Time Travel Tweet

Xyzzy · 2019-03-01, 16:05

Pretend that you can send (only!) 140 characters of information to any person in the past.

What information will you send? Who will you send it to? What do you hope to accomplish?

ATH · 2019-03-01, 16:53

Something like:
"TerrorAttack: 9/11/2001 STOP Hijacking of AA Flight11+175+77+UA Flight93. Targeting WTC,NY + Pentagon"

There is room for a bit more information, not sure what else to write. Send it to director of the FBI maybe? or CIA? Not sure which is best, I do not live in the US.

Another selfish idea is to send the winning lottery numbers and date of a huge jackpot to your self.

ixfd64 · 2019-03-01, 20:08

Can the target date be any point in time, or only after Twitter was launched?

Xyzzy · 2019-03-01, 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by ixfd64

Can the target date be any point in time, or only after Twitter was launched?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

…to any person in the past.

Challenge: Who can compose a message that impacts (in a good way) the lives of the most people possible? (Maybe something along the lines of proper hand washing?)

Mark Rose · 2019-03-01, 20:49

Don't shoot Franz Ferdinand.

retina · 2019-03-01, 21:03

If I could send information to anyone in the past I wouldn't waste it on trying to "save the world". That wouldn't work anyway. Who would believe a random message from someone claiming to be from the future? We see the crackpots now that try to warn us of impending doom. Some of them are right, most of them are wrong. And those outcomes are just the expected statistical outcomes, so nothing special about being right unless someone is consistently right over and over again. Which no one is, of course.

No. Instead I would just send myself a list of dates and numbers. Probably lottery numbers would give the most return for the 140 characters. Naturally I'd be sceptical for the first set of numbers and buy maybe one ticket just to prove it was all nonsense. Then after winning I'd be all in for the next to make sure to minimise sharing with others who picked the same numbers.

Then what? Fire all the minions and live the easy life I guess. If only.

rudy235 · 2019-03-01, 21:38

To Joe Liouville:
Kidnap Évariste Galois at 3am Sat. May 31st. Make sure to pick up his papers. Use force if needed but treat him well Keep him for at least 15 days.

To G.H. Hardy January 2017:
Ramanujan prob. Hepatic Amoebiasis treatable w/ EMETIC DRUG. Contact Sir Patrick Manson & TROPICAL DISEASE world specialists Bring R’s wife

To Jakie Kennedy on November 15, 1963:
Jackie, Don't do Dallas. Avoid Dealey Plaza like the Plague. If ever meet a Greek Ari Onassis kick him hard in the balls and don't look back

I think they would probably believe me. A) The messages have enough info that is not readily available.
a.1 Galois was known to be a troublemaker so they would know he could be in real danger and he already was a genius at his tender age.

a.2 Hardy knew of Ramanujan frail health and was really invested in saving him but he deferred to so-called specialists who thought he had Tuberculosis. But as Dr. House would say; a good diagnostic is 98% of the whole thing. The wife would have been a lot of help too in preparing his strict vegetarian diet.

a.3 Jackie would have easily verified the JFK route (which was held secret at the time) included going to Dealey Plaza. The Secret Service would have changed the route put a hard top on the convertible and closed any building around the new route. Ari O. was a sleazeball and she would have probably not met him. But just in case.

rudy235 · 2019-03-01, 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Challenge: Who can compose a message that impacts (in a good way) the lives of the most people possible? (Maybe something along the lines of proper hand washing?)

The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more than World War I, WWI killed more than WWII
However, WWII heralded the Space Age and the widespread use of antibiotics. No WWI, no WWII, no RADAR, no satellites, no GPS, no GOOGLE. No peaceful Atomic Energy, no Computer Tomography, no MRI,

So, I guess we could try to minimize the effects of the Flu Pandemic of 1918 but I really do not see quite how it could have been done. Perhaps preventing WWI would have helped to limit the scope of the pandemic but…who knows what other effects (potentially worse ones) would/could have happened. See the concept of Psychohistory in Asimov Foundation Series.

ET_ · 2019-03-02, 09:24

AFAIK, there is a "Law for conservation of the reality" that can't be broken.
Hawking said that a red marble pushing a white marble into a wormhole can't be moved from its initial position by the white marble coming out of the wormhole some time before to avoid it pushing the white marble into the wormhole.

That said, I think that any message sent to the past would have its effects mitigated in such a way that the actual reality can't be modified.

My message would probably be "So long, and thanks for all the fish" to Douglas Adams.

kriesel · 2019-07-22, 21:24

To US Pacific Fleet Commander, ~Dec 3 1941:

Quote:

Fleet leave Pearl heading NW 12/6/41 on high alert. Japanese air attack 12/7/41. Trust RADAR 0700!
Buy xxxx Kriesel 100 shares Haloid Corp.

