This is a test I've been meaning to do for a while.
This is essentially what Stephen Hawking did with his Time Traveler party. I came up with the idea before I heard of it, though. Also, I think announcing the results to the world is an unnecessary variable in this case.
The goal is to eliminate any reason besides "self-communication" for a "future you" not to contact you.
Requirement: You must be willing to store the data from this experiment for the rest of your life, even though it will probably be a failure.
Procedure:
1. Select a spot(Location 1) inside a building with at least two entrances.
2. Select a second spot(Location 2), such as your car in the parking lot, that another person could access without your hearing from the first spot. Make sure this person does not need to walk past you in order to reach the location.
3. Note the exact location of Location 2. Include relative location (address, details) and absolute location (GPS coordinates). Take these notes on a written piece of paper and on a computer.
4. Find a blank piece of paper and place it in Location 2. Make sure no other papers are in the vicinity.
4. Return to your original spot. Upon arriving, note the time (Time 0).
5. Ask 2 people around you or call other people if necessary to triple-check the time.
6. You will wait 15 minutes. During this time, calculate the five minute time period that is in the middle of the begin and end of 15 minutes. For example, if your noted Time 0 at 5:00 and waited until 5:15, your calculation is "5:05 to 5:10".
7. Make sure to note the date of your experiment as well.
8. Promise yourself you will store the paper copy of your experiment notes for as long as you possibly can.
9. Do at least 3 of the following:
-Email yourself the data from this experiment
-Store the data on a private server of some kind such as shell space
-Save the data on your hard drive
-Save the data on a USB drive
-Post the data on this forum thread
10. Promise yourself that if you ever invent or participate in time travel, that you will, unless doing so damages the fabric of time/etc., write something on the piece of paper in Location 2 during the 5 minute period noted.
11. Promise yourself that you will always remember this information insofar as you remain confident you will remember this experiment if you ever discover time travel.
12. Once the 15 minute period is over, return to Location 2 and see if there are any markings on the previously empty piece of paper.
Implications:
You likely found that the paper remained blank. This could be because time travel does not exist or that you will note personally participate, or that there is in fact some cosmic danger in visiting yourself in the past.
However, if you are someone who is determined to eventually time travel or is confident you will, you may not have to feel disappointed with a negative result.
In my little theory of time travel, any paradoxes of cause and effect are irrelevant. If a future you time traveled to the present, there would be a "first" version of reality in which your present self does not notice this - and in the experiment would not receive a letter on the paper. Once you discover and use time travel, a second version of reality overwrites the first and you suddenly have an easier time of it with a future self giving you the guidance to pursue your pursuits. While your future is different than Future You's past, Future You remembers his past/non-existent future because he/she is present during the overwriting of time.
Comments? Thoughts? Space/timestamps?
This is essentially what Stephen Hawking did with his Time Traveler party. I came up with the idea before I heard of it, though. Also, I think announcing the results to the world is an unnecessary variable in this case.
The goal is to eliminate any reason besides "self-communication" for a "future you" not to contact you.
Requirement: You must be willing to store the data from this experiment for the rest of your life, even though it will probably be a failure.
Procedure:
1. Select a spot(Location 1) inside a building with at least two entrances.
2. Select a second spot(Location 2), such as your car in the parking lot, that another person could access without your hearing from the first spot. Make sure this person does not need to walk past you in order to reach the location.
3. Note the exact location of Location 2. Include relative location (address, details) and absolute location (GPS coordinates). Take these notes on a written piece of paper and on a computer.
4. Find a blank piece of paper and place it in Location 2. Make sure no other papers are in the vicinity.
4. Return to your original spot. Upon arriving, note the time (Time 0).
5. Ask 2 people around you or call other people if necessary to triple-check the time.
6. You will wait 15 minutes. During this time, calculate the five minute time period that is in the middle of the begin and end of 15 minutes. For example, if your noted Time 0 at 5:00 and waited until 5:15, your calculation is "5:05 to 5:10".
7. Make sure to note the date of your experiment as well.
8. Promise yourself you will store the paper copy of your experiment notes for as long as you possibly can.
9. Do at least 3 of the following:
-Email yourself the data from this experiment
-Store the data on a private server of some kind such as shell space
-Save the data on your hard drive
-Save the data on a USB drive
-Post the data on this forum thread
10. Promise yourself that if you ever invent or participate in time travel, that you will, unless doing so damages the fabric of time/etc., write something on the piece of paper in Location 2 during the 5 minute period noted.
11. Promise yourself that you will always remember this information insofar as you remain confident you will remember this experiment if you ever discover time travel.
12. Once the 15 minute period is over, return to Location 2 and see if there are any markings on the previously empty piece of paper.
Implications:
You likely found that the paper remained blank. This could be because time travel does not exist or that you will note personally participate, or that there is in fact some cosmic danger in visiting yourself in the past.
However, if you are someone who is determined to eventually time travel or is confident you will, you may not have to feel disappointed with a negative result.
In my little theory of time travel, any paradoxes of cause and effect are irrelevant. If a future you time traveled to the present, there would be a "first" version of reality in which your present self does not notice this - and in the experiment would not receive a letter on the paper. Once you discover and use time travel, a second version of reality overwrites the first and you suddenly have an easier time of it with a future self giving you the guidance to pursue your pursuits. While your future is different than Future You's past, Future You remembers his past/non-existent future because he/she is present during the overwriting of time.
Comments? Thoughts? Space/timestamps?