Okay.
So it has been quite some time since I have written anything to this blog. The main reason for the lack of writing was that, especially as the year 2015 rapidly approached, more and more Back to the Future references and memes and hidden Easter eggs and fan theories started getting around on the Internet. I found that most (if not all) of the theories found on this blog were not nearly as unique as I thought they were when I began formulating them and writing them down years ago. And mine weren't the ones being used as clickbait on Buzzfeed. In my own eyes, I was the unknown kid who came late to the party and looked like I just copied everyone else's style.
I haven't given it up entirely. Ask my coworkers and they will let you know I am still the go-to guy for Back to the Future knowledge. And some will even warn others to not get me started talking about it. A coworker asked me this week what I was going to do to celebrate "Back to the Future Day" and if I was going to dress up or anything. Sadly, I told her no.
And here's why: I think I'm mourning the loss of a future we never got.
As I write this, today is Wednesday, October 21, 2015. At 4:29pm, Marty McFly, his girlfriend Jennifer, and Doc Brown arrive in the DeLorean time machine above Hill Valley, California. In this future, flying cars are common as hover conversions are relatively affordable. This future also has hoverboards, magnetic shoe laces, holographic theater marquees, and self-drying/self-fitting clothing among a host of other futuristic things.
Some things from this future we do have in ours: wall-mounted flatscreen TVs with a ridiculous amount of channels, VR goggles like the Oculus Rift, camera enabled flying drones (although mostly personal - not necessarily used by news agencies for reporting), personal ID entry doors (Bluetooth enabled rather than fingerprint), videogames where you don't use your hands (Xbox Kinect and arcade games like Fruit Ninja), video phone calls like Skype and Face Time, Major League baseball teams in Florida (although neither is actually named Florida - the Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins in 2011), this whole Cubs being in the World Series thing (that sets the up the plot with the Sports Almanac as the MacGuffin), and obviously their love of 1980s pop culture nostalgia. Oh, and bullying is still a problem.
Some things were inspired by this fictional future: Nike's Air Mags and Pepsi Perfect are actual items you can buy. And several companies are trying their hand at developing hoverboard technologies. But it's definitely not the same.
I remember the 1980s as a sad time. I had fun as a kid, don't get me wrong, but I knew there was a Cold War stalemate going on and the future was certainly unclear. In the '80s, movies depicting the future took inspiration from this uncertainty and were dark or scary. Blade Runner, The Road Warrior, The Running Man, Escape From New York, The Terminator - ones where governments either collapsed or took over completely and the Sun never shines unless you're in a nuclear wasteland. But there was one movie that was stupidly optimistic. Back to the Future II depicted a government that operates swiftly, but efficiently, and you know exactly when the rain will stop and the Sun will come out. It also, technically, had those horrifying, lawless, collapsed government, societal breakdown anarchy scenes, but that was in an alternate 1985 - their present - not their future.
It was something to look forward to. Exciting, in a way, even though it was completely made up in a fictional universe. A far more enlightening future than the dark, war torn futures of other movies of the time. And it was more realistic than a dark future, which was a breath of fresh air.
And I think that is why, aside from all the '80s nostalgia it invokes, this film is being celebrated today. Were people as excited anticipating Judgment Day on August 29, 1997 (later postponed until July 25, 2004 and then again later postponed until sometime in 2017) as revealed in the Terminator films? I don't believe so (we'll see about the last one in a couple years, but I doubt it.)
The 2015 of Part II was bright and sunny (after the rain stopped), technology moved society outward rather than withdrawn in, and people were seen having fun and acting (relatively) normal. As a child, I remember thinking this was actually kind of realistic. The people living in that 2015 were just like us living in 1989, but they had futuristic stuff - just like we did if someone was looking at us from the 1950s. People living in the 1950s also had the Cold War looming over their heads, but nothing drastic ever happened, just like us in the 1980s. Sure, our technology was far more advanced, our clothing style was unusual , our automobiles were oddly shaped, our TVs had color and more than three channels, and we had new kinds of Pepsi but we were still the same society as 30 years before. We still wore blue jeans and jackets, drove cars, rode boards of one kind or another, watched TV, drank Pepsi, got bullied, read news articles, and lived in the suburbs just like our 1955 (and 2015) counterparts did/will.
So maybe I shouldn't mourn a future we didn't get. After all, our current 2015 is a lot closer to the one from Part II than any other futures seen in movies from the 1980s. And that's something worth celebrating, however superficial and insignificant that may be. I mean, we're not being hunted by machines, living in concrete cubes, or fighting over water (except in California.)
So maybe I will celebrate today. I'm going to pull out the pockets of my pants. "All kids in the future wear their pants inside out."
Except I'm not a kid in this 2015...
And the kids today dress more like George McFly in 1955 than Marty McFly, Jr in 2015.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Realities of Traveling Through Time - Part One
At this very moment you are traveling through time and space. Even if you are sitting or lying down doing absolutely nothing but reading this, you are a currently moving object in space. Earth is spinning on its axis. The Earth is orbiting our Sun. Our Sun is orbiting the center of our galaxy. Our galaxy is moving through our visible universe. Our visible universe is moving inside a marble with which a giant alien child is playing. Probably.
You are also moving through time. You are speeding along at a rate of 60 seconds every 60 seconds. Welcome to the future! (Re-read that sentence over and over and it will still be true.) But traveling into the future at a pace equal to the pace at which time progresses when unaltered is hardly the exciting journey we expected. But it kind of is. At the smallest measure of time, your past, present, and future are all happening at once. Expand this outward and you have your journey through time. The events in the past affect both the outcomes of your present and your future. The events in your present affect both the outcomes of your past and your future. And, a little harder to grasp, the events of your future affect both the outcomes of your present and of your past.
For example, you are going to buy a 2015 Ford Taurus in the future. Sorry, but you are not buying the hover model. At our present, that is the future. At the present time you are buying the car, you having bought the car is the future. At the present time you have bought the car, you buying the car is in the past and owning the car is the future. At the present time you are owning the car, you having bought the car and buying the car are both in the past. Yet, at the smallest measurement of time, all three of those events happened at once. You are currently in the past, the present, and the future at one moment and that is time travel.
But, once again, that isn't that exciting. And neither is the next form of time travel because your brain is too slow. Your eyes are lying to you. Light, traveling at the speed of light, allows your eyes to receive images. The receptors receiving those images, relaying the signal through nerves to your brain, and your brain decoding those signals into something you are able to understand is a very fast process. But is isn't anywhere near as fast as the speed of light. What your eyes, and the rest of your senses for that matter, are telling your brain to perceive as the present is actually the past. And it has been for some time now. You are living in the future, perceiving it as the present, but it is actually the past. How fun is that?
However, if you were able to run faster than the speed of light, you could beat yourself in a foot race. You would be able to cross the finish line and turn around to see yourself leave the starting line. You could do this because the light absorbing you at the starting line hasn't caught up to the light absorbing you at the finish line. For example, if there are aliens in the Alpha Centauri solar system 4 light years away, and they had a powerful enough telescope to view the events on Earth, they would be viewing events that happened four years ago as they unfolded. The light now reaching their eyes, traveling at the speed of light, has taken four years to get there. But they would see it in real time as every second passed. If you held up a sign for them to see right now, they would see it in four years. This is because of Relativity. Time is relative to the observer. What is the present for them is actually the past, as well as the future, for us.
Think about it: 70 light years away, someone may be watching battles of World War II being fought in real time. 2000 light years away, someone may be watching Jesus perform miracles in the streets of Jerusalem. 65 million light years away, someone may watching the dinosaurs die. All right now in real time. Our present's past is our future's present is our past's future. Because time is relative.
You are also moving through time. You are speeding along at a rate of 60 seconds every 60 seconds. Welcome to the future! (Re-read that sentence over and over and it will still be true.) But traveling into the future at a pace equal to the pace at which time progresses when unaltered is hardly the exciting journey we expected. But it kind of is. At the smallest measure of time, your past, present, and future are all happening at once. Expand this outward and you have your journey through time. The events in the past affect both the outcomes of your present and your future. The events in your present affect both the outcomes of your past and your future. And, a little harder to grasp, the events of your future affect both the outcomes of your present and of your past.
For example, you are going to buy a 2015 Ford Taurus in the future. Sorry, but you are not buying the hover model. At our present, that is the future. At the present time you are buying the car, you having bought the car is the future. At the present time you have bought the car, you buying the car is in the past and owning the car is the future. At the present time you are owning the car, you having bought the car and buying the car are both in the past. Yet, at the smallest measurement of time, all three of those events happened at once. You are currently in the past, the present, and the future at one moment and that is time travel.
But, once again, that isn't that exciting. And neither is the next form of time travel because your brain is too slow. Your eyes are lying to you. Light, traveling at the speed of light, allows your eyes to receive images. The receptors receiving those images, relaying the signal through nerves to your brain, and your brain decoding those signals into something you are able to understand is a very fast process. But is isn't anywhere near as fast as the speed of light. What your eyes, and the rest of your senses for that matter, are telling your brain to perceive as the present is actually the past. And it has been for some time now. You are living in the future, perceiving it as the present, but it is actually the past. How fun is that?
