After having considered the complexity of the issues surrounding this topic, there is one big question that we have to ask: Is this for real? Can I accept the possibility of the existence of multiple worldlines, people traveling between these worldlines, and (for North Americans) the chance that there may be a nuclear disaster in the very near future? Or do I write off all of this stuff as the work of a mischievous (though extremely intelligent) hoaxer?
First, let us consider the many factors that seem to indicate that the John Titor story may be credible.
1. His story is internally coherent.
Given the multitude of events and dates given by Titor, as well as the descriptions of future political systems, the functioning of the time travel device, the nature of his worldview based on his personal history, and his purpose for time-traveling, there were many MANY details which John could have bungled or mis-referenced in his various postings. However, he never contradicted himself or presented points of view which were inconsistent with his professed story. The only accusation which could possibly be raised in this area was the fact that one of his posts claimed 2004 as the beginning of the American civil war, while the other posts said 2005. John actually addressed this discrepancy, saying that the 2004 date was a typo.
2. He provided a reasonable explanation for the physics of a functional time-travel device.
Instead of whipping up some kind of “magic” piece of equipment (Back to the Future’s “Flex Capacitor”) or wonky explanation (Star Trek IV’s “Fly around the sun”), John Titor provided an explanation of the real-world physics behind his time travel device, and provided links to help substantiate his explanation. If he was a hoaxer, he did an awful lot of physics homework.
3. He provided photos and diagrams of the time travel device.
Instead of just posting a video that could easily have been faked, or a picture of some contraption that could have been assembled in his backyard, John posted multiple photographs of his time travel device, as well as several pages of the manual for the device, including diagrams of the singularity fields, parts descriptions, and internal cutaways. If he was a hoaxer, he did an awful lot of work in assembling the device, photographing it, creating the manual diagrams, and drawing the intricate details of the cutaway.
4. He spoke with a high degree of intelligence.
This is not to say that there aren’t intelligent hoaxers out there, but we would expect someone chosen by a military unit in the future for a time-travel mission to have a high-degree of intelligence, in order to successfully complete his mission. A reading of a random sampling of John Titor’s posts shows that he was no dummy, especially when you compare his words with some of the less intelligent others who tried to match wits with him online. There are a lot of idiots perpetrating hoaxes on the internet (just read some of your junkmail sometime), and John Titor was no idiot.
5. His behaviour was consistent with the culture he claimed to have come from.
John Titor allegedly came from a world that was sick of war, centred around family and community contribution, heavily concerned with the environment and civil liberty, and filled with people who had all suffered some sort of trauma either before or after the nuclear disaster. All of his mannerisms, thoughts, and expressed feelings were consistent with someone who had grown up in such a culture. He wondered why we don’t stop to help people whose cars have broken down. He stayed close to his family in our worldline. He spoke often about constitutional rights. And, like all people who leave their home culture (no matter how bad it might be), he said he was very anxious to return to it, despite the many amenities that our worldline had to offer.
6. He provided descriptions of events as if he were actually there.
In my linguistics studies, I did some work in forensic linguistics which touched on witness accounts given to police officers, and the criteria for determining their accuracy. When people deliberately give false accounts of events, they often add-in details which actual witnesses would not remember, or neglect to mention things that would have been obvious to those who were there. John Titor’s descriptions of events (the civil war, experiencing time travel, etc.) are all very consistent with the way that people truthfully describe events. In the interest of saving space, I will just offer one example of this: John describes the initial sensation of using the time travel device as “similar to rising quickly in an elevator”. No long, intricate details that would seem made up, but instead, a simple physical description that clearly evokes the intended idea, and is in line with how someone would relate a similar experience in real life.
7. He had a set of ethical principles regarding disclosure of future events which he consistently maintained.
John refused to give people information which might cause someone to avoid death as a result of foreknowledge of a calamity (natural disaster, terrorist attack, etc.) John’s reasoning for this was that he didn’t want to be responsible for who might live or die as a result of his actions. Giving out such information might save the life of the next would-be Hitler, or cause an important world-leader to lose their life as a result (i.e. Someone is convinced that Bush starts a civil war and tried to assassinate him, etc.) Whereas a hoaxer might be tempted to throw out this kind of information just for the “wow factor” of it, or to laugh at people as they re-schedule their vacations, John refused to participate in this. The only events he spoke of were events which would not take us by surprise, even if we DIDN’T know about them beforehand.
