Quantum Physicist Approves the Time Traveler's Wife
source: http://www.slate.com/id/2225223/
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- atomiclegion
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Tragic love stories may not be your thing, but physicist Dave Goldberg says there's another reason to be excited for the film adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife: it's the most accurate time travel movie you'll see all year.
Goldberg, a physics professor at Drexel University, and co-author of the upcoming book A User's Guide to the Universe: Surviving the Perils of Black Holes, Time Paradoxes and Quantum Uncertainty, says that amidst the current glut of more fantastical time travel dramas — in which he includes Lost, Star Trek, and Heroes — The Time Traveler's Wife is a breath of relatively accurate air.
Looking at the theories developed by Albert Einstein, Hugh Everett, Igor Novikov, and Kip Thorne, Goldberg creates a checklist for accurate time travel rules ("You can't visit any time before your time machine was built." "You can't kill your own grandfather."), and explains how well The Time Traveler's Wife fits within those rules. The verdict: the story bends the rules a bit, but in a somewhat justifiable way, and comes out leagues ahead of most popular time travel tales.
One point I wish Goldberg had addressed is whether nudity is a prerequisite for time travel, because personally when they build the time machine, I'd prefer to arrive fully clothed.
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getawaysticks
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That's funny. I read the book and it was the single most implausible time travel story I've ever heard (although to be fair, I am not a physicist). It makes the rules up as it goes along and they are always convenient to the story. I'll not say anything else to avoid spoiling anyone.
- 2 years ago
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getawaysticks
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Sam_the_Wizer
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I'm all about plausibility, but this doesn't increase my desire to see this movie even a tiny bit. What about Primer for plausibility in a time travel movie? Or what about Futurama? Their implausibilities are intentional satire, and the intire circuit is beautifully woven (a silhouette of a time travelling character introduced later in the show appears in the show's pilot episode). Even their handling of the Grandfather paradox was top notch. Hmm. I'm gonna go watch Futurama.
- 2 years ago
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Sam_the_Wizer
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idealist
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i dont care what quantum physicist's say. it all comes down to the people on rotten tomatoes :)
- 2 years ago
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idealist
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dainjdc
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Well at least that's cleared up. Now I can enjoy the movie as a truth filled romp through time instead of some fake unbelievable plot. Rachel Mcadams is great.
- 2 years ago
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dainjdc