However, if you were able to run faster than the speed of light, you could beat yourself in a foot race. You would be able to cross the finish line and turn around to see yourself leave the starting line. You could do this because the light absorbing you at the starting line hasn't caught up to the light absorbing you at the finish line. For example, if there are aliens in the Alpha Centauri solar system 4 light years away, and they had a powerful enough telescope to view the events on Earth, they would be viewing events that happened four years ago as they unfolded. The light now reaching their eyes, traveling at the speed of light, has taken four years to get there. But they would see it in real time as every second passed. If you held up a sign for them to see right now, they would see it in four years. This is because of Relativity. Time is relative to the observer. What is the present for them is actually the past, as well as the future, for us.
Think about it: 70 light years away, someone may be watching battles of World War II being fought in real time. 2000 light years away, someone may be watching Jesus perform miracles in the streets of Jerusalem. 65 million light years away, someone may watching the dinosaurs die. All right now in real time. Our present's past is our future's present is our past's future. Because time is relative.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
On the Origins of Stricklands
Principal Strickland seems to really hate his students. It could be due to his general attitude towards people who lack discipline or potentially due to a paradox as the result of time travel.
Strickland doesn't like McFlys because no McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley. George McFly has no confidence and allows others to walk all over him. Thirty years later, his son Marty has no respect for the rules. He doesn't like Biff Tannen because he's a bully and his ancestor killed his grandfather. Maybe.
In 1885, at the end of the gunfight between Marty and Buford Tannen, "Mad Dog" is arrested for robbing the Pine City stagecoach. He was arrested by the Deputy Marshall. But haven't you ever wondered where Marshall Strickland was? Why wouldn't the Marshall be there to make the arrest himself? Well, it's not in the final film, but there is a deleted scene from Part Three where Buford Tannen shoots Marshall Strickland in the back.
The scene was removed because it was deemed too dark for a comedy. It was also removed because the filmmakers thought that the murder of a lawman would most likely result in Buford's execution. If Buford Tannen was executed, he wouldn't produce any offspring and therefore no future Biffs would be born. In a single universe/single timeline, his arrest for the robbery would stand to correct any error in timeline continuity.
But it is part of the story. It just wasn't featured. There was only one witness, that being Marshall Strickland's son. Quite possibly word had not yet reached the Deputy Marshall in Hill Valley. This justifies the reasoning for the Deputy Marshall making the arrest and the charge being the robbery of the stagecoach.
However, this is the third 1885. The first being the original, unaltered 1885. The second was altered by the existence of Doc Brown. The third 1885 was altered by Marty and the Doc. As far as we can know, the murder of Marshall Strickland by Buford Tannen never occurred in the first two universes. The only reason Tannen was on his way in to town that day was to shoot Marty in the gunfight. The only reason the Marshall rode out to meet Tannen was to stop him from having a gunfight with Marty.
Marty McFly is the reason Strickland's ancestor was murdered. In the original 1885, he may have been just a stagecoach robber and town menace. In the second 1885, he murders Doc Brown over a matter of $80. Because of Marty's existence in the third 1885, Tannen murders a lawman. Because of this, he may have been executed. The filmmaker's explanation for the omitted scene is irrelevant. There are no future Biffs.
Once Marty finishes his time travel to his final 1985, the third created and the fourth overall, we never see another Biff. We never explore this 1985 very far, but it is very possible there are no Biffs. Needle's there, sure. Potentially two Martys, two Jennifers, and another Doc and DeLorean. And potentially a Biff if Buford was able to procreate before his death.
We know Marshall Strickland had a son. So Principal Strickland might be around, too. He just might really dislike Clint Eastwood movies.
Strickland doesn't like McFlys because no McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley. George McFly has no confidence and allows others to walk all over him. Thirty years later, his son Marty has no respect for the rules. He doesn't like Biff Tannen because he's a bully and his ancestor killed his grandfather. Maybe.
In 1885, at the end of the gunfight between Marty and Buford Tannen, "Mad Dog" is arrested for robbing the Pine City stagecoach. He was arrested by the Deputy Marshall. But haven't you ever wondered where Marshall Strickland was? Why wouldn't the Marshall be there to make the arrest himself? Well, it's not in the final film, but there is a deleted scene from Part Three where Buford Tannen shoots Marshall Strickland in the back.
The scene was removed because it was deemed too dark for a comedy. It was also removed because the filmmakers thought that the murder of a lawman would most likely result in Buford's execution. If Buford Tannen was executed, he wouldn't produce any offspring and therefore no future Biffs would be born. In a single universe/single timeline, his arrest for the robbery would stand to correct any error in timeline continuity.
But it is part of the story. It just wasn't featured. There was only one witness, that being Marshall Strickland's son. Quite possibly word had not yet reached the Deputy Marshall in Hill Valley. This justifies the reasoning for the Deputy Marshall making the arrest and the charge being the robbery of the stagecoach.
However, this is the third 1885. The first being the original, unaltered 1885. The second was altered by the existence of Doc Brown. The third 1885 was altered by Marty and the Doc. As far as we can know, the murder of Marshall Strickland by Buford Tannen never occurred in the first two universes. The only reason Tannen was on his way in to town that day was to shoot Marty in the gunfight. The only reason the Marshall rode out to meet Tannen was to stop him from having a gunfight with Marty.
Marty McFly is the reason Strickland's ancestor was murdered. In the original 1885, he may have been just a stagecoach robber and town menace. In the second 1885, he murders Doc Brown over a matter of $80. Because of Marty's existence in the third 1885, Tannen murders a lawman. Because of this, he may have been executed. The filmmaker's explanation for the omitted scene is irrelevant. There are no future Biffs.
Once Marty finishes his time travel to his final 1985, the third created and the fourth overall, we never see another Biff. We never explore this 1985 very far, but it is very possible there are no Biffs. Needle's there, sure. Potentially two Martys, two Jennifers, and another Doc and DeLorean. And potentially a Biff if Buford was able to procreate before his death.
We know Marshall Strickland had a son. So Principal Strickland might be around, too. He just might really dislike Clint Eastwood movies.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Just Where Do (or Did) We End Up?
Often times the journey is more exciting than the final destination. The opposite is probably more true when it comes to time travel. The blink of an eye, maybe some lightning, and you're there. Although some might be able to argue that the actual journey through time begins upon your arrival. But what is the final destination of most travelers? Home, I suspect. Even the time traveler wants to go home at some point. The ultimate rest stop is the one most familiar.
But having not just traveled through time, but also through the multiverse, Marty is at no point ever going to be able to return home. As far as the film series is concerned, Marty and Jennifer (also Doc and Clara) all have a happy ending. I don't think it is that simple. The universe he finds himself in at the end of Part 3 is never fully explored, but there is reason to believe that it is going to be really difficult to live in.
First of all, we are led to believe that Marty returns to the altered version of 1985. He does, in a way, but not the one we have seen. We would think that it is the universe he left at the end of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2. This is Jennifer and Doc's home universe. But Marty and Doc changed things in 1885 enough so that this has created a new 1985. Therefore, this cannot be the original 1985, the altered 1985, and not the Bifftopia 1985. It is a new 1985 universe. This means that somewhere there is the possibility that there is another Marty, another Jennifer, as well as another Doc in this universe. We just haven't met them. Yet.
We know that changes in past events can affect future outcomes from what they might have otherwise been. Doc changed the future of 1885, Marty changed it again, and the both of them changed it yet again. Eastwood Ravine never existed until this last time jump made by the DeLorean off the unfinished bridge to the year 1985. In this 1985, Eastwood Ravine has existed for 100 years or so. It is not the universe were Marty grew up. The stories he remembers from his childhood of a teacher falling into Clayton Ravine do not exist here. They are stories from another universe.
But having not just traveled through time, but also through the multiverse, Marty is at no point ever going to be able to return home. As far as the film series is concerned, Marty and Jennifer (also Doc and Clara) all have a happy ending. I don't think it is that simple. The universe he finds himself in at the end of Part 3 is never fully explored, but there is reason to believe that it is going to be really difficult to live in.
First of all, we are led to believe that Marty returns to the altered version of 1985. He does, in a way, but not the one we have seen. We would think that it is the universe he left at the end of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2. This is Jennifer and Doc's home universe. But Marty and Doc changed things in 1885 enough so that this has created a new 1985. Therefore, this cannot be the original 1985, the altered 1985, and not the Bifftopia 1985. It is a new 1985 universe. This means that somewhere there is the possibility that there is another Marty, another Jennifer, as well as another Doc in this universe. We just haven't met them. Yet.
We know that changes in past events can affect future outcomes from what they might have otherwise been. Doc changed the future of 1885, Marty changed it again, and the both of them changed it yet again. Eastwood Ravine never existed until this last time jump made by the DeLorean off the unfinished bridge to the year 1985. In this 1985, Eastwood Ravine has existed for 100 years or so. It is not the universe were Marty grew up. The stories he remembers from his childhood of a teacher falling into Clayton Ravine do not exist here. They are stories from another universe.
So where does Marty finally end up? Well, except for Jennifer (who actually barely knows him) he is going to find himself in pretty dire straights. The parents he knows are long gone. The parents he usurped from another Marty are also long gone. The parents he will find in this universe already have a Marty. So at 17, he has no where to live. He has no identity as his driver's license, social security number belong to someone else now. Jennifer is in the same boat as there is most likely another Jennifer in this universe as well. She is soon going to find out that this Marty does not remember much of their previous relationship. It's kind of a downer, but at least he didn't hit that Rolls Royce.
