#from a non-linear non-subjective viewpoint

[timidxtempted]

how is january 752 years long but the ten days i was on holidays lasted point six seconds

[sacred-algae]

People assume queer platonic relationships are on a straight line from friendship to romance, but actually from a non-linear, non subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, feelingsy weelingsly… stuff.

[theplotmage]

Hi, I was wondering if you could so some sort of rule set for time travel? I'm finding it hard to describe, and what rules there are on the subject.

Thanks!

Hello, I'm also writing a time traveling sci-fi fiction with a fantasy blend to it and here are some things that I find that could help us out!

Rule Set for Creating Believable Time-Traveling Fiction

1. Time Travel Mechanics

Mechanism Description

- Clearly explain how time travel works in your story. Is it a machine, a natural phenomenon, a magical object, or an innate ability?

Scientific Basis

- Incorporate real scientific theories, such as Einstein’s theory of relativity, wormholes, or quantum mechanics, to ground your story in plausible science.

Limitations and Costs

- Define the limitations of time travel, such as distance in time, frequency, energy requirements, or physical toll on the traveler.

2. World-Building

Historical Accuracy

- Research and accurately depict the time periods your characters travel to. Include cultural norms, language, technology, and major events of those eras.

Parallel Worlds and Timelines

- Decide if time travel in your story creates alternate timelines or if it follows a single, mutable timeline. Consistency is key.

Temporal Organization

- Consider the existence of a governing body or organization that regulates time travel. Define its structure, rules, and purpose.

3. Language and Communication

Temporal Dialects

- Characters from different time periods should speak differently. Use historical dialects, slang, and accents appropriate to each era.

Temporal Jargon

- Create specific terms and jargon for time travelers and the technology they use, such as “temporal jump,” “chrononaut,” or “time anchor.”

Code of Conduct

- Develop a code of conduct or set of guidelines that time travelers must follow, including how they communicate with each other and with people from different eras.

4. Character Development

Motivations and Goals

- Clearly define why characters want to time travel. Is it for adventure, to change a personal event, or for scientific exploration?

Personal Growth

- Show how time travel affects characters emotionally and psychologically. Do they struggle with the ethics of their actions or the loneliness of being out of their time?

Conflict and Tension

- Use the potential for paradoxes, rival time travelers, and moral dilemmas to create conflict and tension.

5. Ethical and Moral Implications

Paradox Prevention

- Address how your story handles paradoxes, such as the grandfather paradox. Use concepts like self-healing timelines or fixed points in time to explain inconsistencies.

Ethical Dilemmas

- Explore the moral implications of time travel. Should characters intervene in historical events? What are the consequences of changing the past Responsibility

- Emphasize the responsibility that comes with the power to alter time. Characters should consider the broader implications of their actions.

6. Plot Structure

Non-Linear Narrative

- Use non-linear storytelling techniques to enhance complexity and intrigue. Flashbacks, flash-forwards, and parallel timelines can create a rich narrative.

Foreshadowing and Payoff

- Plant clues and foreshadowing that pay off later in the story. Ensure that all plot threads are resolved by the end.

Multiple Perspectives

- Consider telling the story from multiple viewpoints to show the impact of time travel from different angles.

7. Integrating Science Fiction and Fantasy Elements

Scientific Plausibility

- Ground your time travel mechanics in plausible science, even if you incorporate fantastical elements. Use pseudo-scientific explanations to bridge the gap.

Imaginative Enhancements

- Blend scientific theories with imaginative elements, such as ancient artifacts, alien technology, or supernatural forces.

Explanatory Dialogue

- Use character dialogue to explain complex concepts in an accessible way without overwhelming the reader with technical details.

8. World-Building Consistency

Timeline Integrity

- Map out key events in your story’s timeline to avoid inconsistencies and plot holes.

Cultural and Societal Impact

- Consider how time travel affects society. Is it a well-known and regulated practice, or a secret known only to a few?

Technological and Historical Changes

- Explore how changes in the past affect technology and history in the present and future. Ensure these changes are logically consistent.

9. Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Avoid Overcomplication

- Keep the rules of time travel simple enough for readers to follow without getting bogged down in excessive technical detail.

Plot Holes

- Be vigilant about potential plot holes and inconsistencies that can arise from complex time travel mechanics.

Exposition Balance

- Balance the need to explain time travel mechanics with maintaining the story’s pace and engagement. Avoid info-dumping.

Rules for Time Traveling

1. One-Way Trips Only

Restriction

- Time travelers can only move forward or backward in time once without the possibility of a return journey.

Explanation

- This rule ensures that the timeline remains linear and prevents paradoxes caused by multiple interactions with the same time period.

Effect

- Limits interference with historical events and reduces the chance of creating alternate realities.

