Thread: What would you do if you had a time machine?

  1. #16
    Registered User BuzzBuzz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    89
    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight View Post
    What happens if ಠ_ಠ goes back in time simultaneously and kills your grandfather before you can kill ಠ_ಠ's grandfather?
    Well, they can't be killed simultaneously if one is killed before the other - but if that were to happen: We would both be outside of normal time which would create some interesting problems. Both our grandfathers would be dead but as we are in existence it would mean that we would return to real time to find that although we exist, nothing we ever knew does (a bit like in "It's a Wonderful Life). However, I think it would be incredibly selfish of ಠ_ಠ to kill my grandfather when I am simply trying to resolve a paradox, especially as it was his idea to get the time machine in the first place

    Quote Originally Posted by whiteflags View Post
    Must we remove two whole generations to settle the paradox?
    Yes. That's why it's called the Grandfather Paradox. We could experiment with the Great Uncle Twice Removed Paradox, but it is less well documented and the ramifications are unclear.
    Any help I give may be classified as:
    The Blind leading the Blind...
    Currently working through:
    "C++ Primer Plus"

  2. #17
    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    9,613
    But you could just as easily kill one of your parents, or prevent them from meeting each other (Back to the Future). I think it's grandfather in nomenclature only.

  3. #18
    Banned ಠ_ಠ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    687
    what happens if you go back in time and kill the person who invented the time machine?
    ╔╗╔══╦╗
    ║║║╔╗║║
    ║╚╣╚╝║╚╗
    ╚═╩══╩═╝

  4. #19
    Registered User BuzzBuzz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    89
    I'm in favour of the multidimensional concept (can't remember the real name right now) where basically every eventuality has its own existence. So if I were to kill ಠ_ಠ's grandparents (in self defence of course) this thread would continue as it is, but in an alternate reality ಠ_ಠ doesn't even exist and I have a time machine and the winning lottery numbers.

    The same would happen if ಠ_ಠ went back in time and killed the inventor of the time machine, except we'd all be none the wiser except ಠ_ಠ would have the winning lottery numbers.
    Any help I give may be classified as:
    The Blind leading the Blind...
    Currently working through:
    "C++ Primer Plus"

  5. #20
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    28,413
    Quote Originally Posted by BuzzBuzz
    I'm in favour of the multidimensional concept (can't remember the real name right now) where basically every eventuality has its own existence.
    I think that the general concept can be summarised as "multiverse".
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

  6. #21
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    28,413
    *sigh*

    This thread is going back in time.

    EDIT:
    Portions of this thread has been erased by the time machine. A repeat will cause you to be one step closer to being erased yourself.
    Last edited by laserlight; 05-03-2009 at 09:07 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

  7. #22
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by laserlight View Post
    EDIT:
    Portions of this thread has been erased by the time machine. A repeat will cause you to be one step closer to being erased yourself.
    OK, lets go a different direction

    I'd go back and impregnate Mitochondrial Eve.

  8. #23
    Guest Sebastiani's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Waterloo, Texas
    Posts
    5,708
    >> I'd go back and impregnate Mitochondrial Eve.

    You do realize that she might be an ape?
    Code:
    #include <cmath>
    #include <complex>
    bool euler_flip(bool value)
    {
        return std::pow
        (
            std::complex<float>(std::exp(1.0)), 
            std::complex<float>(0, 1) 
            * std::complex<float>(std::atan(1.0)
            *(1 << (value + 2)))
        ).real() < 0;
    }

  9. #24
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by Sebastiani View Post
    >> I'd go back and impregnate Mitochondrial Eve.

    You do realize that she might be an ape?
    Negative. She was definately homo sapiens, although she might be apish in appearance, I have a thing for women with a unibrow and pronounced brow ridges. In fact I might revisit my decendants every 3 generations or so just to give them a technological advantage over the rest of humanity, ensuring that homo sapiens abachlerus eventually dominates the galaxy.

    Either that or I'd start my own race of insane midget assassins, guess which DNA I'd contribute
    Last edited by abachler; 05-03-2009 at 10:31 AM.

  10. #25
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    266
    I would go into the future to find nice midgets being eaten by mean midgets.
    Fried chicken for everybody!
    -Kernel Sanders

  11. #26
    and the hat of sweating
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Posts
    3,545
    Interesting how Jesus bashing gets deleted pretty quickly, but "Midget" (a.k.a. Dwarf or Little People) bashing just goes on and on...
    "I am probably the laziest programmer on the planet, a fact with which anyone who has ever seen my code will agree." - esbo, 11/15/2008

    "the internet is a scary place to be thats why i dont use it much." - billet, 03/17/2010

  12. #27
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust View Post
    Interesting how Jesus bashing gets deleted pretty quickly, but "Midget" (a.k.a. Dwarf or Little People) bashing just goes on and on...
    I think it had to do with the atheist winning the argument, but lets not repeat the conversation lest someone pull out the hat of banning as threatened.

  13. #28
    Registered User BuzzBuzz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    89
    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust View Post
    Interesting how Jesus bashing gets deleted pretty quickly, but "Midget" (a.k.a. Dwarf or Little People) bashing just goes on and on...
    It's probably because there is more belief in Jesus than there is in midgets.

    And because someone with no direct connection to the subject has felt offended enough on their behalf to post their indignation.
    Any help I give may be classified as:
    The Blind leading the Blind...
    Currently working through:
    "C++ Primer Plus"

  14. #29
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    28,413
    Quote Originally Posted by cpjust
    Interesting how Jesus bashing gets deleted pretty quickly, but "Midget" (a.k.a. Dwarf or Little People) bashing just goes on and on...
    Right.

    Quote Originally Posted by abachler
    I think it had to do with the atheist winning the argument
    No, it has to do with the fact that there was an ugly argument rather than anything resembling proper debate. You are free to interpret the results of the argument as you wish, but frankly I felt that it was going nowhere other than the rubbish dump.

    Quote Originally Posted by BuzzBuzz
    It's probably because there is more belief in Jesus than there is in midgets.

    And because someone with no direct connection to the subject has felt offended enough on their behalf to post their indignation.
    Yes, plus it also seems that the term "midget" can refer to short people.

    *thread closed*
    Last edited by laserlight; 05-06-2009 at 04:40 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Using pointers
    By Big_0_72 in forum C Programming
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-28-2008, 07:51 PM
  2. Determine the closest departure time
    By Kyeong in forum C Programming
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-07-2008, 08:06 PM
  3. Journey time prog 1 minute wrong
    By mike_g in forum C Programming
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-12-2006, 03:41 AM
  4. calculating user time and time elapsed
    By Neildadon in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-10-2003, 06:00 PM
  5. time class
    By Unregistered in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-11-2001, 10:12 PM