His only hope to escape this universe is to either wait for Doc to fly the time train by to visit, and take his chances somewhere else, or seek out this universe's Doc Brown and hope he's had the same epiphany about the flux capacitor 30 years ago and is in a similar state of production on his DeLorean. Of course, if this is the same, then it is possible that this universe's Marty may be past somewhere changing his future. Then Marty can assume this guy's identity like he did the other Marty's. What's the worst that could happen?
Two identical girlfriends from separate universes.
Aw, snap!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Grandfather Paradox and other Paradoxen
There is a thing in time travel theory called the Grandfather Paradox. It goes like this: A time traveler goes back in time and kills his grandfather as a baby. Killing his grandfather means that his father will never be born meaning the time traveler will never be born. The paradox being that if he wasn't born, then he couldn't go back in time and kill his grandfather? Thus, a paradox arises of if he couldn't be, then how could he?
But I don't think it's a paradox. It's just a jerk thing to do to a baby. The time traveler merely created another universe where he will never exist. That's okay because he was a jerk anyway. There's an infinite number of those universes. The time traveler's universe, where he was born, must still exist as the time traveler also exists. But still a jerk thing to do to a baby.
If Retrospective Determinism has an evil twin, it's the Grandfather Paradox. Retrospective Determinism states that because it happened, it was always going to happen. The Grandfather Paradox states how did it happen if it was never going to happen? Both are very confusing and also found a lot in the Back to the Future film series. The creators merely glazed over such occurrences (or used them out of context) to weave their story. All this does is half open and half shut doors on the space/time continuum.
In fact, the entire first part of the series is one big Grandfather Paradox. Marty must get his parents together so that he has a future. Marty, obviously the time traveler, has metaphorically killed the event that leads to his conception and birth. Therefore he will cease to exist. But if he ceases to exist, how will he be able to go back in time to stop the event? But he did. What? Boom! Paradox in yo face!
Then, in Part 2 of the series, Old Biff goes back in time to give Biff the almanac. The Grandfather Paradox here being: how can Old Biff still be Old Biff if giving young Biff the almanac changes the future? Young Biff now lives in a universe where he gains rapid wealth and power. There is, at the least, a 1985 in this universe that Old Biff creates. Assuming there is also a 2015, this is where Old Biff would arrive when he time traveled to this year. But...this means that there is no longer an originating 2015 from whence Old Biff had original access to the DeLorean and the almanac. Only the alternative 2015 (2015A) is the current year now. Any point in the past is the history of this universe. One point in the past is Old Biff getting in the DeLorean, but that doesn't happen in this universe. So neither would Old Biff giving the young Biff the almanac. Thus it wouldn't create this universe. But it did. What? Boom! Paradox in yo face again!
Doc Brown describes the strange solutions of such paradoxes as a "ripple effect." The effect of actions made creates a ripple of changes through time. Doc doesn't seem to believe or acknowledge the existence of the multiverse. He seems to believe that it is one universe with different timelines. If an event is altered, it creates a new timeline. It does not create a new universe. Some things, like Marty's birth in Part 1, simply do not happen. That timeline no longer exists. The physics of this hypothesis are experienced by Marty as he begins to disappear while playing guitar. Other affects of altered pasts lead me to believe in the multiverse. Too many paradoxes result from a single universe/multiple timelines logic. Most paradoxes in Back to the Future can be solved with the multiple universe/single timeline logic.
Aside from the two mentioned above, here are a couple more paradoxes the Back to the Future film series leaves in its wake:
In Part 2, Doc and Marty go to the year 2015 to stop Marty Jr. from going to jail. Having accomplished this task, there would be no reason for Doc to go back in time to get Marty to stop his son, Marty Jr., from going to jail. But if Doc never brings Marty to 2015, how could they stop the events that lead to Marty Jr.'s arrest?
In Part 2, Jennifer goes to the home of Old Marty and Old Jennifer. They seem to have no idea that they once traveled forward in time to this day in this year (October 21, 2015.) Wouldn't Old Jennifer remember all the memories that young Jennifer is making?
In Part 3, Marty goes back in time to 1885 to stop Doc from getting shot. He prevents Doc from getting shot, meaning there should be no reason for Marty to go back in time if Doc never gets shot. But if Marty doesn't go to 1885 to stop Doc's shooting, Doc gets shot anyway.
It's also worth noting that on November 12, 1955, young Doc and old Doc meet briefly. Old Doc offers to correct young Doc with a 3/4 wrench instead of a 5/8. Although not a paradox, there was a pair o' Doc's.
Thank you.
But I don't think it's a paradox. It's just a jerk thing to do to a baby. The time traveler merely created another universe where he will never exist. That's okay because he was a jerk anyway. There's an infinite number of those universes. The time traveler's universe, where he was born, must still exist as the time traveler also exists. But still a jerk thing to do to a baby.
If Retrospective Determinism has an evil twin, it's the Grandfather Paradox. Retrospective Determinism states that because it happened, it was always going to happen. The Grandfather Paradox states how did it happen if it was never going to happen? Both are very confusing and also found a lot in the Back to the Future film series. The creators merely glazed over such occurrences (or used them out of context) to weave their story. All this does is half open and half shut doors on the space/time continuum.
In fact, the entire first part of the series is one big Grandfather Paradox. Marty must get his parents together so that he has a future. Marty, obviously the time traveler, has metaphorically killed the event that leads to his conception and birth. Therefore he will cease to exist. But if he ceases to exist, how will he be able to go back in time to stop the event? But he did. What? Boom! Paradox in yo face!
Then, in Part 2 of the series, Old Biff goes back in time to give Biff the almanac. The Grandfather Paradox here being: how can Old Biff still be Old Biff if giving young Biff the almanac changes the future? Young Biff now lives in a universe where he gains rapid wealth and power. There is, at the least, a 1985 in this universe that Old Biff creates. Assuming there is also a 2015, this is where Old Biff would arrive when he time traveled to this year. But...this means that there is no longer an originating 2015 from whence Old Biff had original access to the DeLorean and the almanac. Only the alternative 2015 (2015A) is the current year now. Any point in the past is the history of this universe. One point in the past is Old Biff getting in the DeLorean, but that doesn't happen in this universe. So neither would Old Biff giving the young Biff the almanac. Thus it wouldn't create this universe. But it did. What? Boom! Paradox in yo face again!
Doc Brown describes the strange solutions of such paradoxes as a "ripple effect." The effect of actions made creates a ripple of changes through time. Doc doesn't seem to believe or acknowledge the existence of the multiverse. He seems to believe that it is one universe with different timelines. If an event is altered, it creates a new timeline. It does not create a new universe. Some things, like Marty's birth in Part 1, simply do not happen. That timeline no longer exists. The physics of this hypothesis are experienced by Marty as he begins to disappear while playing guitar. Other affects of altered pasts lead me to believe in the multiverse. Too many paradoxes result from a single universe/multiple timelines logic. Most paradoxes in Back to the Future can be solved with the multiple universe/single timeline logic.
Aside from the two mentioned above, here are a couple more paradoxes the Back to the Future film series leaves in its wake:
In Part 2, Doc and Marty go to the year 2015 to stop Marty Jr. from going to jail. Having accomplished this task, there would be no reason for Doc to go back in time to get Marty to stop his son, Marty Jr., from going to jail. But if Doc never brings Marty to 2015, how could they stop the events that lead to Marty Jr.'s arrest?
In Part 2, Jennifer goes to the home of Old Marty and Old Jennifer. They seem to have no idea that they once traveled forward in time to this day in this year (October 21, 2015.) Wouldn't Old Jennifer remember all the memories that young Jennifer is making?
In Part 3, Marty goes back in time to 1885 to stop Doc from getting shot. He prevents Doc from getting shot, meaning there should be no reason for Marty to go back in time if Doc never gets shot. But if Marty doesn't go to 1885 to stop Doc's shooting, Doc gets shot anyway.
It's also worth noting that on November 12, 1955, young Doc and old Doc meet briefly. Old Doc offers to correct young Doc with a 3/4 wrench instead of a 5/8. Although not a paradox, there was a pair o' Doc's.
Thank you.
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Act of Universal Transcendence
Part 2 of the Back to the Future series seems to be a lot of people's favorites. Probably because of the hoverboards. I just find it frustrating. Probably because of all the gaps in logic.
Now here's the thing we have learned about time travel: changing past events affects the future. Doc knows this. In Part 1, his 1955 counterpart wants to maintain the status quo as best he can. He doesn't even want to hear about his own death and how to prevent it. "No man should know too much about his own destiny," he said. Let the future be what it is. In Part 3, he has remorse for ever creating that "infernal machine" after learning that he wasn't supposed to save Clara from falling into the ravine. In the beginning of Part 2, he is knocks out Jennifer as she was asking too many questions about her future. The rest of the time he's all about just throwing that book out the window and does what ever he wants regardless of how it may affect history and/or futurestory(?).
In Part 2, Doc visits the future year of 2015 and beyond (off camera.) He spends an unknown amount of time there getting a hover conversion and a Mr. Fusion added to the DeLorean. He learns that Marty's son, Marty Jr., is bullied into aiding a robbery and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2015. His daughter, Marlene, attempts to break out her brother and gets caught. She is sentenced to 20 years in jail. He goes even further into the future to discover that this event ruins the McFly family from then on. Once again going against his original thoughts of not knowing your own destiny, he goes back to 1985 and picks up Marty and Jennifer and brings them to 2015 to save their kids.
