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Author | Topic: Message from the future | |||||||||||||||||||||||
arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1369 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
that's my problem. i never proofread. it doesn't help much when i do, either. because i just hear what i wanted to say instead of what i actually wrote. i'd have to wait a little while, and then come back to it.
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Omnivorous Member Posts: 3986 From: Adirondackia Joined: Member Rating: 7.1 |
Parasomnium writes: I'm a bit sensitive when it comes to my English, I tend to want it to be perfect. There is no need to be sensitive about your English, Parasomnium--it is superb. Besides, there is no such thing as perfect English: it is a rapidly evolving chimera!
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
because i just hear what i wanted to say instead of what i actually wrote. When you say 'hear', you probably don't mean it in a literally audible sense. But that's exactly my way of proof reading: I read aloud what I write. If it sounds like it could have been said on the BBC, I post it. If it doesn't, I revise. {edited for BBC quality} This message has been edited by Parasomnium, 03-Oct-2005 12:28 AM
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Was Monty Python on the BBC?
Aslan is not a Tame Lion
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Omnivorous Member Posts: 3986 From: Adirondackia Joined: Member Rating: 7.1 |
jar writes: Was Monty Python on the BBC? Spokesperson for Ministry of Funny Talks?
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
There is no need to be sensitive about your English
Thanks, that's very nice to hear.
there is no such thing as perfect English I suppose there isn't, with half the world abusing it on a daily basis. Oh well...
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
Ahem... I know I'm guilty of a bit of topic drift myself here, but isn't it time for some serious clue hunting?
I'll leave you to it, I'm off to bed.
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
Are you suggesting something, Jar?
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
nudge, nudge,
Aslan is not a Tame Lion
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
Say n'more.
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arachnophilia Member (Idle past 1369 days) Posts: 9069 From: god's waiting room Joined: |
When you say 'hear', you probably don't mean it in a literally audible sense. i read it in my head, yes, but the process is comparable to hearing for me. if i read it aloud it wouldn't make much difference, i'd still say what i thought i wrote instead of what i actually wrote. goes through the same mental pathways. i only catch differences after some time of doing something else. when i write essays for school, i usually take a "conclusion break." i got my friends at college hooked on it too. write the whole essay (usually at once, but those 15 pagers tend to take a while), and then take a 15 minute break before writing the conclusion. the idea is to completely get your mind off the project. watch tv, do laundry, listen to music, whatever. then you come back to the essay with a clear head. you proof-read the whole thing, and then come at the conclusion with fresh ideas. seems to work pretty well. keeps you from repeating yourself, and lets you tie things together from the perspective of a reader. i also like to get other people to proof-read. usually i get my lit-major friend (or my mother, who's really good with grammar) to check it over.
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New Cat's Eye Inactive Member |
I still haven't seen a post from anyone telling us how to avoid this disaster Message 64 My solution was prevent the asteroid from destroying the colony on mars. The only problem I see with this is that the message wouldn't be sent, but I still think we would survive.
(So yes, I did write it.) What gave it away for me was when you asked, after the meesage was edited out of the OP, 'Was this what they meant by the message being lost?' Good job though, I like it.
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Parasomnium Member Posts: 2224 Joined: |
Catholic Scientist writes: My solution was prevent the asteroid from destroying the colony on mars. Even if that were feasible, then it's not the solution I had in mind. Sorry, no Post-Of-The-Month yet.
Catholic Scientist writes: The only problem I see with this is that the message wouldn't be sent, but I still think we would survive. It's the central problem of all time-travel yarns: if something from the future changes the past so that the future cannot happen the way it happened before, then it may not be possible to change the past from that changed future. In our example, if the message prompts us to take action and we succeed in averting the disaster, then the message does not need to be sent anymore, so we are not prompted to take action. It's the same for any solution, not just yours. The one I have in mind is no different in that respect. All solutions lead to a paradox. But my goal with this thread was twofold: to have a little fun with a riddle, and to discuss time-travel paradoxes. The latter we have done, and can continue to do. But the riddle remains to be solved. Here's a hint: the message indirectly causes the plague. The question is: how?
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PaulK Member Posts: 17825 Joined: Member Rating: 2.3 |
quote: I can't remember the story that well, but I'd guess that the plague organism is a result of the Martian colonisation effort. Either it comes from Mars or (more plausibly) an Earth bug mutates either on Mars or during the journey there or back. But here's another puzzle. The problem with temporal loops is not how they perpetuate themselves, but how they start. What was in the original timeline - what prompted the message sent back from theat future, what did it say and how dit it affect the timeline ?
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New Cat's Eye Inactive Member |
Even if that were feasible, then it's not the solution I had in mind. Its almost feasible with todays technology so I'd say in this senario it is definately feasible. If the colony on mars is not destroyed then the disaster, the extinction of all humans, is avoided.
Sorry, no Post-Of-The-Month yet. That's ok, i don't care about the POTM.
if something from the future changes the past so that the future cannot happen the way it happened before, then it may not be possible to change the past from that changed future Then what about the first time the infection happened, before the first message was sent? The message couldn't have been created until the virus occured and the first time the message was sent back the future, and past, was altered. I think the senario implies that it is possible to change the past form the changed future. So this time around, when the colony is saved there in no message sent and humans survive. The message that we just recieved (i mean you typed) is the second one mentioned. The humans that wrote it mentioned receiving a message and that is why they created the colony on mars. The first time the virus happened, there probably wasn't an effort to make a colony on mars because the virus was unknown. Now, that colony was destroyed so they sent the message again because they didn't no the asteroid was comming. This time we know its comming and can take anther step towards survival. Its seems that every time around the senario would change a little. I don't think it could be an endless loop that would never stop because it would be impossible for the loop to start.
But my goal with this thread was twofold: to have a little fun with a riddle, and to discuss time-travel paradoxes. The latter we have done, and can continue to do. Consider your goals achieved.
But the riddle remains to be solved. if you say so...
Here's a hint: the message indirectly causes the plague. The question is: how?
The Message writes: Earth launched a mission to retrieve them and they made it back to earth in six months time. Then, in december 2113, the viral infection started. Since the virus started after visiting mars the virus must have come from mars and the message is what made us go to mars in the first place, indirectly causing the virus. But this ruins my previous solution because I said that the first time the virus happened we hadn't gone to mars so either way I'll consider it solved. Unless you say that it isn't again.
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