Quote:
Originally Posted by Rade
But, on the other hand, the words appear to get in the way of the logic, since I can think of many examples where the "past" clearly has been "changed". A few examples will do to show the problem. In golf there is the mulligan, the past drive into the swamp is changed to the present drive into the fairway, and your stroke score remains 1in both past and present but the past position of the ball has been changed. In American football is the instant replay--where the past decision of the call on the field is changed based on new evidence from the camera.
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It seems like you're describing situations where the past affects the present, but it doesn't sound like the past is being changed. The errant ball is still in the swamp and the replay doesn't change the official's first call, it merely gives him a chance to make a second call.
The largest problem I see with an axiom of "the past can't be changed" is the problem of testing it. If the past actually were changed, would we know? It may be like star trek where everything suddenly changes including everybody's memories and nobody notices.
~modest