But even the knowledge of this event is enough to change the future. The future that they should have traveled to wouldn't be the one that was unaltered. They should have traveled to a future where Marty and Jennifer have been to the future. But instead they go a future where they apparently haven't. In fact, they seem absolutely clueless to the fact that they were there that day. Marty may all no-big-deal-about time travel, but Jennifer is fairly new to it. And their future selves should have the memories of doing so.
Marty should have the memories of impersonating his son. Jennifer should have the memories of being at her future home and she's about to see herself....NOW! They should both have the memories of being here on this date in the future. But they don't seem to. Even if Marty knows to keep it secret, Jennifer is a time traveler, too. Heck, even Biff knows.
In 1985, Biff saw the DeLorean take off in flight and vanish into time. He has lived with this memory for 30 years. So it happened and he remembers it. So then should Marty and Jennifer. But then comes the huge jump in logic when Old Biff steals the DeLorean to give his much younger self the sports almanac in 1955. After he does so, he returns to 2015 and returns the DeLorean where he found it. After Mission Accomplished and they retrieve Jennifer, Doc and Marty go back to 1985 only to find that it is the altered 1985 (1985A or Bifftopia.) Marty suggests they go back to 2015 and stop Old Biff from stealing the time machine. Doc then states that they would only be traveling to the future of 1985A. Not the previous 2015 that they were just in.
The problem here is that Old Biff should have traveled to the future of 1985A in the first place. He set in motion events that would produce a future (we have seen the 1985 part) that is in it's own universe. There is a 2015 in this universe and that is where Old Biff should have arrived when he returned. Doc, Marty, and Jennifer should be stuck in another universe's version 2015 without a DeLorean.
The weird part is that Jennifer was able to transfer universes without a DeLorean. She was placed on a porch in 1985A and was still on the porch (as herself) in the final 1985. She isn't a prime as she comes from the second universe created from the effect of time travel. Neither is Doc, as he also comes from the second universe created. Marty is a prime as his original universe he was born in was unaffected until he became a time traveler. Even so, as shown by the abilities of Jennifer, these three should have instantly transferred universes once the change was made. This doesn't really make any sense and just shouldn't be, but it evidently can happen.
Maybe it only happens when you're unconscious.
But Jennifer was unconscious in 2015, too.
Alright. Then I don't know how it happened.
The universe they would have traveled to, 2015A perhaps, may or may not have had a DeLorean in it. I would say that it would as Old Biff just arrived there and they are still in the neighborhood (assuming Hilldale exists in this new universe.) Assuming it is the future of 1985A, where the Vietnam War was still going on, it could be a war zone, a nuclear wasteland, or any number of things unfriendly to the human body. Also assuming Old Biff would return it where he found it. It really makes no sense to do so as it is another universe and obvious to Doc and Marty that something has changed.
One would assume that universes don't change to the outsider until time displacement occurs with the DeLorean, right? That's why they didn't know about Biff's time travel until they arrived in 1985A and found it altered. Marty didn't know about the altered 1985 at the end of Part 1 until he traveled there. Likewise, Eastwood Ravine isn't named such until after the 1885C timeline. But Jennifer didn't use a DeLorean and it bothers me.
Here's why it bothers me. Doc and Jennifer are more or less on the same plane of existence. They both originated in the same universe. Marty is from another universe. Jennifer's ability to transcend universal boundaries means that Marty and Doc (and Jennifer and Einstein) should have also transcended the universal boundary when Old Biff changed the future. If it simply changes around them, like Doc said in Part 2 about Jennifer in 1985A, then that should have happened to them in 2015 as well.
But it didn't. Why? I don't know.
Now here's the thing we have learned about time travel: changing past events affects the future. Doc knows this. In Part 1, his 1955 counterpart wants to maintain the status quo as best he can. He doesn't even want to hear about his own death and how to prevent it. "No man should know too much about his own destiny," he said. Let the future be what it is. In Part 3, he has remorse for ever creating that "infernal machine" after learning that he wasn't supposed to save Clara from falling into the ravine. In the beginning of Part 2, he is knocks out Jennifer as she was asking too many questions about her future. The rest of the time he's all about just throwing that book out the window and does what ever he wants regardless of how it may affect history and/or futurestory(?).
In Part 2, Doc visits the future year of 2015 and beyond (off camera.) He spends an unknown amount of time there getting a hover conversion and a Mr. Fusion added to the DeLorean. He learns that Marty's son, Marty Jr., is bullied into aiding a robbery and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2015. His daughter, Marlene, attempts to break out her brother and gets caught. She is sentenced to 20 years in jail. He goes even further into the future to discover that this event ruins the McFly family from then on. Once again going against his original thoughts of not knowing your own destiny, he goes back to 1985 and picks up Marty and Jennifer and brings them to 2015 to save their kids.
But even the knowledge of this event is enough to change the future. The future that they should have traveled to wouldn't be the one that was unaltered. They should have traveled to a future where Marty and Jennifer have been to the future. But instead they go a future where they apparently haven't. In fact, they seem absolutely clueless to the fact that they were there that day. Marty may all no-big-deal-about time travel, but Jennifer is fairly new to it. And their future selves should have the memories of doing so.
Marty should have the memories of impersonating his son. Jennifer should have the memories of being at her future home and she's about to see herself....NOW! They should both have the memories of being here on this date in the future. But they don't seem to. Even if Marty knows to keep it secret, Jennifer is a time traveler, too. Heck, even Biff knows.
In 1985, Biff saw the DeLorean take off in flight and vanish into time. He has lived with this memory for 30 years. So it happened and he remembers it. So then should Marty and Jennifer. But then comes the huge jump in logic when Old Biff steals the DeLorean to give his much younger self the sports almanac in 1955. After he does so, he returns to 2015 and returns the DeLorean where he found it. After Mission Accomplished and they retrieve Jennifer, Doc and Marty go back to 1985 only to find that it is the altered 1985 (1985A or Bifftopia.) Marty suggests they go back to 2015 and stop Old Biff from stealing the time machine. Doc then states that they would only be traveling to the future of 1985A. Not the previous 2015 that they were just in.
The problem here is that Old Biff should have traveled to the future of 1985A in the first place. He set in motion events that would produce a future (we have seen the 1985 part) that is in it's own universe. There is a 2015 in this universe and that is where Old Biff should have arrived when he returned. Doc, Marty, and Jennifer should be stuck in another universe's version 2015 without a DeLorean.
The weird part is that Jennifer was able to transfer universes without a DeLorean. She was placed on a porch in 1985A and was still on the porch (as herself) in the final 1985. She isn't a prime as she comes from the second universe created from the effect of time travel. Neither is Doc, as he also comes from the second universe created. Marty is a prime as his original universe he was born in was unaffected until he became a time traveler. Even so, as shown by the abilities of Jennifer, these three should have instantly transferred universes once the change was made. This doesn't really make any sense and just shouldn't be, but it evidently can happen.
Maybe it only happens when you're unconscious.
But Jennifer was unconscious in 2015, too.
Alright. Then I don't know how it happened.
The universe they would have traveled to, 2015A perhaps, may or may not have had a DeLorean in it. I would say that it would as Old Biff just arrived there and they are still in the neighborhood (assuming Hilldale exists in this new universe.) Assuming it is the future of 1985A, where the Vietnam War was still going on, it could be a war zone, a nuclear wasteland, or any number of things unfriendly to the human body. Also assuming Old Biff would return it where he found it. It really makes no sense to do so as it is another universe and obvious to Doc and Marty that something has changed.
One would assume that universes don't change to the outsider until time displacement occurs with the DeLorean, right? That's why they didn't know about Biff's time travel until they arrived in 1985A and found it altered. Marty didn't know about the altered 1985 at the end of Part 1 until he traveled there. Likewise, Eastwood Ravine isn't named such until after the 1885C timeline. But Jennifer didn't use a DeLorean and it bothers me.
Here's why it bothers me. Doc and Jennifer are more or less on the same plane of existence. They both originated in the same universe. Marty is from another universe. Jennifer's ability to transcend universal boundaries means that Marty and Doc (and Jennifer and Einstein) should have also transcended the universal boundary when Old Biff changed the future. If it simply changes around them, like Doc said in Part 2 about Jennifer in 1985A, then that should have happened to them in 2015 as well.
But it didn't. Why? I don't know.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
A Tale of Two Martys
At the end of Part 1, Marty returns to 1985 altered by his existence in 1955. Everyone recognizes him as their Marty and his life is better off than in his prime universe. In this universe there should be two Martys. But there isn't.
Switching universes does not automatically delete your doppelganger in that universe (assuming you also exist in that universe.) Case in point: In Part 2 of the series, Doc and Marty travel back in time from 2015 to 1985A, also known as Hell Valley or Bifftopia. But in this universe, Marty is away at boarding school overseas and Doc is locked in a mental institution. They do not assume the identities of this universe's Doc and Marty. When they arrive in the DeLorean, Marty is not transported overseas and Doc is not locked in a padded cell. We are left to assume that this universe's Doc and Marty are left to be just that and stay in their respective locations and states of mind. They have no knowledge of what another universe's Doc and Marty are doing in their own. We are left to deduct that the series treats our Doc and Marty (also Jennifer) as primes. They are the originals that can come, go, and alter things for better or for worse.
