how would you like to time travel to the past?

If you have to go back to five years ago under the following circumstances— which of the four situations do you prefer?

  1. You retain all your future knowledge, and you are aware that you are a time traveler;

  2. You retain all your future knowledge, but you do not know that you are from the future;

  3. Your knowledge resets to five years ago, but you are aware that you are a time traveler;

  4. Your knowledge resets to five years ago, and you do not know that you are from the future.


If one:
This scenario offers the greatest advantage because you could potentially make informed decisions to improve your life and the world around you. You may also relive moments or ensure you spend as much time as possible with your lost loved ones. But how much history will you change because of the butterfly effect? Are you fine with changing the course of history and lose your original future? If you decide to relive your life exactly the same all over again, wouldn't that be boring or redundant? What's the point of time travel then?

If two:
This scenario could be advantageous in terms of personal success, as you have knowledge of future events and trends. However, without awareness of time travel, you might not fully understand why you have this knowledge or how to best utilize it. Are you going to live in constant anxiety and fear that something bad is forthcoming? Are you going to live in the godly, lonely omniscience except the knowledge of the origin of your power? Does knowing about the future make you happier or more miserable?

If three:
In this situation, you would have to rely on your current awareness to navigate the past without the benefit of advanced knowledge. How does the awareness of being a time traveler change your life? If I tell you right now that you are a time traveler, isn't every moment of your current life essentially situation three? Knowing that a future self sacrificed five years of knowledge just to return to who you are right now, would you live your life more fully?

If four:
This scenario would be similar to living your life again from that point without any knowledge of future events. How is it different from the current moment? Because you don't know if you are from or knowing about the future, isn't every moment of your life essentially situation four? Knowing that potentially a future self sacrificed five years of knowledge just to return to who you are right now, would you live your life more fully?

how would you like to time travel?
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