While I’ve written about the science and philosophy of time, including in past posts, time travel doesn't particularly fascinate me. I find the idea of humans traveling through time, like in Doctor Who, highly improbable, if not impossible.
The concept of a time machine is a compelling plot device and metaphor in fiction. It introduces intriguing philosophical questions and insights into human nature, psychology, and the essence of existence. While there are some scientific theories and experiments involving subatomic particles potentially jumping back fractions of a second, I regard time travel akin to Doctor Who as mere speculation.
We all experience time travel in a sense. I've lived through the years 1975 and 1987 and will witness future years. However, most people's idea of time travel involves experiencing time in ways beyond normal human limits, such as living far beyond a typical lifespan, jumping back and forth through time, or experiencing time at abnormal speeds.
People can and do experience forward time in unusual ways. Through drug use or prolonged sleep, individuals can psychologically skip periods. Unconscious individuals wake up in the future, having missed chunks of time. Modern medicine allows people to live longer, meaning they experience more time. The story of Rip Van Winkle, about a man who sleeps for years, isn't entirely far-fetched as medical advancements progress.
Einstein's theory of relativity suggests it's theoretically possible to experience time differently, though the idea of humans traveling at the speed of light in a spaceship is unlikely.
Even without direct time travel, people experience echoes or artifacts of time. Reading history, visiting ancient buildings, or looking at old diaries and photos allows us to, in a sense, experience the past. Revisiting a childhood room can evoke past emotions, providing a rush of memories.
We can gain new insights and knowledge about the past that influence our present and future. While we can't change the past, we can alter our perception and understanding of it, thereby impacting our current and future actions.
Predictions, including scientific ones, can sometimes foresee the future. Computer programs can model how humans will age or how diseases will progress. Financial projections and schedules can show future wealth and spending potential. Learning about our medical histories can predict our health to some extent. These predictions, however, aren't firsthand experiences and differ from actual experiences.
Time travel, especially backward time travel, is riddled with paradoxes that lead many to conclude it's impossible. One famous paradox involves going back in time to assassinate your grandfather, which would prevent your birth and thus the assassination attempt. There's also the problem of duality: if you went back in time, would there be two versions of you?
Changing the past without affecting the future is another paradox. If you change the past, it alters your future motivations and actions. Our desire to change past hurts is often motivated by our current state, which would change if the past were altered. If a future version of you could invent a time machine to change your current past, why haven't those bad things been fixed already? Perhaps you never invent the machine, or you do but choose not to use it.
Humans are limited by speed. We don't have enough time because we're slow. Technology, however, is closing this gap. Faster travel and communication allow us to do more in our lives. The world is smaller, and we can achieve more within our lifetimes.
Humans can't change the past. The closest we can come is changing the present, which becomes the past a moment later. By changing the now, we also change the future. These are our true powers, not time machines.
Discussing time travel highlights human aspirations and limitations. We desire immortality, to avoid aging, and to escape past regrets. Contemplating time travel confronts us with our limitations and the paradoxes of our existence. It underscores the gap between our desires and capabilities.
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Time travel in fiction
Time travel is a popular theme in fiction, often serving as a metaphor for human psychology and aspirations. Picasso said, "Art is a lie that shows us the truth." Similarly, fictional time travel reveals much about human nature, including our psychology, hopes, dreams, and yearnings.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" uses time travel metaphorically. Scrooge sees past and future scenes as if through pictures or diaries, symbolizing memory and contemplation. These visions lead to self-awareness and change his future actions.
Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is an early time travel story. The protagonist's journey back in time changes the future, though it's framed as a possible dream following a head injury.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining fascinates me as a unique exploration of time travel. The story centers on a family spending the winter at an isolated hotel, where the young boy, Danny, has psychic visions of both the past and the future. The hotel's cook, Hallorann, shares this psychic ability and recognizes it in Danny.
Hallorann explains to Danny that they don’t see the past and future directly but rather traces of them. He says, “Well, you know … when something happens, it can leave a trace of itself behind. Say like, if someone burns toast. Well, maybe things that happen leave other kinds of traces behind. Not things that anyone can notice, but things that people who ‘shine’ can see. Just like they can see things that haven’t happened yet.” Instead of actual time travel, they perceive remnants and echoes of past events. As "shiners," they have a heightened ability to discern these details that others miss.
The film is complex and ambiguous, presenting numerous geographical and narrative impossibilities. Some viewers interpret the entire story as a dream of Danny’s mentally ill father, played by Jack Nicholson, suggesting the movie is actually about mental illness.
There is also the debate over the accuracy of Danny’s visions of impending horror and violence. His father knew about a past murder at the hotel, information Danny might have picked up on, and Danny’s premonitions may reflect his awareness of his father's volatile nature. The movie hints that Danny’s father had previously been violent towards him, and his premonitions might be akin to anyone's bad dreams based on past trauma and intuition. Ultimately, Danny and his mother escape their homicidal father, and the feared violence never fully materializes.
The film’s final image shows a mysterious photograph from 1921 showing a figure resembling Jack Nicholson. The Shining is a puzzle within a puzzle, much like the ending of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, which some interpret as the deathbed dream of Travis Bickle—a speculative reality.