And yet Marty Prime assumes the Marty identity of the new 1985 timeline. Where is this universe's Marty? All others in this universe know him. They have the same wants and desires (4x4 Toyotas and Jennifer) and they occupy the same time and place. But there should be two. Marty should have woken up (in that awkward pose) next to his doppelganger. When there were two Martys in 1955, he did not assume his own identity. Likewise, though it is never shown, Jennifer may have existed twice in the 1985A universe. She was left on the porch of a house in this universe and is found on the same porch in another universe. Doc states that she will be transferred, suggesting she is a Prime. But she can't be as she is not the Jennifer from the original, unaltered universe. A different actress, sure, but the same person. She transferred universes without a DeLorean...? How?
So this altered 1985 universe has a Marty exactly like Marty Prime. We know this because we saw him. Briefly, but we saw him. Marty Prime decides to go back a few minutes earlier to warn Doc about the Libyans. Well, the wrecks the DeLorean and it refuses to start again. So he runs to the Lone Pine Mall just in time to see Doc get shot by the Libyans. But someone yells "No!" It's this universe's Marty! We then see him out run the terrorists and at 88mph, he vanishes somewhere in time.
What year he arrives is not known. Now, we know the Doc of this universe is familiar with time travel. He knew about the DeLorean and Marty and getting shot and killed on this night. Being a friend of this universe's Marty, he must also know how different George and Lorraine's life is. And by association, this Marty does not have the same problems as Marty Prime, whom this Doc befriended 30 years earlier for a week. He has been aware of this night for 30 years (he even saw part of it on video.) We would assume that he would have to send this Marty back in time in order to complete the logic. If Doc didn't send him back, then he couldn't come back. But he didn't have to do that since this is a different Marty that arrives back to the future anyway.
Here I figure Doc may have done one of two things:
1. Prepare this universe's Marty with the knowledge of how to get his parents together exactly the way the Marty Prime did so as not to affect the way this universe turns out. But here's the problem with this scenario: There would be two Martys in 1955 and that would further mess things up as they would be from different universes. This would probably freak out Marty Prime (who at this moment is unaware of the multiverse.) The other Marty may have this knowledge from Doc and just stayed out of the way. Doc packs extra plutonium rods and Marty comes back to 1985 having affected nothing and stays out of history's way. But then there would be two Martys in 1985. Marty Prime (more or less an alien) and this Marty calling it home. One does not belong here and it's Marty Prime. Doc must know this, so check this out:
2. Doc sacrifices this altered universe's Marty to time! Where or when he goes is completely unknown except by this Doc (who goes through the rest of series apparently unconcerned with the Marty he left to fend for himself in somewhere in time.) That Marty is just gone. What ever date he typed in is where that Marty went to. Suppose he went to December 25, 0000 to witness the birth of Christ? Or see the signing of the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence? Those are two dates Doc Prime typed in before settling on November 5, 1955. Or he does get sent back to 1955 and alters things another way so as to affect another outcome resulting in his return to another future in a different universe. It's hard to say. We have no idea what happened to that Marty.
Doc may. But he doesn't seem to be worried about it. He doesn't seem to be concerned that there is another DeLorean time machine that he created traveling through the multiverse potentially disrupting future events and interacting with the multiverse's doppelgangers. How do we know that the 2015 they travel to in Part 2 of the series isn't the result of the affects of this altered 1985 Marty's time travel?
Maybe that is why that year is only a mere three years away (alright, almost 4) and they are so much more technologically advanced. The DeLorean or some component thereof was discovered in the past and exploited and retro-engineered to lead the way to the technological benefit of the future. Our universe currently has no ambition for hoverboards, flying capability (or conversion) for our cars, or even tiny pizzas that become big pizzas in a second. What's up, our universe?
Worst case scenario, of course, is that the altered 1985 Marty comes to realize that his Doc sacrificed him to the expanse of time for the sake of a Marty he barely knew. That this Marty would become jaded, and therefore evil, and set about destroying every Doc in the multiverse after using his intelligence to enhance his own. With an army of Martys he has recruited from the multiverse to aide his cause in an effort to find Marty Prime and take his place.
There can be only one.
Switching universes does not automatically delete your doppelganger in that universe (assuming you also exist in that universe.) Case in point: In Part 2 of the series, Doc and Marty travel back in time from 2015 to 1985A, also known as Hell Valley or Bifftopia. But in this universe, Marty is away at boarding school overseas and Doc is locked in a mental institution. They do not assume the identities of this universe's Doc and Marty. When they arrive in the DeLorean, Marty is not transported overseas and Doc is not locked in a padded cell. We are left to assume that this universe's Doc and Marty are left to be just that and stay in their respective locations and states of mind. They have no knowledge of what another universe's Doc and Marty are doing in their own. We are left to deduct that the series treats our Doc and Marty (also Jennifer) as primes. They are the originals that can come, go, and alter things for better or for worse.
And yet Marty Prime assumes the Marty identity of the new 1985 timeline. Where is this universe's Marty? All others in this universe know him. They have the same wants and desires (4x4 Toyotas and Jennifer) and they occupy the same time and place. But there should be two. Marty should have woken up (in that awkward pose) next to his doppelganger. When there were two Martys in 1955, he did not assume his own identity. Likewise, though it is never shown, Jennifer may have existed twice in the 1985A universe. She was left on the porch of a house in this universe and is found on the same porch in another universe. Doc states that she will be transferred, suggesting she is a Prime. But she can't be as she is not the Jennifer from the original, unaltered universe. A different actress, sure, but the same person. She transferred universes without a DeLorean...? How?
So this altered 1985 universe has a Marty exactly like Marty Prime. We know this because we saw him. Briefly, but we saw him. Marty Prime decides to go back a few minutes earlier to warn Doc about the Libyans. Well, the wrecks the DeLorean and it refuses to start again. So he runs to the Lone Pine Mall just in time to see Doc get shot by the Libyans. But someone yells "No!" It's this universe's Marty! We then see him out run the terrorists and at 88mph, he vanishes somewhere in time.
What year he arrives is not known. Now, we know the Doc of this universe is familiar with time travel. He knew about the DeLorean and Marty and getting shot and killed on this night. Being a friend of this universe's Marty, he must also know how different George and Lorraine's life is. And by association, this Marty does not have the same problems as Marty Prime, whom this Doc befriended 30 years earlier for a week. He has been aware of this night for 30 years (he even saw part of it on video.) We would assume that he would have to send this Marty back in time in order to complete the logic. If Doc didn't send him back, then he couldn't come back. But he didn't have to do that since this is a different Marty that arrives back to the future anyway.
Here I figure Doc may have done one of two things:
1. Prepare this universe's Marty with the knowledge of how to get his parents together exactly the way the Marty Prime did so as not to affect the way this universe turns out. But here's the problem with this scenario: There would be two Martys in 1955 and that would further mess things up as they would be from different universes. This would probably freak out Marty Prime (who at this moment is unaware of the multiverse.) The other Marty may have this knowledge from Doc and just stayed out of the way. Doc packs extra plutonium rods and Marty comes back to 1985 having affected nothing and stays out of history's way. But then there would be two Martys in 1985. Marty Prime (more or less an alien) and this Marty calling it home. One does not belong here and it's Marty Prime. Doc must know this, so check this out:
2. Doc sacrifices this altered universe's Marty to time! Where or when he goes is completely unknown except by this Doc (who goes through the rest of series apparently unconcerned with the Marty he left to fend for himself in somewhere in time.) That Marty is just gone. What ever date he typed in is where that Marty went to. Suppose he went to December 25, 0000 to witness the birth of Christ? Or see the signing of the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence? Those are two dates Doc Prime typed in before settling on November 5, 1955. Or he does get sent back to 1955 and alters things another way so as to affect another outcome resulting in his return to another future in a different universe. It's hard to say. We have no idea what happened to that Marty.
Doc may. But he doesn't seem to be worried about it. He doesn't seem to be concerned that there is another DeLorean time machine that he created traveling through the multiverse potentially disrupting future events and interacting with the multiverse's doppelgangers. How do we know that the 2015 they travel to in Part 2 of the series isn't the result of the affects of this altered 1985 Marty's time travel?
Maybe that is why that year is only a mere three years away (alright, almost 4) and they are so much more technologically advanced. The DeLorean or some component thereof was discovered in the past and exploited and retro-engineered to lead the way to the technological benefit of the future. Our universe currently has no ambition for hoverboards, flying capability (or conversion) for our cars, or even tiny pizzas that become big pizzas in a second. What's up, our universe?
Worst case scenario, of course, is that the altered 1985 Marty comes to realize that his Doc sacrificed him to the expanse of time for the sake of a Marty he barely knew. That this Marty would become jaded, and therefore evil, and set about destroying every Doc in the multiverse after using his intelligence to enhance his own. With an army of Martys he has recruited from the multiverse to aide his cause in an effort to find Marty Prime and take his place.
There can be only one.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Marty and the Fallacy of Retrospective Determinism
Have you ever considered how different your life would be had you changed just one thing that happened in it? It seems to be the consistent theme of many time travel stories. Someone makes a mistake and has a second chance granted to them. A do over to make things right. It's called Retrospective Determinism. It doesn't work. Basically, it's an "if only I had (blank) then my life would be (blank)" type of thinking that is best left to your dreams. And the Back to the Future film series is full of it.
