Randm Geekery
So it occurred to me, since I watched both the Sarah Connor Chronicles and Heroes today that both shows are obsessed with changing the future. And I noticed that no matter what individual results were changed, the end result is always the same. No matter who dies or what program is taken off line, Skynet still becomes active, and something crappy happens in the future on Heroes.
So it occurred to me that maybe time is such that, while you may be able to change specific events, the general outcome will still be the same.
And then I found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novikov_self-consistency_principle
The Novikov Principle does not allow a time traveler to change the past in any way, but it does allow them to affect past events in a way that produces no inconsistencies.
Its not exactly what I was thinking, but at least I am not the only person to think of this.
So it occurred to me that maybe time is such that, while you may be able to change specific events, the general outcome will still be the same.
And then I found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novikov_self-consistency_principle
The Novikov Principle does not allow a time traveler to change the past in any way, but it does allow them to affect past events in a way that produces no inconsistencies.
Its not exactly what I was thinking, but at least I am not the only person to think of this.