Many possible futures, but only one past?

Discussion in 'Pseudoscience' started by Secret, Jan 22, 2013.

  1. Secret Registered Senior Member

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    Reading some time travel stories which caused me to think about the issue of time again.

    [Below has nothing about time travel]
    We often heard that the future is unknown or not fixed, while the past is permanent.
    For example
    From some threads around the forum in the physics section, some mentioned about that the things we saw is a fraction of a second in the past.

    In quantum mechanics, there is something known as the Many Worlds Interpretation, which (If I recalled properly) that for every event, the universes splits into many and each of these represent the various different outcomes and that they cannot interact with each other (because of something known as quantum decoherence, which I'm not really that familiar)

    My question is, since in the perspective of a more distant past, what we known as 'past' is the future. If there are multiple possible futures, why there cannot be multiple possible past leading to the same future or present?

    In short: Why we only observe one past, but not mutiple in both directions?
     
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  3. wellwisher Banned Banned

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    If you look at liberalism, changing history or the past, to create many pasts, is done all the time. This is based on subjectivity. For example, all whites are responsible for slavery, even if a white person was not born at the time of slavery, was born in a place where there was no slavery, or had nothing to do with slavery. The new liberal past seems to define all whites as transcending space and time, so even if the facts show you were not there, there is this magic connection. With magic this is possible.

    In an objective world of science, there can only be one past, because the past facts and choices can be fully defined by the present, while the future can not be fully defined by the present, since there are unknown variables and choices.
     
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  5. UFG Registered Member

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    Perhaps nothing besides the moment can be endowed with certainty. An understanding of 'a particular' past is only reached through a consensus. That consensus does not have the certainty of the moment. Perhaps our linear concept of connected moments is not a certainty.
     
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  7. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    There are. It's just that from OUR perspective there is only one past. There are an infinite number of them, just as there are an infinite number of futures.

    However, those pasts are not necessarily causally connected to our present, just as many futures cannot be causally connected to our present.
     
  8. Manuel.Dolorica Registered Member

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    Whatever happens next is the future. Whatever happened already is the past. Possibilities are just like predictions. Ideas of what could happen. But in one person's lifetime, there's only one past and one future. But just like you could say, "I could either watch a movie later or go out," you could also say, "I could've gone out, but instead I stayed home and watched a movie." One could only say something was supposed to happen if it already happened. You can say your supposed to do something, but you can't really be certain until you've done it.

    Even in a different life, which one could say a parallel universe, there's only one past and one future for each lifetime.

    But then again, yes, there are many POSSIBLE futures. And since past could be determined since it already happened, it's just impossible to say that there are many possible pasts. Not unless saying, "It is possible," is the same as, "It was possible," then one could argue that there are also many possible pasts. Regardless, there's only one future and one past.

    Time travel is a different story, though.

    Not an expert--just giving my opinion on what I think about the matter.
     
  9. andy1033 Truth Seeker Valued Senior Member

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    I like the way you put that.
     
  10. rr6 Banned Banned

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    Only One Possible Future

    If we live in a causal/deterministic Universe, then there is there is always only one possible future.

    I believe we live in a causal/deterministic Universe.

    The basis or essence of the extreme set of complexity is gravitational and even human could access gravitons, they woul never be able to comprehend the immense set of complex interrelationships that exist within any time period. imho.

    Chaos/disorder is only the inability of human mind to known and discern the underlying order of Universe and even more so of ultra-micro ergo ultra-huge and ultra-complex set of interrelationships.

    There is only order/causation/determinism and the inability to find that order.

    r6
     
  11. andy1033 Truth Seeker Valued Senior Member

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    Its like the saying goes, there is no real time, and everything happens at the same time, we just use time to relate to it.
     
  12. AlexG Like nailing Jello to a tree Valued Senior Member

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    That's a saying? You mean you said it.
     

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