In Part 1 of the series, Marty alters the events that lead to his parents getting together. He fixes things and the future finds them in far better shape than before. No big deal. Here's the big deal: Marty has created, or more likely been transported into, another dimension of the multiverse.
For example, we currently reside in what we refer to as the universe. There is only one plane of existence that we can occupy in our universe. In the multiverse, there are multiple planes of existence that we (or multiple duplicates of us) do occupy. There can an infinite number of multiverses as there are an infinite number of events in our universe to alter. Each universe in the multiverse creates its own universe that, in turn, creates its own multiverse. The process goes on like this forever.
Think about your own life. Consider all the decisions and choices you have made (and all the decisions and choices others have also made) in your life that have all happened to form your personal existence. There have been a lot. If only one thing was ever altered in your life, you would have a new existence. That will produce you have two existences. If only one event in your new existence was altered, you now have three existences. And the process could go on forever.
What if you were born in another town, state, or country? Which one? Millions of towns and cities, thousands of states, providences and regions, and hundreds of countries worldwide. that's already a lot of existences. Different schools? A different major in college? A different career? A different company to work for? A different person for your spouse? Different kids? What if your parents had different kids? What if you weren't born in all but one of your parent's existences? That is an infinite number of possible multiverses, right?
You reading this sentence is pretty unique if you think about it. But don't. It's all very confusing. I have probably confused you pretty good. So let's get back on topic and relate this all to Marty.
It is extremely improbable that in the whole multiverse, George and Lorraine would recognize Marty in the altered 1985, his older siblings would recognize him, his older siblings would look the same, that they would have the same names, they would live in the same house, and so many other things that have happened over the last 30 years to change the McFly family.
In the original 1955 timeline, George and Lorraine were somewhat forced together due largely in part to Lorraine's Florence Nightingale Syndrome. George went along with it because Lorraine was totally into him and she was pretty hot. In this 1985, (the original or Prime 1985) they seem to be stuck in a marriage of convenience. George has no backbone or ambition and Lorraine has let her beauty go. In the altered 1955, George wins Lorraine's love and respect. Thirty years later, they are still very much in love. They still go on dates and flirt with each other. One of the big differences in these universes is the change in the way George and Lorraine love each other.
Without getting too graphic, George McFly has produced a lot of sperm in his life. Marty was the result of just one sperm from George and just one egg from Lorraine. In the original timeline, he was their third child and born 13 years after their first date. There is reason to believe this is because the two of them just didn't get around to doing it a whole lot. George's lack of ambition and Lorraine's syndrome beginning to wain by this time affecting their love life. But with the events of the altered 1955 timeline, they seem much more in love, more flirtatious with each other, and more physically affectionate. They probably did/do it a lot more in this universe. There is simply a much better probability that they would have had their children a lot earlier in their lives (if not more) and therefore there shouldn't be a Marty in this universe. Or at least not the one we know.
The fact that in two universes the exact same sperm fertilized the exact same egg at the exact same moment to produce a son they give the exact name is highly improbable. But that it happened another two times with Marty's brother and sister is even more improbable. Without prior knowledge and precise timing, it is really unbelievable the coincidence this makes as this is the universe that Marty travels to.
The fallacy of Retrospective Determinism is that just because it happened, it isn't (or wasn't) always going to happen. You cannot assume that because Marty was born in one universe that he will exist (especially the exact same state) in another universe. He is unique to his own universe. The memories and events in his prime universe are his and his alone. Only he knows the difference between the two universes. Trying to adapt to his new universe, without any prior knowledge or memories, Marty may stumble and fail at this supposedly "better" universe. All he has ever known is completely gone. No memories of a better childhood with his parents and siblings. Only the old ones from an old universe he is no longer a part of that, for all purposes...is missing its Marty.
My wife and I lost our first child early in our pregnancy. Two months later, we were pregnant with our son, who just turned two this past week. I often wonder about our first child. Would they grow to be a boy or a girl? What would she look like? What would his birthday be? The fact is it isn't really anything more than a fantasy. That universe doesn't exist for me. What does exist is the fact that if that first pregnancy went to term and a baby was born, I wouldn't have my son, whom I love very much and can't imagine a world without him that doesn't break my heart. He simply wouldn't exist in another universe the way he is. I wouldn't want to exist there either.
George and Lorraine's prime universe, which wasn't that great to begin with, now has a missing child in their family that will never show up. Marty's better life and family in this new universe will lead to the ruin of his old family. That universe still exists as Marty is from there. His prime family still exists somewhere. And they're all wondering where Marty went.
The official story might be that Marty followed in the footsteps of his uncle "Jailbird" Joey and shot the old scientist he hung out with in the JC Penny parking lot at the Twin Pines Mall. He stole the dead Doc's car, never to be seen again. Much better than a poor family with a missing child.
In Part 1 of the series, Marty alters the events that lead to his parents getting together. He fixes things and the future finds them in far better shape than before. No big deal. Here's the big deal: Marty has created, or more likely been transported into, another dimension of the multiverse.
For example, we currently reside in what we refer to as the universe. There is only one plane of existence that we can occupy in our universe. In the multiverse, there are multiple planes of existence that we (or multiple duplicates of us) do occupy. There can an infinite number of multiverses as there are an infinite number of events in our universe to alter. Each universe in the multiverse creates its own universe that, in turn, creates its own multiverse. The process goes on like this forever.
Think about your own life. Consider all the decisions and choices you have made (and all the decisions and choices others have also made) in your life that have all happened to form your personal existence. There have been a lot. If only one thing was ever altered in your life, you would have a new existence. That will produce you have two existences. If only one event in your new existence was altered, you now have three existences. And the process could go on forever.
What if you were born in another town, state, or country? Which one? Millions of towns and cities, thousands of states, providences and regions, and hundreds of countries worldwide. that's already a lot of existences. Different schools? A different major in college? A different career? A different company to work for? A different person for your spouse? Different kids? What if your parents had different kids? What if you weren't born in all but one of your parent's existences? That is an infinite number of possible multiverses, right?
You reading this sentence is pretty unique if you think about it. But don't. It's all very confusing. I have probably confused you pretty good. So let's get back on topic and relate this all to Marty.
It is extremely improbable that in the whole multiverse, George and Lorraine would recognize Marty in the altered 1985, his older siblings would recognize him, his older siblings would look the same, that they would have the same names, they would live in the same house, and so many other things that have happened over the last 30 years to change the McFly family.
In the original 1955 timeline, George and Lorraine were somewhat forced together due largely in part to Lorraine's Florence Nightingale Syndrome. George went along with it because Lorraine was totally into him and she was pretty hot. In this 1985, (the original or Prime 1985) they seem to be stuck in a marriage of convenience. George has no backbone or ambition and Lorraine has let her beauty go. In the altered 1955, George wins Lorraine's love and respect. Thirty years later, they are still very much in love. They still go on dates and flirt with each other. One of the big differences in these universes is the change in the way George and Lorraine love each other.
Without getting too graphic, George McFly has produced a lot of sperm in his life. Marty was the result of just one sperm from George and just one egg from Lorraine. In the original timeline, he was their third child and born 13 years after their first date. There is reason to believe this is because the two of them just didn't get around to doing it a whole lot. George's lack of ambition and Lorraine's syndrome beginning to wain by this time affecting their love life. But with the events of the altered 1955 timeline, they seem much more in love, more flirtatious with each other, and more physically affectionate. They probably did/do it a lot more in this universe. There is simply a much better probability that they would have had their children a lot earlier in their lives (if not more) and therefore there shouldn't be a Marty in this universe. Or at least not the one we know.
The fact that in two universes the exact same sperm fertilized the exact same egg at the exact same moment to produce a son they give the exact name is highly improbable. But that it happened another two times with Marty's brother and sister is even more improbable. Without prior knowledge and precise timing, it is really unbelievable the coincidence this makes as this is the universe that Marty travels to.
The fallacy of Retrospective Determinism is that just because it happened, it isn't (or wasn't) always going to happen. You cannot assume that because Marty was born in one universe that he will exist (especially the exact same state) in another universe. He is unique to his own universe. The memories and events in his prime universe are his and his alone. Only he knows the difference between the two universes. Trying to adapt to his new universe, without any prior knowledge or memories, Marty may stumble and fail at this supposedly "better" universe. All he has ever known is completely gone. No memories of a better childhood with his parents and siblings. Only the old ones from an old universe he is no longer a part of that, for all purposes...is missing its Marty.
My wife and I lost our first child early in our pregnancy. Two months later, we were pregnant with our son, who just turned two this past week. I often wonder about our first child. Would they grow to be a boy or a girl? What would she look like? What would his birthday be? The fact is it isn't really anything more than a fantasy. That universe doesn't exist for me. What does exist is the fact that if that first pregnancy went to term and a baby was born, I wouldn't have my son, whom I love very much and can't imagine a world without him that doesn't break my heart. He simply wouldn't exist in another universe the way he is. I wouldn't want to exist there either.
George and Lorraine's prime universe, which wasn't that great to begin with, now has a missing child in their family that will never show up. Marty's better life and family in this new universe will lead to the ruin of his old family. That universe still exists as Marty is from there. His prime family still exists somewhere. And they're all wondering where Marty went.
