 13:17, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:10, 17 November 2017
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	As pointed out above, the outlet changed (but we and Cueball are observers outside the system). It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. It's a "nominal" thing to do because the system should continue operating "normally" even if the details aren't "exact". But at least 3 other physical things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow sound to change as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel: First, there's Cueball's hand positions. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom", explaining his puzzled response. Gravity's "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. Also the outlet's cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" countdowns revert to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except here the comic starts at T-10s and then go up, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s; maybe magnitude^2 plays a part here). I think there's an additional joke in "E" (Energy/natural log, or maybe just that its volume curve inverts) but the main message in this comic is that a "nominal" change to a labeling system has had physical effects; like a universal force flipping around because we decided to flip our butterfly's measurements. The question you have to ask then is: from the perspective of anyone who stayed in-system, did anything change? The problem (or even horror) may simply be that by fixing the system for everyone except you, the problem stays the same for them while lots of little things have changed for you; and non-trivially: Cueball is the only one who knows. [[User:Elvenivle\|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle\|talk]]) 15:42, 13 March 2016 (UTC)		As pointed out above, the outlet changed (but we and Cueball are observers outside the system). It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. It's a "nominal" thing to do because the system should continue operating "normally" even if the details aren't "exact". But at least 3 other physical things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow sound to change as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel: First, there's Cueball's hand positions. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom", explaining his puzzled response. Gravity's "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. Also the outlet's cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" countdowns revert to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except here the comic starts at T-10s and then go up, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s; maybe magnitude^2 plays a part here). I think there's an additional joke in "E" (Energy/natural log, or maybe just that its volume curve inverts) but the main message in this comic is that a "nominal" change to a labeling system has had physical effects; like a universal force flipping around because we decided to flip our butterfly's measurements. The question you have to ask then is: from the perspective of anyone who stayed in-system, did anything change? The problem (or even horror) may simply be that by fixing the system for everyone except you, the problem stays the same for them while lots of little things have changed for you; and non-trivially: Cueball is the only one who knows. [[User:Elvenivle\|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle\|talk]]) 15:42, 13 March 2016 (UTC)
		+
		+	. . . I think this entire explanation, while brilliant, is wrong. It's not a time TRAVEL machine, it's a time REVERSAL machine. If the machine just turned itself off, why is the countdown to activation also backwards? No, I think Stephen Hawkings' teacup just came back together. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.31\|172.68.189.31]] 00:10, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

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		+	I was thinking that the time machine made time continue at normal speed. It makes you travel through time, but at one second per second.
		+
	This one kinda went over my head; the explanation is the best I could come up with. [[User:Alpha\|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha\|talk]]) 05:00, 24 April 2013 (UTC)		This one kinda went over my head; the explanation is the best I could come up with. [[User:Alpha\|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha\|talk]]) 05:00, 24 April 2013 (UTC)
	:Examine the transcript and Cueball's movement in the second and third panel. The time machine in this comic is a time-reversing one, not a time jumping one. '''[[User:Davidy22\|<u>{{Color\|#707\|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22\|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:13, 24 April 2013 (UTC)		:Examine the transcript and Cueball's movement in the second and third panel. The time machine in this comic is a time-reversing one, not a time jumping one. '''[[User:Davidy22\|<u>{{Color\|#707\|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22\|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:13, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:21, 13 March 2016
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	I thought perhaps that the idea was that when he flips on the time machine, time does proceed, but at normal speed. Therefore, the "time machine" is just a box with a lever on it that does nothing. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.54.79}}		I thought perhaps that the idea was that when he flips on the time machine, time does proceed, but at normal speed. Therefore, the "time machine" is just a box with a lever on it that does nothing. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.54.79}}