To save thousands of lives immediately, many more by shortening the war, and what he could do in thanks for the warning.

Mysticial · 2019-07-22, 21:41

A lot of parallels with the "D-mails" from the Steins;Gate Anime series.

2019-03-01, 16:05	#1
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 20040₈ Posts	Time Travel Tweet Pretend that you can send (only!) 140 characters of information to any person in the past. What information will you send? Who will you send it to? What do you hope to accomplish?

2019-03-02, 09:24	#9
ET_ Banned "Luigi" Aug 2002 Team Italia 3²·5·107 Posts	AFAIK, there is a "Law for conservation of the reality" that can't be broken. Hawking said that a red marble pushing a white marble into a wormhole can't be moved from its initial position by the white marble coming out of the wormhole some time before to avoid it pushing the white marble into the wormhole. That said, I think that any message sent to the past would have its effects mitigated in such a way that the actual reality can't be modified. My message would probably be "So long, and thanks for all the fish" to Douglas Adams. Last fiddled with by ET_ on 2019-03-02 at 09:25

2019-07-22, 21:41	#11
Mysticial Sep 2016 14C₁₆ Posts	A lot of parallels with the "D-mails" from the Steins;Gate Anime series. Last fiddled with by Mysticial on 2019-07-22 at 21:44

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2019-03-01, 16:53	#2
ATH Einyen Dec 2003 Denmark 110001010111₂ Posts	Something like: "TerrorAttack: 9/11/2001 STOP Hijacking of AA Flight11+175+77+UA Flight93. Targeting WTC,NY + Pentagon" There is room for a bit more information, not sure what else to write. Send it to director of the FBI maybe? or CIA? Not sure which is best, I do not live in the US. Another selfish idea is to send the winning lottery numbers and date of a huge jackpot to your self.

2019-03-01, 20:08	#3
ixfd64 Bemusing Prompter "Danny" Dec 2002 California 2×5×239 Posts	Can the target date be any point in time, or only after Twitter was launched?

2019-03-01, 20:49	#5
Mark Rose "/X\(‘-‘)/X\" Jan 2013 2²×733 Posts	Don't shoot Franz Ferdinand.

2019-03-01, 21:03	#6
retina Undefined "The unspeakable one" Jun 2006 My evil lair 6196₁₀ Posts	If I could send information to anyone in the past I wouldn't waste it on trying to "save the world". That wouldn't work anyway. Who would believe a random message from someone claiming to be from the future? We see the crackpots now that try to warn us of impending doom. Some of them are right, most of them are wrong. And those outcomes are just the expected statistical outcomes, so nothing special about being right unless someone is consistently right over and over again. Which no one is, of course. No. Instead I would just send myself a list of dates and numbers. Probably lottery numbers would give the most return for the 140 characters. Naturally I'd be sceptical for the first set of numbers and buy maybe one ticket just to prove it was all nonsense. Then after winning I'd be all in for the next to make sure to minimise sharing with others who picked the same numbers. Then what? Fire all the minions and live the easy life I guess. If only.

2019-03-01, 21:38	#7
rudy235 Jun 2015 Vallejo, CA/. 1111100010₂ Posts	To Joe Liouville: Kidnap Évariste Galois at 3am Sat. May 31st. Make sure to pick up his papers. Use force if needed but treat him well Keep him for at least 15 days. To G.H. Hardy January 2017: Ramanujan prob. Hepatic Amoebiasis treatable w/ EMETIC DRUG. Contact Sir Patrick Manson & TROPICAL DISEASE world specialists Bring R’s wife To Jakie Kennedy on November 15, 1963: Jackie, Don't do Dallas. Avoid Dealey Plaza like the Plague. If ever meet a Greek Ari Onassis kick him hard in the balls and don't look back I think they would probably believe me. A) The messages have enough info that is not readily available. a.1 Galois was known to be a troublemaker so they would know he could be in real danger and he already was a genius at his tender age. a.2 Hardy knew of Ramanujan frail health and was really invested in saving him but he deferred to so-called specialists who thought he had Tuberculosis. But as Dr. House would say; a good diagnostic is 98% of the whole thing. The wife would have been a lot of help too in preparing his strict vegetarian diet. a.3 Jackie would have easily verified the JFK route (which was held secret at the time) included going to Dealey Plaza. The Secret Service would have changed the route put a hard top on the convertible and closed any building around the new route. Ari O. was a sleazeball and she would have probably not met him. But just in case.