2. The Observer Effect

Restriction

- Time travelers cannot interact with their past selves or directly influence their previous actions.

Explanation

- Direct interaction with one’s past self could create paradoxes, such as the “grandfather paradox,” where altering past events prevents the traveler’s existence.

Effect

- Maintains the integrity of the timeline and ensures personal history remains consistent.

3. Fixed Points in Time

Restriction

- Certain historical events, known as fixed points, cannot be changed or altered in any way.

Explanation

- These events are crucial for the stability of the timeline and the universe’s structure.

Effect

- Prevents catastrophic changes to reality, ensuring key moments in history remain intact.

4. Memory Corruption

Restriction

- Excessive time travel can lead to memory corruption, where the traveler starts forgetting crucial details of their original timeline.

Explanation

- The brain struggles to handle multiple versions of events, leading to cognitive dissonance and memory loss.

Effect

- Ensures travelers use time travel sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.

5. Temporal Anchor

Restriction

- Time travelers must establish a temporal anchor, a fixed point in time to which they can return or stabilize themselves.

Explanation

- This anchor serves as a safeguard against getting lost in time or drifting uncontrollably through different periods.

Effect

- Provides a safety net for travelers, ensuring they have a way back to their original timeline or a stable reference point.

6. Butterfly Effect

Restriction

- Minor changes in the past can have significant, unforeseen consequences in the future.

Explanation

- The butterfly effect illustrates how small actions can ripple through time, drastically altering future events.

Effect

- Encourages travelers to be cautious and minimize their impact on past events to avoid unintended consequences.

7. Temporal Energy Consumption

Restriction

- Time travel requires a significant amount of energy, often depleting the traveler’s resources or affecting the environment.

Explanation

- The energy needed to manipulate time is immense, and its usage can lead to resource shortages or environmental damage.

Effect

- Ensures time travel is not undertaken lightly and that travelers consider the environmental and resource costs.

8. Chrono-Sickness

Restriction

- Prolonged exposure to different time periods can cause physical and mental ailments, known as chrono-sickness.

Explanation

- The human body and mind are not designed to handle the stress of moving through time, leading to disorientation, nausea, and psychological effects.

Effect

- Limits the duration and frequency of time travel, encouraging travelers to minimize their trips.

9. Temporal Interference

Restriction

- Time travelers must avoid interfering with major historical figures or events.

Explanation

- Interfering with significant events or individuals can drastically alter the course of history, leading to unpredictable outcomes.

Effect

- Preserves the natural flow of history and ensures major events occur as intended.

10. Temporal Paradoxes

Restriction

- Travelers must avoid creating paradoxes, situations where actions in the past contradict the present or future.

Explanation

- Paradoxes can destabilize the timeline, potentially leading to its collapse or the creation of alternate realities.

Effect

- Ensures travelers act responsibly and with caution, preventing actions that could lead to paradoxical situations.

***

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[badwolveses]

People assume that autism is a strict progression of less autistic to more autistic, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, autisticy-wisticy stuff

[timelordgifs]

TOP TEN DOCTOR WHO EPISODES AS VOTED BY OUR FOLLOWERS

#02 → BLINK (71 votes)

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey… stuff.

[littlegaybean1]

I have created the ultimate explanation of gender, relatively short and covers most bases. Here it is:

People don't understand gender, it's not what you think it is. People assume that gender is a strict progression of male to female but actually from a non-linear non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, gendery-wendery stuff.

[dooweeedooguy]

If time is a linear dimension and the TARDIS can travel through it freely, does that mean every moment in time exists simultaneously, and if so, what implications does that have for our understanding of causality and free will?

people ASSUME that that Time is a strict progression from cause to effect, but ACTUALLY, form a NON-SUBJECTIVE viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of...

so yes, everything sort of exists...at the same time.... but History is always in flux, and is only a Fixed Point created by a Time Lord's interference OR if said point in Time changes events of History significantly.

[lovelyinspiration1463]

Loki S2 E5 Be Like:

Loki: People don't understand time; it's not what you think it is.

OB: Then what is it?

Loki: Complicated.

OB: Tell me.

Loki: Very complicated.

OB: I'm clever and I'm listening, and don't patronize me because people have died and I'm not happy. Tell me!

Loki: People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.

[linguistwho]

Phonetic Gallifreyan Weekend - Sentence 10:

"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff." - The Tenth Doctor

[sleeplesssmoll]

Okay, but genuinely the new event confuses me. not the story or anything just the time period it's in.

like it's clearly supposed to happen after chapter 4 but that one (according to the atlas at least) happens in 1913 while the event takes place in the... is it the 90s?

is the time just not linear? are different parts of the world in different times?

Like I knew to expect some timeline shenanigans in such a game but like not this!