The official story might be that Marty followed in the footsteps of his uncle "Jailbird" Joey and shot the old scientist he hung out with in the JC Penny parking lot at the Twin Pines Mall. He stole the dead Doc's car, never to be seen again. Much better than a poor family with a missing child.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Four DeLoreans
November 12, 1955.
A lot happened on this day in Hill Valley. All kinds of awesome stuff. Hey, did you know there were four DeLorean time machines in town on this day, too? Not only that, but they're all in town at the same time.
One (from Part 1 of the series) gets struck by lightning at precisely 10:04pm.
One (from Part 2) has hover conversion. Old Biff brought it from the year 2015 to give the Gray's Sports Almanac to young Biff.
One (from Part 2) has hover conversion. Doc and Marty bring it from the 1985A timeline (also known as the Hell Valley timeline.) This DeLorean also gets struck by lightning during the storm and sends Doc to 1885.
One (from Part 3) is hidden in the Old Delgado mine by Doc in 1885 to be unearthed the next day by Marty and 1955 Doc.
The movie paid more attention to the notion that there are two Martys, two Docs, and two Biffs on November 12, 1955.
Also in the series, there are two DeLoreans on October 26, 1985 at the same time. One crashed into the XXX theater near the Courthouse and one at the Lone Pine Mall about to travel to 1955. Likewise there are two Martys.
It is unknown how at what point in 2015 Doc arrived in the future nor is it known how long he was there before he returns to 1985 to retrieve Marty to help his future son. If he went exactly 30 years in the future, then he would have arrived on October 26, 2015. Doc, Marty, and Jennifer arrive on October 21st and leave later that day. At this point, we can assume that no DeLorean coexisted with another this year.
As stated in a previous post, there are two DeLoreans in Hill Valley in 1885. The first one arrived on January 1st of that year. After falling 50 feet from broken flying circuits, it breaks. Doc is unable to repair it and hides it in the old Delgado mine on September 1st. Marty arrives the next day, September 2nd, and then goes back to the future on September 7th, 1885. So these DeLoreans coexist for five days.
A lot happened on this day in Hill Valley. All kinds of awesome stuff. Hey, did you know there were four DeLorean time machines in town on this day, too? Not only that, but they're all in town at the same time.
One (from Part 1 of the series) gets struck by lightning at precisely 10:04pm.
One (from Part 2) has hover conversion. Old Biff brought it from the year 2015 to give the Gray's Sports Almanac to young Biff.
One (from Part 2) has hover conversion. Doc and Marty bring it from the 1985A timeline (also known as the Hell Valley timeline.) This DeLorean also gets struck by lightning during the storm and sends Doc to 1885.
One (from Part 3) is hidden in the Old Delgado mine by Doc in 1885 to be unearthed the next day by Marty and 1955 Doc.
The movie paid more attention to the notion that there are two Martys, two Docs, and two Biffs on November 12, 1955.
Also in the series, there are two DeLoreans on October 26, 1985 at the same time. One crashed into the XXX theater near the Courthouse and one at the Lone Pine Mall about to travel to 1955. Likewise there are two Martys.
It is unknown how at what point in 2015 Doc arrived in the future nor is it known how long he was there before he returns to 1985 to retrieve Marty to help his future son. If he went exactly 30 years in the future, then he would have arrived on October 26, 2015. Doc, Marty, and Jennifer arrive on October 21st and leave later that day. At this point, we can assume that no DeLorean coexisted with another this year.
As stated in a previous post, there are two DeLoreans in Hill Valley in 1885. The first one arrived on January 1st of that year. After falling 50 feet from broken flying circuits, it breaks. Doc is unable to repair it and hides it in the old Delgado mine on September 1st. Marty arrives the next day, September 2nd, and then goes back to the future on September 7th, 1885. So these DeLoreans coexist for five days.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
You Look So Familiar!
So in Part 1, Marty McFly goes back to 1955 and, after messing it up, gets his parents together so they can make his siblings and him. After getting the necessary 1.21 gigawatts from the lightning that strikes the clock tower, he goes back to 1985 to find his parents are much better off that in the original 1985 timeline. Basically, they are both into each other and tennis and have extra money to buy their third child a new 4x4 Toyota.
In the original timeline, Marty's mother Lorraine reminisces about how she and George first met and their first kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. She obviously has told her children this story before, so it must be a lasting memory. Probably because her life is the pits and that was the one good thing in it.
Now in the new 1985 timeline, she must remember how she and George first met because it's an even more memorable story. She was about to get raped by the school bully and George stood up to him and knocked him out and there was this guy Calvin Klein, who also went by Marty, that was in school for about a week and then disappeared and I had the hots for him, but he kept trying to get your dad to ask me out. He kissed me at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance while that guy Calvin/Marty played guitar with the band. Later that same night he told me to go easy on one of my kids if he ever spilled juice on the carpet and left. Then I muttered "Marty. I like that name." And that's why I named Marty Marty.
Now that's a story to tell the kids about how you met. Something you surely won't forget. You actually named one of your children after that guy you knew only for a week in high school. And call me crazy, but you look exactly like him, too.
"George, back me up on this."
"What, Lorraine?"
That guy we knew for a week in high school that got us together. He looked exactly like Marty does. That guy Calvin. Or Marty. His uncle called him Marty. Hey! His uncle looked just like that guy you're always hanging out with all the time, Marty. The scientist guy. He looked just like him. I had such a huge crush on that guy Calvin/Marty until your dad punched Biff out. Biff! George, get Bitch in here. He saw him, too. He'd say you look just like him. Biff chased that guy around the square and actually wrecked his car into a manure truck. Biff, tell him about that Calvin/Marty guy.
"I don't want to, Mrs. McFly."
"Tell him, Bitch Biff. Or I'm not paying you."
"He was riding a skateboard thing like the one you always ride, Marty. But it was about 20 years before they were invented. I also tried to kill him in a tunnel when he tried to steal an almanac from the future that a distant relative gave to me. He had another kind of skateboard, but it didn't have any wheels. It just sort of hovered."
"Alright, Biff. That's enough. Get back to trimming the hedge."
So yeah. Three people at the McFly house would remember this guy Calvin/Marty. Especially the Marty part. Even though they had a son born just a couple years after that night, they named him Dave. Thirteen years after that night they had a second son and named him Marty. Thirteen years later. They had to have remembered the guy pretty good. And now that kid Marty is about as old as that guy Marty was and he looks just like him and talks just like him and hangs out with that old scientist guy like that guy did.
Weird...
In the original timeline, Marty's mother Lorraine reminisces about how she and George first met and their first kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. She obviously has told her children this story before, so it must be a lasting memory. Probably because her life is the pits and that was the one good thing in it.
Now in the new 1985 timeline, she must remember how she and George first met because it's an even more memorable story. She was about to get raped by the school bully and George stood up to him and knocked him out and there was this guy Calvin Klein, who also went by Marty, that was in school for about a week and then disappeared and I had the hots for him, but he kept trying to get your dad to ask me out. He kissed me at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance while that guy Calvin/Marty played guitar with the band. Later that same night he told me to go easy on one of my kids if he ever spilled juice on the carpet and left. Then I muttered "Marty. I like that name." And that's why I named Marty Marty.
Now that's a story to tell the kids about how you met. Something you surely won't forget. You actually named one of your children after that guy you knew only for a week in high school. And call me crazy, but you look exactly like him, too.
"George, back me up on this."
"What, Lorraine?"
That guy we knew for a week in high school that got us together. He looked exactly like Marty does. That guy Calvin. Or Marty. His uncle called him Marty. Hey! His uncle looked just like that guy you're always hanging out with all the time, Marty. The scientist guy. He looked just like him. I had such a huge crush on that guy Calvin/Marty until your dad punched Biff out. Biff! George, get Bitch in here. He saw him, too. He'd say you look just like him. Biff chased that guy around the square and actually wrecked his car into a manure truck. Biff, tell him about that Calvin/Marty guy.
"I don't want to, Mrs. McFly."
"Tell him, Bitch Biff. Or I'm not paying you."
"He was riding a skateboard thing like the one you always ride, Marty. But it was about 20 years before they were invented. I also tried to kill him in a tunnel when he tried to steal an almanac from the future that a distant relative gave to me. He had another kind of skateboard, but it didn't have any wheels. It just sort of hovered."
"Alright, Biff. That's enough. Get back to trimming the hedge."
So yeah. Three people at the McFly house would remember this guy Calvin/Marty. Especially the Marty part. Even though they had a son born just a couple years after that night, they named him Dave. Thirteen years after that night they had a second son and named him Marty. Thirteen years later. They had to have remembered the guy pretty good. And now that kid Marty is about as old as that guy Marty was and he looks just like him and talks just like him and hangs out with that old scientist guy like that guy did.
Weird...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Dear, Please Hire My Old Rapist.*
In Part 1 of the series, Biff and his gang pulled Marty out of a car while he was parked with Lorraine outside the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. The gang put him shut Marty in the trunk of the Marvin Berry's (Chuck's cousin) band's car. Biff, alone with Lorraine, decides to rape her.
That is, until George McFly comes to her rescue and knocks Biff out. They kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance and Marty's existence is saved (we'll discuss this improbability in a future post.) Marty travels back to the future to find that Biff now works as a personal assistant of some sort to George.
