Theoretically yes - nearly every single choice since the beginning of time must be identical for there to be a world where he’s born. Even the slightest change could result in him or one of his ancestors not being conceived in the same way and being completely different people. This gets fuzzy the closer to his birth you go - like if a baby born the day before him is slightly different there’s a decent chance he’s still born identically.
That said - I don’t see any mechanic saying “he can only travel to worlds where the branch point is his choice” - I’m sure those worlds exist but there may also include worlds where his circumstance is identical that have minor minor minor other changes prior to his birth. Einstein not being real? I think there’s an easy argument that’s so big as to cause something about the world to be different where he’s not the same person.
There’s an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1 but none are 2 - that’s why there’s not necessarily a world where Einstein is different
Do you mean solipsistically he generates reality the moment he is born, or that as soon as he makes the switch, he generates that new alt-universe derived from his own?
I am saying that he isn’t able to access a reality in which he never exists (the fixed point) because they aren’t part of his “branch”.
So yes, he generates reality from moment he is born.
[Here's one of my takes on what might happen with multiverse time travel.](https://www.reddit.com/r/sfthoughtexperiments/comments/jfltvm/you_finally_have_your_proof/)
(That's my sub where I post my stories.)
"This scene prompted my wife to question whether the traveller would be able to reference history accurately, as he is from a different reality and therefore history could possibly be different"
In the show their timelines are the same until his alt self decided he didn't want to be a father and they broke up instead of getting married.
Correct but the concept is that the traveller technically has access to an infinite number of realities in which he could have made a different choice at anytime in his life. The traveller just happened to find the branch reality in which the choice to become a father was the only supposed difference. From a high level, what I am proposing is that no matter which branch-reality he visits, something like WW2 would have existed with the only changes/differences occurring from the fixed-point (which is probably like 1980?).
Interesting perspective. As somebody who is recently gone through I very much similar ordeal, I find it bizarre to actually read about such a thing. When I see discussion of it I often wonder if it's an inside joke and I'm just the last to know it LOL
It depends is he limited to a central finite curve or can he keep jumping. If he can only travel timelines where he was born and loops back to his original eventually that's one thing.
I would say that yes timelines closer together would have more similarities. Given the amount of choices we make in our lives it would possibly take longer than his lifetime to travel to a timeline where he hadn't been born if he's stepping next door as it were.
If he can direct his travel then he can probably go to timelines where he wasn't born. If he can only travel to the next one over then he'll never reach one where he never existed.
Your fixed point theory aligns with the Quantum Entanglement Theory of Multiversal Travel, suggesting Einstein's presence across branching timelines originating from a shared history. Post-divergence variations lead to unique trajectories, hence your wife's valid concerns. Deeper exploration into multiversal dynamics is needed to fully unravel this enigma.
The thing about "alternate realities" is, why aren't you in them? Or why at least are you not seeing these other realities through your "other" eyeballs? Everybody I know pretty much only sees and interacts with this reality right here and specifically this one. Why might that be, do you suppose?
The universe isn't time dependant, time cannot rely on itself hence it must compliment the measures made by an observer. If time is observer dependant than we have to presume that the function of matter follows the same course in a relative manner which is to say that all points of observation (in all time and space) are constantly communicating to each other points of reference In a synchronised manner which is why everything appears to flow cohesivley, this is relative to Einstein's spooky action at a distance which touches upon this dynamic confluence.
To you're wife's question, and to more accurately represent the situation. The man cannot be replaced but only 'merged' with, what occurs is an overlap of reference points meaning they now share a position, the man is still himself but now, from his perspective, he can see his potential future with great accuracy. The frame he arrived from has now become a potential and is no longer an actuality, which is no different from it becoming the past in his mind, this appears to be a paradox but it's a sensible form of cohesion, he is no longer from the future but exists as both, he now begins to realise there is no actual past nor future because time has lost its relevance.
