Science Forums 2

[enorbet2]

Perhaps one of the greatest arguments against time travel into the past is that we've had no visitors from the future. If we assume time travel were to become commonplace even in a thousand years from now and further assume the human race doesn't self-destruct shortly after getting that far, then there are some thousands maybe even millions of years in which travelers could return to this time. With such high number of visitors someone would mess up and be revealed or their time machine discovered. The only argument qualifying that one is if there is some arbitrary (to us) time limit, say a 20 year window, within which one can return. This would imply that at some threshold time we would be inundated with tourists! As much as I'd like to see life first form in a shallow sea, a T Rex or a Pterodactyl, or even the obvious, the Pyramids being built or even just see them as they were when first completed, shiny white granite with a gold top, if the price is tourists from the future everywhere, count me out.

Bottom line - every year that goes by with no visitors decreases the odds that it ever occurs. So if it is truly physically possible that might imply humans never build it. I hope that does not have ominous overtones for the future of mankind or intelligence.