If I travel back in time it's not really the same time anymore is it?

Question

For example, if I travel back to earth in the year 1900, it's not really 1900 as it was written in history right?  Something is different.  I'm there.  So I didn't really travel back into time.  I traveled to some place that's almost like 1900.
I'm just thinking the whole concept of traveling back into time isn't even conceptually sound, independent of how well the concept applies to reality.
That and "travel" refers to distance per time, not time per time.  Time per time is a meaningless scalar.  And since time isn't constant throughout the universe, we have to talk in terms of traveling to a certain space-time.

? · Accepted Answer

There are in fact impossible paradoxes that ensue when talking about going back in time.  I simply believe it's a false concept; that time doesn't have a backwards and a forwards, just a rate.  It's a measure of change, and you can't "unchange" something without changing something else again.  To go back in time you'd have to unchange the whole universe back to a certain point, which is impossible.

Rafiq A. Yafi · Answer

You're travelling back-in-time. Set the course to 1900. You're there, and you will not see any difference until you make something that could change the future too. The Past and the Future will be the same according to Time Travel Concept. The Future is more accepted than going back in time to the Past by Scientists who always dwell in dreams.
'Travel around Earth' is Distance per Time. But when if you go far away from Earth, the Distance per Time calculation changes with respect to Time. The Time will start to run faster...
So think about Wormholes, it is a shortcut to some other place which is trillions of light years far away. Thus Time Travel is a mystery... It makes long distance into very short in time. Time Travel deals with all the nature of Physics.

duke_of_urls · Answer

The usual way out of this in sci-fi is to say that your past actually does have you appearing there via time travel.

Time per time is a meaningless scalar only if you don't have a time machine.

Time is constant throughout the universe except where gravity or acceleration are involved.

John W · Answer

Not surprisingly there are two theories about that.

The first is that it is the same time because it's already happened and only self consistent actions could happen.   This is called the Novikov Self-consistency principle.

The second is that it isn't the same time because it didn't happen like that in the time traveler's history.   This is called the "Many Worlds Interpretation".

cosmo · Answer

One idea about past time travel is that youcan  travel back to a point in the "many worlds" that is similar (or identical) to your past.  You can then affect the future of that worldline, which will turn out different from the worldline you left.

jetskilz · Answer

Typical time travel conundrum.  Think about it this way, you could ever only travel back to the point in which the device to travel through time is created.  If it wasn't ever created, it would never exist, thereore, wouldn't be possible.  Your question is moot.

Jimbob · Answer

Since traveling back in time is not possible, this question can be tossed in the irrelevant pile.

? · Answer

The excepted theory is you would create another timeline

Irv S · Answer

Have you considered that it might be the same time, 
but there wouldn't be anything there anymore?

Anonymous · Answer

Does anybody REALLY know what time it is?

(does anybody really care?)

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If I travel back in time it's not really the same time anymore is it?

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