8. He made predictions which were verifiable.
John spoke about events which would be impossible to miss when they happened in the near future (the big ones being the American civil war, and the nuclear attack in 2015). Of course, speaking from 2006, it’s another matter as to whether or not the civil war prediction has now been falsified (more about that later in this post), but at the very least, John left himself open for a certain amount of refutation. A hoaxer would likely try avoid any possibility of being proven wrong.
9. His reason for time-traveling was believable.
John’s mission was to pick up an IBM 5100 computer from 1975 (as outlined in my earlier post Time Travel 1 - The Story). Given the nature of the history of John Titor’s worldline, the truth of the UNIX Y2K38 issue, and the design and capabilities of the IBM 5100 computer, John’s explanation about needing this computer to help debug some legacy systems in the future makes sense. What’s even more interesting is the fact that the IBM 5100’s ability to translate between outdated programming languages from the 1960s was purposely not published by IBM, and only came to public knowledge when John Titor made his claims about this computer’s capabilities online. This article explains the situation in more detail. If John was creating a hoax, he would have to have had access to this information from some other, limited source.
10. He did not attempt to make money off of his story.
This is the biggest credibility issue for me. If you’re going to go to all this trouble to perpetrate a hoax, you might as well see some cash for your efforts. As a time traveler, John claimed to be online so that he could archive vast amounts of information, learn about our culture, and have a little bit of personal interaction with interesting individuals outside of his family members. As a hoaxer, what would he gain, personally, for 5 months worth of online discussions? The only possible reward would be some kind of feeble joy in knowing he almost fooled a few people online into believing him. Would that be worth his time and trouble? And would that motive fit with the character traits he exhibited in his online discussions? It’s been over 5 years since John Titor last posted, and nobody has cashed in on this story yet. Would a hoaxer who is this intelligent not be able to come up with a way to profit from his fiction in 5 years?
Having seen some good reasons for John Titor’s credibility, let’s now look at some reasons why his story may NOT be credible.
1. Civil war did not start in 2005
Yeah, this is a big one. Titor said that there would be major events, beginning in 2005, which would lead to an American civil war that would last until 2015. Yet here we are in 2006, and while there are many people who hate President Bush, it doesn’t look like civil war is on the horizon (at least not for the near future). Now, having said that, there are 2 things I should point out: When the civil war in the former Yugoslavia began, it also came out of nowhere, so it’s not impossible that it could still happen in North America. Second, it could be that the small divergence between worldlines that Titor mentioned has lead to the avoidance of civil war in our worldline. It’s not hard to imagine that a slight shift in election outcomes from 2000 or 2004 (which were pretty much 50/50) could have lead to a much different situation today. But no matter how you cut it, this prediction did not happen as Titor described.
2. He didn’t mention anything about 9/11
Since Titor was posting in late 2000 and early 2001, many people have mentioned that it would have made sense for Titor to mention the 9/11 attack. Certainly, for many North Americans in 2006, there is no event of greater historical weight. However, it has also been mentioned that if Titor did indeed live through a 10 year civil war, as well as a nuclear war, then perhaps 9/11 was of relatively less importance in Titor’s mind, and therefore not worth mentioning. It also may not have been in line with his code of ethics (mentioned in point number 7 above) to mention such an event.
3. While it would have taken a lot of work, it is possible to fake his documentation and device construction
Whenever movies or TV shows are being produced, authentic-looking equipment is manufactured and documentation is written up and printed to make the story believable. The equipment in Ghostbusters looked as real as John Titor’s machine, and one can find dozens of books with cutaways and construction diagrams of Star Trek technology, even though none of it is real. Granted, the entertainment industry throws big money at professional designers and prop artists to actualize their fictional ideas, so whoever conceived the Titor technology either had big money to get their ideas produced, or had a huge amount of artistic and technical talent, beyond their capacity for fictional writing, physics theory, and intellectual interaction. It’s unlikely, but it is possible.
