Paradox

Despite its impossibility, for some reasons, sometimes we wish that we could turn back time. Probably to set sumthing right or to go through the good old days once more. We know this is impossible, but we enjoy the idea of it in fictions like Doraemon or Back to The Future. It would be great if one day, a time travelling machine like the ones in those fictions become a reality. But even if there will be a time travelling machine, travelling into past is still impossible (logically, at least).

This is explained by the Grandfather Paradox. Stephen Hawking has a simpler version which is called the Mad Scientist Paradox.

This is how it goes. Say there's a scientist named Bill. After going through a very difficult research and development, he has constructed the first ever time machine in history, untested. The furthest that he can travel back into time is 5 minutes in the past. Since he is labelled a mad scientist, his experiment had to be a mad one, to defend his reputation. So, with a sword, Bill travel through time and met his 5-minutes-ago-self in the same room. Quickly, he stabbed his past-self with the sword through the chest. After a few moment of agony, past-Bill dies.

Now, the question is: Is that possible? If past-Bill was murdered before the future-Bill commit the murder, then who did the kill? So, logically (at least), this is not allowed. Therefore, travelling back into time is not quite possible.




Now, we can appreciate that everything that happens to anything physical abides a certain rule which doesn't allow them to go backwards in time, insyaAllah (if God wills it). Everything physical - us included - abides the rule of cause and effect, action and reaction, insyaAllah.



Do nothing, we are still travelling into the future. The present is the result of the happennings in the past. What happens now will have an effect to what's coming in the future; and we go through present only once. InsyaAllah...



By the time,

Verily Man is in loss,


Except such as have Faith,

and do righteous deeds,

and (join together)

in the mutual teaching of

Truth,

and of Patience

and Constancy.




(Al-'Asr 103:1-3)


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