this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
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A time traveller comes back from 50 years in the future. You have 3 hours with them. What do you do? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 10 months ago by Danterious@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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Rules:

  1. The time traveller is able to travel backward and forward through time (max forward is 2074) and they can only transport things that can fit in a small backpack.

  2. You can choose when the 3 hours begin but it has to be in 2024 and once it has begun the timer can't be reset or stopped.

  3. They will answer to the best of their ability but imagine this is a random person from 2074.

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[โ€“] andrewta@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just to confirm, can they go back and forth through time multiple times?

So in theory they could make 100 trips through time and then I sit down with them for 3 hours?

[โ€“] Danterious@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah. They can also travel during the conversation since time travel is instantaneous.

[โ€“] andrewta@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

i'd type up a letter for the time traveler (remember i don't know their background, they might have a hard time remembering things).

  1. has dementia/Alzheimer's been cured? if so, get all needed info on how to cure it. formulas, proofs, sample vials of the cure. if there is a side effect of the cure, what is the solution to that side effect?

  2. is global warming going to get as bad as we think? is there a fix for it? a piece of tech or combination of technologies to solve it? gather all needed information. how to build said tech. any new math/formulas that is needed to understand the tech. if possible acquire the tech. (even if you have to make multiple trips to get it back to 2024).

2a. if there is no solution to solve / reverse global warming what have we done to save as many lives as is possible?

  1. how do we solve the problem of disposing of all the batteries that are going to show up because of electric cars? is there a better and more environmentally friendly battery? get the needed documentation for building and using said battery.

  2. do the Minnesota Vikings ever win a Super Bowl, i don't want to know when, just if they do it?

  3. a complete history of the stock market (ups, downs, crashes, etc)

  4. how bad does nationalism in the U.S. get? Is there a way (with 50 years of hind sight) of stopping it? (for those that are reading this .. yes there is a difference between patriotism and nationalism.)

  5. does AI have the devastating effect that so many people think it will have? if so what should we be doing to fix the problem before it becomes a problem?

  6. What are all of the pandemics that happen in the next 50 years? How do they start? Where do they start? Is there a way to stop them from starting? Is there a needed or even a known cure for them? If they can be stopped before they start then bring the cure anyway just in case.

  7. Is there any major space to earth impacts in the next 50 years? For example: a meteor strike. where and when do they impact? where should we be looking in space to detect the object? If they bring a deadly spore to earth, how do we alter the course of the object so it gets sent close to the sun?

  8. do aliens exist? when do we find out? when do the governments of the world acknowledge the existence of aliens? if they invade, what areas are destroyed and when?

again for anything on the list, always get all needed and remotely applicable information.

  1. do we solve cold fusion? is it possible to weaponize it? (the weaponizing it is important as i'll explain in a moment).

I'd tell him to go to the future and compile all this information and print it out on paper (yes paper) . also have it on a portable drive that a computer in 2024 can read. (why both? simple . drives can get corrupted.)

Most of the information I'd "discover" and then release the discovery to the world for free on the internet. With instructions on how an individual could make it themselves (if humanly possible). Obviously if (for example) cold fusion can be made into a bomb many times worse then a nuclear bomb then I would not release that info to the world. I'd just "discover" it and then give the electricity at as cheap of a rate as is possible to the world.

the stock market info i'd keep for myself. be no point in releasing that to the world. it would just make the info worthless. as long as i didn't get stupid and make 8 trillion USD, i could live a very comfortable life and help out all my friends and family.

the aliens part i'd most likely just keep to myself as trying to go public would just get me killed or discredited.

it would take all 2 hours for the time traveler to explain the info and how he had it filed and categorized.