The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
Proof that Time Travel Harry did not fix Little Chicago?? (CD Spoilers)
wizard nelson:
i will remind you of the Novikov self-consistency principle of time travel. NOTHING is proven or disproven till its explained in a book.
wyltok:
--- Quote from: wizard nelson on February 12, 2013, 05:32:45 AM ---i will remind you of the Novikov self-consistency principle of time travel. NOTHING is proven or disproven till its explained in a book.
--- End quote ---
I'm afraid that the Novikov self-consistency principle has been proven in the book to not apply to prophecy / foresight. Examples include:
- The prophecy in Death Masks only included two alternatives: Harry dies, or the Knights all die. Neither of these happens.
- Abby replied to a question before he got a chance to make it, and her reply stopped him from making it. Meaning, the timeline where he asked the question never happened in the first place.
- The Gatekeeper used some sort of ability to determine Harry's chances near the end of Turn Coat. This ability gave two different results. If the ability is foresight / time-based (as the dialogue in that scene implies) then it saw two different futures.
Now, what the Novikov self-consistency conjecture states is that only close time loops can happen. But proving that this conjecture is false does not automatically mean that close time loops can't happen, only that they aren't the only alternative.
It's still possible that the Little Chicago situation is a closed time loop. As an example, I'm fairly certain that what Merlin did when he created the Well qualifies as a closed time loop.
wizard nelson:
--- Quote ---I'm afraid that the Novikov self-consistency principle has been proven in the book to not apply to prophecy / foresight. Examples include:
--- End quote ---
and at what point did i mention forsight? :o as you pointed out merlin already created a time loop ergo in the DV the principle is viable.
wyltok:
--- Quote from: wizard nelson on February 12, 2013, 02:06:36 PM --- and at what point did i mention forsight? :o as you pointed out merlin already created a time loop ergo in the DV the principle is viable.
--- End quote ---
Whoops, you're right. I combined what you said in two separate topics. My most heartfelt apologies. Still, how can you say the self-consistency conjecture applies (which states that only time travel that does not change the past is possible) when Odin states that changing the past is possible, but just takes considerable more effort (and luck) than changing the future? The two principles seem to be mutually exclusive...
robertltux:
--- Quote from: Griffyn612 on February 12, 2013, 02:44:21 AM ---So no explanation as to how Merlin got TWG level help to create the prison? Or are you now thinking Merlin didn't create it at all, since we can't trust anything that's been said?
--- End quote ---
Im thinking its like a Thermite reaction. all you need to kick off a FO/AL reaction is a sparkler (which can be ignited by a match) but you could end up with a truck being turned into a blob of metal.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version