So uhh if you have any more of an idea of what's going on I'd really want to know...

Timeline? Oh boy. When in doubt, quote someone 😎

“People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.”

-The Doctor

I am also not in the position to explain something I am also struggling to comprehend. This post did their best to figure this out. I am going to hold off until the next chapter though because I think that's when things get a bit more organized. The event really throws me off too tbh.

[doctorwho-rewatch]

S3E10 - Blink

★★★★★

Don't blink. Blink and you are dead.

The Weeping Angels are one of the most horrifying aliens in Doctor Who and this episode is one of the best non-Doctor Who stories of the series. I say that deliberately. This episode is so good, but it is very different from a traditional Doctor Who story. I never understood why people use it as an introduction to the show. You'd be sorely disappointed if you expected the rest of the show to be like Blink.

With the Doctor and Martha largely out of action, it is up to Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale to decipher the easter eggs in various DVDs to prevent the Weeping Angels from getting hold of the TARDIS and to rescue the Doctor who is trapped in the past. All the while keeping safe from the Angels, because if you blink...you get zapped into the past, erased from the present.

I was hooked at every moment. The creeping sense of dread as Sally navigated her way through the house - never knowing if an Angel was just around a corner, or just through a doorway is executed brilliantly. To keep yourself safe means to constantly maintain eye contact. If you're terrified, how do you do that? Your eyes begin to water. How much longer can you keep from blinking? What happens when another one, or another one appears. These are genuinely terrifying monsters.

Carey Mulligan was excellent as Sally and Billy Shipton's journey of being zapped back and living his days until he reunited with Sally as an elderly man was poignant.

This episode unnerved me for days after watching and I cannot think of a flaw. Brilliant stuff.

QUOTE: "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey… stuff." (iconic)

[tardisishome]

People assume that canon is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, canony-wanony... stuff.

[timeywimey-ua]

«Люди вважають, що час - це сувора послідовність від причини до наслідку, але насправді, з нелінійної, несуб'єктивної точки зору, він більше схожий на велику кулю часу-квасу.»

«People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.»

[sororalice]

Towards a Philosophy of Magick, Pt. 11: Metaphysics of Time

Where I introduce the “A-B Theory of Time” to be used in my work. Written 2-26-24.

“Time is a child playing draughts; the kingship is a child’s.” -Heraclitus, “On The Universe”, Fragment 79

“People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” - Doctor Who, “Blink”

Time is weird.

In our last chapter, we talked about how reality works. And one of the things the alien, our intellectual proxy in all of these meanderings, came to believe is that time is a dimension, like length, width, and height, and that durations of time are analogous to distances in space. In this chapter we will build on this idea to present the theory of time I will use in this work.

First, let us consider tensed propositions like “I was walking, “I am walking”, and “I will be walking”. We talked a little about propositions that were only true at specific times or places in the chapter on logic, and at that time I showed how using indexicals to situate such propositions grants them definite truth values. For example, the proposition “it is raining” has no definite truth value without being situated, but when we say “It rains in San Francisco at 6am on February 26, 2024” the (now tenseless and situated) proposition has a definite truth value. But when we make propositions without situating them in this tenseless way, we have propositions that change truth values over time, and that makes it very difficult to think clearly about them. In an effort to think clearly about them, we have to discuss first how time works. Note that in this chapter I want to talk purely about the metaphysics of time (how time works), not the phenomenology of time (the way we actually experience and live in time as people), which I will discuss in the next chapter.

There are two primary theories of time in modern anglophone philosophy, known as the “A theory” and the “B theory”. Here I will explain these theories and argue for why I think that a hybrid of these two theories is more true than either of them alone. Then I will attempt to ground our understanding of the “A-B theory” in terms of the relation-centric metaphysics I argued for in the portion of this work on metaphysics.

1. The “A theory” orders events in terms of a notion of a constantly moving “river of time” where each event changes temporal properties as we “move” forward into the future.

2. The “B theory” orders events in terms of relations between events and does not posit the existence of temporal properties.

For example, let us say that yesterday I wore a blue shirt, today I am wearing a pink shirt, and tomorrow I plan on wearing a black shirt. The “A theory” would conceive of this set of events as “the event ‘me wearing a blue shirt’ has the temporal property ‘one day in the past’, while the event ‘me wearing a pink shirt’ has the temporal property ‘in the present’, and the event ‘me wearing a black shirt’ has the temporal property ‘one day in the future’”. Thus the “A theory” talks in terms of properties and each event changes temporal properties as the “river of time” moves.

But the “B theory” talks in terms of dyadic relations. The same set of events described above would be described under the “B theory” thus: “one day before I wore the pink shirt I wore the blue shirt and two days after I wore the blue shirt I wore the black shirt”.

