Back To The Future

So the kids at MIT are at it again. Amidst all their studying and calculations, these gems of society still find time to party. But when you're a student at MIT, you don't just throw a regular old party, you throw a party for time travelers. This is the deal, and I can't stress this enough, I can't make this shit up!

The party is this Saturday at MIT, and people were advised to write deatils of the party on pieces of paper and slip them into "obscure books in academic libraries" in the weeks preceeding. Now comes the rub. Time will pass on, as time tends to do (nice, eh? I think it's from a movie though) and people in the future will eventually find the notes and decide to travel back in time to attend this party that is being thrown in their honor. There is a caveat: If you are from the future and wish to attend the party, you must bring some sort of proof, such as a cure for AIDS or something. People from the present are allowed to attend, but "due to the overwhelming response" you can't attend unless you have already RSVP'd. But never fear. After all, "If time travel is invented in your lifetime, you can always come later" -- so says the ad.

Now let me enter into the fray. First off, I must say, 'What the Fuck!!!?!

I remember Stephen Hawkings once said (read: typed) that time travel to the past will never be possible because if it were, we'd constantly be visited by tourists from the future. But isn't there some law of Physics that says you would travel back in time if you travel faster than the speed of light. Who knows, but let's assume for the sake of argument that time travel is possible:

If you could travel back in time, why would you ever choose to travel to a party at MIT. Who cares if it's being thrown in your honor. There are so many more fun places to travel to. You could, for example, go to a party at UW Madison, or a party at the Playboy mansion. And while you're traveling back in time, why not bring an almanac with you a'la Biff in Back to the Future and make some money by betting on sporting events that you already know the outcomes of. Why not go way back in time to visit Socrates or Plato. Hell, why not go back in time and catch the Apple that fell on Newton's head and eat the fucker! There are so many things a time traveler could do and so many places he/she could go, so why on earth would they want to go to a party at MIT. Then again, since we're assuming time travel is possible, maybe time isn't such a valued commodity anymore. After all, you can always go back.

There are many fun things time travelers can do. For instance, imagine a time traveler from the year 3343 decides to travel to Madison, Wisconsin circa 2005. I think it would be really funny if he dressed up like a Pilgrim, or someone from the early 1800's or 1920's. People would look at him all wierd and he would just say "What? This is how people dress in the future".

While discussing this with some people yesterday, 2 friends mentioned that it would be cool to skydive into the party while proclaiming "We are from the future!". That brings me to my next point: Are people really expecting people from the future to show up? I sure hope not. This is MIT after all. Can you picture some hapless fool constantly monitoring the door waiting to see if someone from the future is gonna walk in. Are any girls gonna be at this party? Will there be booze? From what I've read, there is going to be music (futuristic/electronic perhaps?) and speakers. Would be funny if the music they play is shit like 50 cent and stuff on the top of the charts. Then everyone would laugh when the time travellers would say "Hey, I love oldies!".

Another thing: if time travel is possible, is there really a need to advertise this. Wouldn't people in the future already know about it? They probably knew this was going to happen before the idea ever popped into the head of the guy that thought it up.

All in all, this party sounds pretty nerdy. But maybe I'm the biggest nerd of all for writing this little blog post about time travel? Maybe I should just stop writing.

And to prove that I'm not crazy, here is a link with deatils about the event.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go and what would you do? Would you attend the MIT party?