4. The physics of his time travel device is still up for debate
Reputable physicists have looked over the theory behind the functioning of Titor’s time travel device, and some have contradicted Titor’s words. Most of the physics involved is beyond me, so it may be best if I just point you to a link that deals with these questions. The only thought I would add here is the idea that perhaps there may still be room for modern physics theories to advance and incorporate what Titor describes in the future, but until we have some experimental evidence of the existence of microsingularities, Titor’s time machine is still a fictional concept.
5. The CERN accelerator which John said created the microsingularities in 2001/2002 is still not online
According to this article the new, larger particle accelerator at CERN is set to come online in 2007. This is considerably later than the date mentioned by John Titor. The only ways around this problem are either to say that this is another worldline difference, or that perhaps CERN was doing research with a larger accelerator that is kept secret from the public. Either explanation is a stretch.
6. Contains plot elements contained in many sci-fi stories
Finally, the story of the future that Titor paints has many common elements with stories seen in science fiction literature and movies over the years. Back to the Future featured a time machine in a car. The Terminator movies featured time travelers warning of future nuclear disaster. Star Trek featured an episode where a character was traveling between different parallel realities. All of the elements to construct John Titor’s story were in existence long before his story came out. However, one should remember that fiction is compelling because it is based on real-life situations and theories. Just because Titor’s story shares common elements with fictional stories, we can’t say on that basis alone that his story is false.
Why do we believe/not believe it?
It has become clear to me, through reading people’s responses to the John Titor story online, as well as through having various discussions about this material with my friends, that everyone approaches this story with certain set beliefs, and tends to look at the content of this story through the lens of trying to confirm their own preconceptions, and refute opposing opinions. Those who want time travel to be true eagerly search out clues that confirm the validity of John Titor, while those who already believe time travel to be impossible hunt for inconsistencies and alternative explanations with equal diligence.
But maybe the question that we have to ask ourselves is: Why do I want to believe or disbelieve this story in the first place? Why would I want time travel to be possible, or why would I want it to be impossible, and go to great lengths of argumentation and dialog to prove my opinion?
As someone who is leaning more toward the “want it to be possible” side of things, let me share a little from my own thoughts. All of us have lived lives full of tough decisions, and troubling regrets. We often ask “what if” questions, and wonder what direction our lives might have taken if we had chosen a different path. If time travel is possible, with its infinite number of worldlines, there would be opportunities to see the realization of the other outcomes of choices we’ve left in our past. We could see loved ones who are not longer with us. We could experience major events outside of our lifetimes that helped shape society. And we could see how our descendants turned out after our lifetime has ended.
The realization of time travel would mean that our experiences would not have to be limited to the small slice of history that our birthdate and state of health offer us. We could find answers to questions about our lives and the nature of the human experience that are beyond the grasp of those bound to a linear temporal existence.
On the other hand, for those who would like to deny the existence of time travel, this story gives rise to thoughts that are more troubling than comforting. Many people in this category are simply afraid of being duped, and would rather write off the idea of time travel than find themselves being “taken in” by a possible hoax. Since the notion of time travel as a reality is not generally believed by the public, it is safer to cast your vote with the majority than to go against the flow and risk public ridicule. Those who follow this mode of thought would have found themselves denying that the earth is round, or that it revolves around the sun, if they had lived a few hundred years ago. But, for the most part, maintaining this state of mind would keep you out of trouble in general society, and help you avoid any “dangerous new ideas”.
Another reason to disregard the possibility of time travel involves being afraid of the implications that time travel would have for ones established worldview. Am I prepared to accept a world where multiple realities exist, and where traveling between them is not impossible? How will this affect my notion of God, or of “self”? Is this world, this reality that I’ve spent my entire life participating in, more complex than my current worldview allows for? How far will I allow my conceptual boundaries to be pushed?
I again offer the analogy of the discovery of the heliocentric model of our solar system. The church was convinced that this idea would shatter people’s orthodox conceptions of God and reality, and would lead to subversiveness and philosophical ideas that would harm the fabric of society. But society gradually accepted this new idea, and the church survived with its theology intact (for the most part). If modern science confirms the existence of multiple realities, people will have to, once again, find a way to incorporate this fact into their worldview and beliefs. We should not let our fear of the unknown override our capacity to embrace what is true.