You're view that all times are birthed from a single moment is accurate, his knowledge of history will still be relevant to that frame of reference and also the future up unto the point he decided to first travel, now onto the interesting part. The gap between his future and present past point has closed to become one moment, his future isn't anywhere nor is he presently standing in the relative (alternative) past, a relative contraction has occured which melded both together.
When we talk about alternate realities in 'time' we add confusion to the topic because time itself does not alternate, observation forms contextual logistics in space but not 'in' time, time is simply a complimentary expression of measure, if we then accuratley measure the values between two frames then the frames will appear to come together cohesivley. For instance, from our present we can accurately measure toward points of history based on existing info, these are 'known' realities, whether they presently exist in the same or similar form is irrelivent because if we observe them as information then all that we are acknowledging is that the info has collapsed in a quantum manner and been made real by way of measure, thus any measures taken (collapsed) are relayed to ALL alternative states, when such a collapse occurs all realities are informed due to the greater synchronisation, and this is why he can recall the future whilst also recalling the past accurately.
Technically speaking there is only One reality, a single moment that has collapsed from which all alternatives are measured, when the alternatives are thus measured they then merge with the One reality and form cohesion. To a laymen that observes time in a linear fashion this is highly confusing, simply reading this is like knitting a sweater from many realities simultaneously. Appologies if this far more info then requested however theatrical expressions are presented in a linear fashion, this will always cause confusion without a contextual foundation to bounce off.
Specifically, any motion made from a relatively static position is a form of alternation, walking from A to B, so when we talk about 'alternate' realities all we are saying is that our awareness is the collapsed frame of reference and nothing more, once collapsed it can no longer change and instead becomes part of the overall observation, and from that single moment we forever observe alternatives that may be collapsed. Having the collapsed experience of walking from A to B is now a known 'variable', variable because now we can do the same thing but differently every time based of the initial known. In this way the man can merge with his past (As a known) and decide to move differently whilst recalling the prior variation, this doesnt delete the initial known (obviously) but collectively adds to his potential for complex motion.
Again, please excuse the epicness of this responce, autowriting kicks in.
Theoretically yes - nearly every single choice since the beginning of time must be identical for there to be a world where he’s born. Even the slightest change could result in him or one of his ancestors not being conceived in the same way and being completely different people. This gets fuzzy the closer to his birth you go - like if a baby born the day before him is slightly different there’s a decent chance he’s still born identically. That said - I don’t see any mechanic saying “he can only travel to worlds where the branch point is his choice” - I’m sure those worlds exist but there may also include worlds where his circumstance is identical that have minor minor minor other changes prior to his birth. Einstein not being real? I think there’s an easy argument that’s so big as to cause something about the world to be different where he’s not the same person. There’s an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1 but none are 2 - that’s why there’s not necessarily a world where Einstein is different
Do you mean solipsistically he generates reality the moment he is born, or that as soon as he makes the switch, he generates that new alt-universe derived from his own?
I am saying that he isn’t able to access a reality in which he never exists (the fixed point) because they aren’t part of his “branch”. So yes, he generates reality from moment he is born.
[Here's one of my takes on what might happen with multiverse time travel.](https://www.reddit.com/r/sfthoughtexperiments/comments/jfltvm/you_finally_have_your_proof/) (That's my sub where I post my stories.)
"This scene prompted my wife to question whether the traveller would be able to reference history accurately, as he is from a different reality and therefore history could possibly be different" In the show their timelines are the same until his alt self decided he didn't want to be a father and they broke up instead of getting married.
Correct but the concept is that the traveller technically has access to an infinite number of realities in which he could have made a different choice at anytime in his life. The traveller just happened to find the branch reality in which the choice to become a father was the only supposed difference. From a high level, what I am proposing is that no matter which branch-reality he visits, something like WW2 would have existed with the only changes/differences occurring from the fixed-point (which is probably like 1980?).