Now, the “A theory” sounds plausible and suits our intuitions and experiences about time. We do, in fact, experience ourselves seemingly moving forward in a dimension of time where the past seems “behind us” while the present seems “with us” and the future seems “ahead of us”. But this model of time has to posit a sort of metatemporal dimension in which the motion of time itself is occurring, which forces us to imagine a “speed of time” where we have to use statements like “time moves forward at the speed of 1 second per second”, which seem circular and meaningless. Thus, while the “A theory” seems to preserve our intuitions and experience of time, upon examination we see at least one unresolvable problem.

The “B theory”, on the other hand, seems counterintuitive and to not preserve our experiences of time. We definitely seem to experience time passing (as anyone who has been forced to wait for a late bus can attest). But the logical problems created by the “A theory” are resolved when we talk in terms of tenseless relations between events rather than in terms of tensed propositions that change their truth values over time. Logic wants to speak in terms of eternal statements like those of mathematics, where 3 is always an odd number, it always comes after 2 and before 4, and so on. It strains our notions of logic when we are forced to speak in tensed terms that change truth values every moment. This is why in the physical sciences we tend to see statements that are tenseless and situated except in the case of laws, which by definition have been generalized, but have still been stated in terms of tenseless statements. In addition to this, the current model of special relativity in the physical sciences seems to support the “B theory”, which will matter more to some people than others, but I mention here because it seems relevant to me. The “B theory” presents time as a distributed manifold where to say that a person aged is to say that at one location in the manifold they had specific properties and that at another location in the manifold they had a different set of specific properties, and this is exactly how special relativity represents change over time. However, it seems impossible to reconcile the “B theory” with our experiences of time. For example, if the “B theory” is correct, how can we explain our difference in attitudes about an event when the event lays in the past as opposed to when it lays in the future? This difference in attitudes seems to point at an essential difference between events that lay in the past as opposed to events which lay in the future, which seems to further imply the “A theory”. However, we also have essentially similar attitudes towards events that lay in the distant past as those that lay in the far future, and these attitudes seem analogous to those we have about events which take place at a great physical distance, which returns us to a view of time that is more like the “B theory” where events distant in time are directly analogous to those distant in space.

So what are we to do? Both theories seem exactly as accurate as they are inaccurate. One theory is consistent with one set of our intuitions and experiences of time and the other is equally consistent with our logical and scientific models of time. In light of these facts, it seems clear that a hybrid of the two theories that preserves our collective intuitions and experiences while getting rid of the aspects that cause logical problems will work better than either theory alone.

So here I will present the “A-B” theory of time:

1. Time is, as implied in special relativity, a continuous manifold where instances of time are locations within the manifold.

2. Events occur in this manifold in a fundamentally tenseless way, but in a way that preserves our notions of the passage of time through the causal relations between events. This “directionality of causation” brings about what we perceive as the “river of time”, as our mental and physical processes follow the processes of causation. In the physical sciences, this directionality of causation seems to be either identical with or brought about by the continuous increase in entropy in physical systems.

Thus we have a theory that preserves our intuitions and experiences of time while still allowing us to talk about events in time in a tenseless and/or relation-oriented way. We end up with what is sometimes called a “Moving Spotlight” theory of time, where the “spotlight” that highlights our perception of the passage of time is actually tracking the movements of causality along the arrow of the increase of entropy within physical systems. This tracking of causality gives rise to our perception of both the movement of the “river of time” and explains our differences in concerns over events in the past versus events in the future. This theory also suits our relation-centric metaphysics, as it centers dyadic temporal and polyadic causal relations as its primary metaphysical mechanics.

Thus we have an “A-B theory” that preserves our intuitions and perceptions of time as well as the “A theory” while removing the logical difficulties of the “A theory” and maintaining consistency with the best current scientific theories as well as the “B theory”. This is the metaphysical theory of time I will be using over the course of my work unless otherwise stated.

In the next chapter we will discuss the phenomenology of time.

[kristina-naida]

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff ✨️⏳️

So excited to say that I finally watched "Doctor Who" 💙 and I am so sad that I didn't find out about this show earlier 🥲 It's amazing 🫶🏼 I'm a huge fan of fantasy and time-space stuff and this show is just a mix of everything I love 🤩 Can't wait for the 60th anniversary speacial episodes 😍 Allons-y ✨️

[quixylvre]

“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually — from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint — it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff.”

— the 10th Doctor

“Time is not a straight line, it’s more of a labyrinth, and if you press close to the wall at the right place you can hear the hurrying steps and the voices, you can hear yourself walking past on the other side.”

— Tomas Tranströmer (1931-2015), from “Answers to Letters”, in: “The Great Enigma”, translated from the Swedish by Robin Fulton