So, have we answered our question from the first paragraph of this post? Is this stuff true? Based on the evidence, I still believe that we can’t conclusively say. As much as I would like time travel to be a reality, we’ll never know for sure that it can happen unless we do it ourselves. So has all of this been a waste of time? Is there anything useful that we can take away from the John Titor story for us in the here and now? I believe there is.
What can we learn from this?
1. Don’t neglect the ones you love
In a world torn by civil war, John grew closer to his family and understood the importance of having friends that he could trust with his life. In my life, I find that I rarely make time to connect with those I care about because I’m too busy watching movies, surfing the net, or dealing with the mundane daily minutiae. Civil war or not, having close friends brings rewards that far outweigh anything that a new movie or video game can provide. And if, heaven forbid, our society should find itself crashing around us (as has happened in many other “modern” cultures this past century), having close friends could literally be the difference between life and death.
2. Be open to new ideas and conversations
If you’ve taken the time to read through these time travel posts and looked through the John Titor material posted elsewhere, chances are that you’ve encountered many ideas and concepts that hadn’t occurred to you, or that at least forced you to ask yourself some questions that you had never dealt with before. Exposing ourselves to new ideas is a benefit unto itself, because it forces us to move beyond our daily thought routines and step into other, possibly healthier frames of mind. The fastest route to intellectual stagnation and atrophy is to keep your head down and your eyes closed to anything new. Exposing yourself to ideas that are “outside the box” of your daily experience, such as the John Titor story, will allow your critical and intellectual faculties to continue to grow.
3. Take responsibility for your role in society
Titor described the breakdown of American society as a result of the general populace being unaware of their civil liberties, and unable (or unwilling) to protect those liberties when they were being forcibly taken away. He also said that any one of us has the potential to create or prevent the wars and atrocities our future may hold. Titor’s community mentality and social conscience provides a strong example of how we should be willing to take responsibility for shaping our society. It isn’t enough to complain about how things SHOULD be - rather, we should be actively creating the future that we want to see.
4. Think about things that matter
There’s nothing like the thought of impending doom to make you take stock of what is truly important in your life. When Titor spoke of preparing for the civil war, and suggested considering what you would take with you if you had to leave your home in 10 minutes and never come back, it really made me look around my apartment and take stock of what I value. And what I discovered was that there was very little that I would truly miss. My DVD collection, Sega Dreamcast, or Linguistics textbooks could all be replaced, and would do me no good in terms of survival. It would be more a matter of staying healthy, knowing people you could go to for help, keeping a level head and a clear mind. Instead of focusing on buying the latest season of Battlestar Galactica, I should be focusing on being a physically, socially, intellectually, and spiritually healthy individual.
One final thought in closing:
The beauty of the internet is that if my computer at home is destroyed, what I have posted on the internet will survive, and can be archived and searched in the future. Titor himself said that part of his mission was to archive as much relevant information as he could from the internet, and bring it back to his worldline. If time travel is real, there is a chance that this post could be read by someone in the future who has access to a time travel device. I would like to say that I’d be happy to be visited by someone from the future, preferably one of my own descendants. If you’re one of my children or grandchildren, you should have access to private information about me or my wife that nobody else would know, which could confirm your identity.
In the meantime, I’m going to work to create the future as best I know how.
Other John Titor Resources:
Message Forum Archive 1 - John’s posts from Oct 2000 to Jan 2001
Message Forum Archive 2 - John’s posts from Jan 2001 to Mar 2001
John Titor Photos - All of the Titor photos and diagrams with descriptions
John Titor’s Story - The Titor info collected and discussed on one website
Johntitor.com - A pro-Titor look at world events, with some archived material
Also in the Time Travel Series:
Time Travel 1 - The Story
Time Travel 2 - Worldlines
Time Travel 3 - The Device
Well my friends, it’s been a fun ride on this blog. However, I must now announce that this will be the second-last post here, since I’m currently in the process of moving everything over to www.darrenconley.com. The free hosting offered at this current site only allows me about 5kb more storage space, and that covers maybe one picture. So within the next few days (hopefully) all of the content from this site will be up and running at darrenconley.com, where new posts will appear.