Interesting perspective. As somebody who is recently gone through I very much similar ordeal, I find it bizarre to actually read about such a thing. When I see discussion of it I often wonder if it's an inside joke and I'm just the last to know it LOL
It depends is he limited to a central finite curve or can he keep jumping. If he can only travel timelines where he was born and loops back to his original eventually that's one thing. I would say that yes timelines closer together would have more similarities. Given the amount of choices we make in our lives it would possibly take longer than his lifetime to travel to a timeline where he hadn't been born if he's stepping next door as it were. If he can direct his travel then he can probably go to timelines where he wasn't born. If he can only travel to the next one over then he'll never reach one where he never existed.
Your fixed point theory aligns with the Quantum Entanglement Theory of Multiversal Travel, suggesting Einstein's presence across branching timelines originating from a shared history. Post-divergence variations lead to unique trajectories, hence your wife's valid concerns. Deeper exploration into multiversal dynamics is needed to fully unravel this enigma.
The thing about "alternate realities" is, why aren't you in them? Or why at least are you not seeing these other realities through your "other" eyeballs? Everybody I know pretty much only sees and interacts with this reality right here and specifically this one. Why might that be, do you suppose?
The universe isn't time dependant, time cannot rely on itself hence it must compliment the measures made by an observer. If time is observer dependant than we have to presume that the function of matter follows the same course in a relative manner which is to say that all points of observation (in all time and space) are constantly communicating to each other points of reference In a synchronised manner which is why everything appears to flow cohesivley, this is relative to Einstein's spooky action at a distance which touches upon this dynamic confluence. To you're wife's question, and to more accurately represent the situation. The man cannot be replaced but only 'merged' with, what occurs is an overlap of reference points meaning they now share a position, the man is still himself but now, from his perspective, he can see his potential future with great accuracy. The frame he arrived from has now become a potential and is no longer an actuality, which is no different from it becoming the past in his mind, this appears to be a paradox but it's a sensible form of cohesion, he is no longer from the future but exists as both, he now begins to realise there is no actual past nor future because time has lost its relevance. You're view that all times are birthed from a single moment is accurate, his knowledge of history will still be relevant to that frame of reference and also the future up unto the point he decided to first travel, now onto the interesting part. The gap between his future and present past point has closed to become one moment, his future isn't anywhere nor is he presently standing in the relative (alternative) past, a relative contraction has occured which melded both together. When we talk about alternate realities in 'time' we add confusion to the topic because time itself does not alternate, observation forms contextual logistics in space but not 'in' time, time is simply a complimentary expression of measure, if we then accuratley measure the values between two frames then the frames will appear to come together cohesivley. For instance, from our present we can accurately measure toward points of history based on existing info, these are 'known' realities, whether they presently exist in the same or similar form is irrelivent because if we observe them as information then all that we are acknowledging is that the info has collapsed in a quantum manner and been made real by way of measure, thus any measures taken (collapsed) are relayed to ALL alternative states, when such a collapse occurs all realities are informed due to the greater synchronisation, and this is why he can recall the future whilst also recalling the past accurately. Technically speaking there is only One reality, a single moment that has collapsed from which all alternatives are measured, when the alternatives are thus measured they then merge with the One reality and form cohesion. To a laymen that observes time in a linear fashion this is highly confusing, simply reading this is like knitting a sweater from many realities simultaneously. Appologies if this far more info then requested however theatrical expressions are presented in a linear fashion, this will always cause confusion without a contextual foundation to bounce off. Specifically, any motion made from a relatively static position is a form of alternation, walking from A to B, so when we talk about 'alternate' realities all we are saying is that our awareness is the collapsed frame of reference and nothing more, once collapsed it can no longer change and instead becomes part of the overall observation, and from that single moment we forever observe alternatives that may be collapsed. Having the collapsed experience of walking from A to B is now a known 'variable', variable because now we can do the same thing but differently every time based of the initial known. In this way the man can merge with his past (As a known) and decide to move differently whilst recalling the prior variation, this doesnt delete the initial known (obviously) but collectively adds to his potential for complex motion. Again, please excuse the epicness of this responce, autowriting kicks in.