On his 30th birthday, a man who wishes to build a time machine?

Question

On his 30th birthday, a man who wishes to build a time machine is visited by a future version of himself. This future self explains to him that he should not worry about designing the time machine, as he has done it in the future. The man receives the schematics from his future self and starts building the time machine. Time passes until he finally completes the time machine. He then uses it to travel back in time to his 30th birthday, where he gives the schematics to his past self, closing the loop.

My real question is what happens if he never tells his old self ?

also- A professor travels forward in time, and reads in a physics journal about a new equation that was recently derived. He travels back to his own time, and relates it to one of his students who writes it up, and the article is published in the same journal which the professor reads in the future.

What happens if he keeps it to himself?

Answer 1

These are both examples of time paradoxes. Physicists think the answer lies in the many worlds theory. According to this, a time traveller can never go back to his OWN past unless he met himself previously. And if he does, he can still split off a new universe from the chosen point, which may or may not rejoin the 'real' universe. A time traveller may well NEVER return home again, but be lost in alternate realities forever.

Answer 2

Assuming that time travel is achievable, then in each instance the loop is broken and never actually occurs, HOWEVER:

Another person may achieve the same scenario and recreate that same loop, or the first person might achieve the time travel but never actually tell his original self.

I ask YOU, did he really need to return in time to tell himself how to do something that was going to happen anyway?

ACTUALLY, I DID NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, BUT RETURNED FROM THE FUTURE TO TYPE OUT WHAT I DISCOVERED THAT I HAD WRITTEN.

Answer 3

Watch a few Star Trek episodes, they deal with this topic well.

Answer 4

You descibe two time paradoxes which are knots in the time stream. If you untie them, the time stream striaghtens out.

Answer 5

then time is altered and that which was supposed to take place does not so then a new path is created. there are many paths is all depends on which one u chose to take

Answer 6

The second question should answer your first question - it can't be done!