[extropy-chat] Re: Time Travel

[Rob Wilkes]

Good point Acy.  In the scenario that I described if the past information 
were "deconvolved" from present information then there would be no need to 
go into the past at all.  For instance, in astronomy, electromagnetic 
information propagates from some event in the past and is "read" by 
telescopes in the present pretty much intact.  In paleontology, fossil 
remains from the past are examined and information is extracted.  In 
forensics, DNA is recovered and analyzed to retrieve genetic information. 
 If there were a technology that could backtrack the "entropic" disassembly 
of human remains up to the time of death then the information could be 
captured.  Is there some law of physics that precludes back-tracking 
entropy?

Rob


Acy James Stapp said:
You cannot make a measurement without interfering with the
system.  Not only does the measurement interfere with the
system, but your scenario seems to violate causality because
the information needed to perform the scan must be sent back
in time.

Acy

[ -----Original Message-----
[ From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[ [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of
[ Rob Wilkes
[ Sent: Saturday, 21 February, 2004 21:05
[ To: 'extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org'
[ Subject: [extropy-chat] Re: Time Travel
[
[
[ What do you think about the following scenario: At some point
[ in the future
[ a time travel (of sorts) is developed where information from
[ the past can
[ be retrieved in complete detail (e.g. molecular detail).  If
[ a decison was
[ made to retrieve a person from the past, and the technology
[ to construct a
[ person from that information existed then a person could be
[ brought to the
[ future by reassembling them from thier past information
[ "signature."  Sort
[ of like Star Trek transporter technology "beaming" a person
[ from the past
[ to the future.  If there was the capacity in the future to
[ assimilate these
[ reassembled folks then as many people could be retireved as desired.
[ Information could be captured at the point of that person's
[ death and a new
[ body could be constructed.  Perhaps only congnitive and
[ memory aspects
[ would be replicated exactly, while the body was replaced with
[ a healthy
[ one.  Does this start to sound like resurrection and
[ afterlife?  So, let's
[ see.  We, the decendents of nth grandmother Bessie decide to
[ "retrieve" her
[ from the past.  She arrives in the future to be greeted by us (her
[ descendents) and other "retrieved" family members.  Sort of
[ the ultimate
[ family reunion.  Note that in this scenario no one interferes
[ with the
[ past, they just "read it", and replicate the desired parts.