−	As pointed out above, the outlet changed. It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. At least 3 other things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow ~~the~~ sound to change ~~when the switch leaves whichever position it was in (~~as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel): First, there's Cueball's hand ~~position~~. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom" ~~which would explain~~ his puzzled response. Gravity "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. ~~The~~ outlet's ~~already been mentioned but the~~ cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" ~~the countdown reverts~~ to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except ~~this~~ starts at 10s and ~~perhaps in the opposite direction expected~~, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s)~~. These are all "nominal" changes, but the problem with "nominal" is that within a "named tolerance" is approximate but not exact~~. I think there's an additional joke in "E" (its ~~deliberate use and how it changes~~) but the ~~point~~ is~~: These are the uncertainties we file under~~ "~~negligible~~" in a butterfly's ~~wings~~. [[User:Elvenivle\|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle\|talk]]) 15:42, 13 March 2016 (UTC)	+	As pointed out above, the outlet changed (but we and Cueball are observers outside the system). It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. It's a "nominal" thing to do because the system should continue operating "normally" even if the details aren't "exact". But at least 3 other physical things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow sound to change as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel: First, there's Cueball's hand positions. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom", explaining his puzzled response. Gravity's "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. Also the outlet's cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" countdowns revert to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except here the comic starts at T-10s and then go up, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s; maybe magnitude^2 plays a part here). I think there's an additional joke in "E" (Energy/natural log, or maybe just that its volume curve inverts) but the main message in this comic is that a "nominal" change to a labeling system has had physical effects; like a universal force flipping around because we decided to flip our butterfly's measurements. The question you have to ask then is: from the perspective of anyone who stayed in-system, did anything change? The problem (or even horror) may simply be that by fixing the system for everyone except you, the problem stays the same for them while lots of little things have changed for you; and non-trivially: Cueball is the only one who knows. [[User:Elvenivle\|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle\|talk]]) 15:42, 13 March 2016 (UTC)

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	I thought perhaps that the idea was that when he flips on the time machine, time does proceed, but at normal speed. Therefore, the "time machine" is just a box with a lever on it that does nothing. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.54.79}}		I thought perhaps that the idea was that when he flips on the time machine, time does proceed, but at normal speed. Therefore, the "time machine" is just a box with a lever on it that does nothing. {{unsigned ip\|173.245.54.79}}

−	As pointed out above, the outlet changed. It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. At least 3 other things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow the sound to change when the switch leaves whichever position it was in (as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel): First, there's Cueball's hand position. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom" which would explain his puzzled response. Gravity "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. The outlet's already been mentioned but the cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" the countdown reverts to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except this starts at 10s and perhaps in the opposite direction expected, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s). These are all "nominal" changes, but the problem with "nominal" is that within a "named tolerance" is approximate but not exact. I think there's an additional joke in "E" (its deliberate use and how it changes) but the point is: These are the uncertainties we file under "negligible" in a butterfly's wings.	+	As pointed out above, the outlet changed. It appears to be a hint that the time traveler went back to "correct" [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/567:_Urgent_Mission Benjamin Franklin (567: Urgent Mission)], hence the power change. At least 3 other things changed, if we assume the switch travel was around 1 second and allow the sound to change when the switch leaves whichever position it was in (as if there's a small switch for windup/down when it begins travel): First, there's Cueball's hand position. He actually appears to be "pulling" the lever down from the "bottom" which would explain his puzzled response. Gravity "work" is now in the opposite +/- direction. The outlet's already been mentioned but the cuts look like a "+" to me (instead of parallel slots as they are in the United States). Next, when NASA exceeds "0 seconds" the countdown reverts to a countup ("T+1 second and counting"). Except this starts at 10s and perhaps in the opposite direction expected, which implies (assuming Cueball is approximately 6 feet tall - or 1 meter) that the equation for acceleration due to gravity has been flipped (instead of 9.82m/s^2 ... travel of one meter equates to approximately 10s). These are all "nominal" changes, but the problem with "nominal" is that within a "named tolerance" is approximate but not exact. I think there's an additional joke in "E" (its deliberate use and how it changes) but the point is: These are the uncertainties we file under "negligible" in a butterfly's wings. [[User:Elvenivle\|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle\|talk]]) 15:42, 13 March 2016 (UTC)