Everyone seems to have forgotten that Biff attempted to rape Lorraine. He has access to their house, their mail, the wax for their cars (including that new 4x4.) And all the McFlys seem cool with the fact that he once tried to rape one of them.
How long he has been working for the McFlys is unknown, but the way George has him by the short and curlies, it has either been a long time or a very short time and he's got to lay down the hammer. It's not like a guy like Biff drops out of your life after high school and then comes back into it looking for a personal assistant job. Without getting punched by George, he seemed to have a middle management position where George wrote his reports (Biff retyped them.) So if George McFly was absent from his life, it is probable that Biff would have assumed a similar job in the new timeline (we'll discuss inconsistent multiple timelines in a future post.)
So this leads me to believe that Biff has been working as a personal assistant for George (or the McFly family) ever since high school. George knocked him out cold once and he's been his bitch ever since. Maybe he lost all his credibility as a bully after that and was ashamed from then on. Maybe Lorraine threatened to go to the cops. Either way, Biff has been around their kids their whole lives. Not that he's a pedophile, but I wouldn't let someone who tried to rape me around my babies.`
Marty's like 17 or so. His sister Linda looks to be in her early twenties (let's say 22) and his brother, Dave, looks to be in his mid to late twenties (let's say 27.) It was only three years since the rape attempt occurred that Dave was born. Eight years after the event, a girl was born. Marty was born just 13 years after that night. Such a traumatic experience would not escape a mother's mind that quickly.
George and Lorraine may forgive and forget after 30 years and hire the old school bully who once tried to take your innocence to wax the car. But certainly not immediately or three years later when they started their little family.
But she also seems to have forgotten all about it by the time she gets to the dance, so...
Go ahead, George dear. Hire my old rapist.*
*Sorry. "Attempted."
That is, until George McFly comes to her rescue and knocks Biff out. They kiss at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance and Marty's existence is saved (we'll discuss this improbability in a future post.) Marty travels back to the future to find that Biff now works as a personal assistant of some sort to George.
Everyone seems to have forgotten that Biff attempted to rape Lorraine. He has access to their house, their mail, the wax for their cars (including that new 4x4.) And all the McFlys seem cool with the fact that he once tried to rape one of them.
How long he has been working for the McFlys is unknown, but the way George has him by the short and curlies, it has either been a long time or a very short time and he's got to lay down the hammer. It's not like a guy like Biff drops out of your life after high school and then comes back into it looking for a personal assistant job. Without getting punched by George, he seemed to have a middle management position where George wrote his reports (Biff retyped them.) So if George McFly was absent from his life, it is probable that Biff would have assumed a similar job in the new timeline (we'll discuss inconsistent multiple timelines in a future post.)
So this leads me to believe that Biff has been working as a personal assistant for George (or the McFly family) ever since high school. George knocked him out cold once and he's been his bitch ever since. Maybe he lost all his credibility as a bully after that and was ashamed from then on. Maybe Lorraine threatened to go to the cops. Either way, Biff has been around their kids their whole lives. Not that he's a pedophile, but I wouldn't let someone who tried to rape me around my babies.`
Marty's like 17 or so. His sister Linda looks to be in her early twenties (let's say 22) and his brother, Dave, looks to be in his mid to late twenties (let's say 27.) It was only three years since the rape attempt occurred that Dave was born. Eight years after the event, a girl was born. Marty was born just 13 years after that night. Such a traumatic experience would not escape a mother's mind that quickly.
George and Lorraine may forgive and forget after 30 years and hire the old school bully who once tried to take your innocence to wax the car. But certainly not immediately or three years later when they started their little family.
But she also seems to have forgotten all about it by the time she gets to the dance, so...
Go ahead, George dear. Hire my old rapist.*
*Sorry. "Attempted."
Friday, December 9, 2011
This Scientist is an Idiot.
Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown has invented many things. An automated dog feeding apparatus, bunch of clocks that are all off by 25 minutes, a ridiculously large guitar amplifier, etc. He's a scientist. A mad scientist, for all intents and purposes, that has mastered the lock to man's eternal jail: time.
He's also a complete idiot.
In Part 3 of the series, Marty McFly (in 1955 having just witnessed Doc and the DeLorean be struck by lightning and receiving the letter from Doc written in 1885) arrives to tell Doc's 1955 counterpart that he's back from the future. The letter basically states that Doc is happy in 1885 and he hid the DeLorean in the old Delgado Mine for Marty to use to get back to 1985. The time circuits are fried, but with the help of the 1955 Doc it should be no problem to fix them.
They find the Delorean in the mine and also Doc's tombstone. Yadda yadda yadda (we have to go back to 1885 to save Doc's life and what not.) 1955 Doc fixes the time circuits (mounted on the hood) and puts new tires on the DeLorean. They take it to the drive-in theater and Marty goes back in time and runs into the indians in 1885. He hides it in a cave (with a bear) and discovers an arrow has pierced the fuel line. Gasoline leaks into the dirt.
This means there are two DeLorean time machines in Hill Valley in 1885. One in the old (currently new) Delgado Mine and one in the cave with the bear.
We expect that the one that Doc Brown hid in the mine is in fairly good condition minus the fried time circuits. The one in the bear cave is over 70 years old. The rubber fuel line was probably fragile to begin with. But it is the Bear Cave DeLorean that they choose to attempt to escape from 1885. But there's no gas stations in 1885. They have to find another way to get it up to speed. After failing to reach 88mph with a team of horses, Doc pours the strongest stuff the bartender has into the tank and blows the fuel injection manifold out the back. Of course it does. It's a technical mechanism over 70 years old! "It'll take me a month to rebuild it," Doc says.
Right. Except you have a perfectly good fuel injection manifold right over there in the old Delgado Mine, you idiot! Just leave a note for your 1955 counterpart that he needs to replace that, too. Even if it takes 1955 Doc a month to rebuild it, it won't matter because he has a time machine. He has to fix the time circuits anyway. Why not a little fuel injection manifold as well? You have two of everything. It is literally the same car. Steal the fuel lines off the Delgado Mine DeLorean while you're in there. Or the gas in the tank...
Well, it can be assumed that if Doc thought he would be sealing the DeLorean in the mine for 70 years that he would drain the fluids from the car. So there probably would be no gas in the tank of the Delgado Mine DeLorean. That would be just too easy. But, hey, we have a scientist here. In 1885, he has already made a sick super scope rifle and a massive, barn sized freezer that makes one dirty ice cube at a time...Surely he knows the chemical composition of petrol or ethanol or some derivative better than "the strongest stuff" the bartender in a no-name frontier town has to offer? He sure knows the chemical composition of his high octane boost Duraflame logs to make a steam locomotive reach high speed. Why not make one gallon of gas to get back to the future?
Idiot.
He's also a complete idiot.
In Part 3 of the series, Marty McFly (in 1955 having just witnessed Doc and the DeLorean be struck by lightning and receiving the letter from Doc written in 1885) arrives to tell Doc's 1955 counterpart that he's back from the future. The letter basically states that Doc is happy in 1885 and he hid the DeLorean in the old Delgado Mine for Marty to use to get back to 1985. The time circuits are fried, but with the help of the 1955 Doc it should be no problem to fix them.
They find the Delorean in the mine and also Doc's tombstone. Yadda yadda yadda (we have to go back to 1885 to save Doc's life and what not.) 1955 Doc fixes the time circuits (mounted on the hood) and puts new tires on the DeLorean. They take it to the drive-in theater and Marty goes back in time and runs into the indians in 1885. He hides it in a cave (with a bear) and discovers an arrow has pierced the fuel line. Gasoline leaks into the dirt.
This means there are two DeLorean time machines in Hill Valley in 1885. One in the old (currently new) Delgado Mine and one in the cave with the bear.
We expect that the one that Doc Brown hid in the mine is in fairly good condition minus the fried time circuits. The one in the bear cave is over 70 years old. The rubber fuel line was probably fragile to begin with. But it is the Bear Cave DeLorean that they choose to attempt to escape from 1885. But there's no gas stations in 1885. They have to find another way to get it up to speed. After failing to reach 88mph with a team of horses, Doc pours the strongest stuff the bartender has into the tank and blows the fuel injection manifold out the back. Of course it does. It's a technical mechanism over 70 years old! "It'll take me a month to rebuild it," Doc says.
Right. Except you have a perfectly good fuel injection manifold right over there in the old Delgado Mine, you idiot! Just leave a note for your 1955 counterpart that he needs to replace that, too. Even if it takes 1955 Doc a month to rebuild it, it won't matter because he has a time machine. He has to fix the time circuits anyway. Why not a little fuel injection manifold as well? You have two of everything. It is literally the same car. Steal the fuel lines off the Delgado Mine DeLorean while you're in there. Or the gas in the tank...
Well, it can be assumed that if Doc thought he would be sealing the DeLorean in the mine for 70 years that he would drain the fluids from the car. So there probably would be no gas in the tank of the Delgado Mine DeLorean. That would be just too easy. But, hey, we have a scientist here. In 1885, he has already made a sick super scope rifle and a massive, barn sized freezer that makes one dirty ice cube at a time...Surely he knows the chemical composition of petrol or ethanol or some derivative better than "the strongest stuff" the bartender in a no-name frontier town has to offer? He sure knows the chemical composition of his high octane boost Duraflame logs to make a steam locomotive reach high speed. Why not make one gallon of gas to get back to the future?
Idiot.
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