(ORDO NEWS) — It is generally accepted that travel to the past is impossible, at least because of the “grandfather paradox” – a hypothetical situation in which the time traveler goes back in time and kills his grandfather, which leads to the fact that the traveler is not born.
However, scientist Tim Maudlin believes that the “grandfather paradox” only creates restrictions for temporary travelers, but does not exclude the possibility of such travel in itself. Popular Mechanics writes about it.
Classic sci-fi plot – someone travels to the past and does something there that leads to catastrophic consequences for the present. The Grandpa Paradox is one example of such a plot.
Tim Maudlin, philosopher of science, researcher of the metaphysical foundations of physics and logic, tried to understand the “grandfather paradox”, and to understand whether this idea interferes with time travel to the past.
“If you could go back to the past, where your grandfather had no children yet, and kill him, then your parents would not have been born, so you yourself would not have been born either.
There would be no one to go back to the past and kill grandfather.
Before us is a logical a contradiction that many people believe makes the very idea of traveling into the past impossible,” Maudlin said.
Time travel, as the scientist added, contradicts the fundamental idea of causality, if considered only in the context of the “grandfather paradox”. However, Maudlin believes that the paradox still does not prevent travel into the past by itself.
“The paradox just creates some restrictions. You should not kill your grandfather if you meet him in the past, that’s all,” the philosopher concluded.
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