MatthewToad43 on Nostr: I dunno. We have to assume that the system is chaotic. The reason the parallel ...
I dunno. We have to assume that the system is chaotic. The reason the parallel timeline episodes from Star Trek are silly is that in a parallel world different people would be born; pretty much everything, but most especially *where* you are and who you work with, affects your reproductive decisions.
So there are times when one small change might change everything. And we can't necessarily identify those at the time.
For instance, had Adolf Hitler not survived WWI, that might have changed history. And that would be a minor change really, because so many other people did not survive it. Sure, some other fascist would have taken his place, but sometimes life really does rest on a delicate chain of circumstances; the outcome would not have been identical.
Everything with time travel is silly though. Even if it's possible, that probably means you just end up on a different timeline when you come back; does it affect everyone else, such as the large number of people involved in sending you back? You get into philosophical silliness pretty fast.
But as regards today ... What changes things is, *mostly*, not one small decision, but *lots* of small decisions. And usually also some big decisions.
Consumer choices won't save us from climate change. They can help, and make a real impact, but they're not enough to change the big picture, because they exclude so much of the population.
Whereas a small group of determined people can start an avalanche.
So there are times when one small change might change everything. And we can't necessarily identify those at the time.
For instance, had Adolf Hitler not survived WWI, that might have changed history. And that would be a minor change really, because so many other people did not survive it. Sure, some other fascist would have taken his place, but sometimes life really does rest on a delicate chain of circumstances; the outcome would not have been identical.
Everything with time travel is silly though. Even if it's possible, that probably means you just end up on a different timeline when you come back; does it affect everyone else, such as the large number of people involved in sending you back? You get into philosophical silliness pretty fast.
But as regards today ... What changes things is, *mostly*, not one small decision, but *lots* of small decisions. And usually also some big decisions.
Consumer choices won't save us from climate change. They can help, and make a real impact, but they're not enough to change the big picture, because they exclude so much of the population.
Whereas a small group of determined people can start an avalanche.