Quantum Physics 225: Monday, Fifth Period
The Doctor has coffee for everyone. Everyone being...well...three people. He likes to think of himself as generous.
"Hello and good morning. We should all know each other in here, so we don't need to muss around with introductions and those bloody games that go with them. Thank god. If you drastically feel the need to introduce yourself, then by all means, do so now.
"I hope you had a satisfactory vacation. Mine was uneventful, after the first few days."
He brushes his hair out of his face. "Even though you read the description in the course catalogue...or I HOPE you did...you're probably wondering what we're going to do in here. The answer is 'More of the same, but more interesting'. We're going to look at the period in Earth's history that is perhaps one of the most dangerous to approach from a time traveller's angle--1966 to 1971. This is the era commonly known as 'the sixties'." A pause. "You'll notice the period I cited wasn't a decade. That's because the essential themes from said period don't fit neatly into '1960 to 1970'; instead, the real paradigm change occurred during the years I stated first."
"The sixties are, as I said, ridiculously dangerous, both in terms of the time traveller's physical well-being, and his or her effect on the already ordered timeline. Perhaps a small move could change a drastic amount of history." He smiles a slow and dangerous smile. "That's why we're looking at it. Examples of possible paradox abound, not to mention countless possibilities of alternate universes, different variants of string movement...the list could go on for ages. If you're in this class, I trust you enough to learn something from this knowledge and not use it to bugger things up royally.
"We'll be doing a lecture and discussion on Mondays and practical work on Wednesdays. I know this is right after lunch, but I expect you to Be Awake, Please, or I reserve the right to chew you out. You're not going to have too much classwork, but I expect on-topic and vivid discussion, as well as creative open minds...as you know from your past experience with me. My office hours will be Tuesday and Thursday during the school day.
"Questions?"
"Hello and good morning. We should all know each other in here, so we don't need to muss around with introductions and those bloody games that go with them. Thank god. If you drastically feel the need to introduce yourself, then by all means, do so now.
"I hope you had a satisfactory vacation. Mine was uneventful, after the first few days."
He brushes his hair out of his face. "Even though you read the description in the course catalogue...or I HOPE you did...you're probably wondering what we're going to do in here. The answer is 'More of the same, but more interesting'. We're going to look at the period in Earth's history that is perhaps one of the most dangerous to approach from a time traveller's angle--1966 to 1971. This is the era commonly known as 'the sixties'." A pause. "You'll notice the period I cited wasn't a decade. That's because the essential themes from said period don't fit neatly into '1960 to 1970'; instead, the real paradigm change occurred during the years I stated first."
"The sixties are, as I said, ridiculously dangerous, both in terms of the time traveller's physical well-being, and his or her effect on the already ordered timeline. Perhaps a small move could change a drastic amount of history." He smiles a slow and dangerous smile. "That's why we're looking at it. Examples of possible paradox abound, not to mention countless possibilities of alternate universes, different variants of string movement...the list could go on for ages. If you're in this class, I trust you enough to learn something from this knowledge and not use it to bugger things up royally.
"We'll be doing a lecture and discussion on Mondays and practical work on Wednesdays. I know this is right after lunch, but I expect you to Be Awake, Please, or I reserve the right to chew you out. You're not going to have too much classwork, but I expect on-topic and vivid discussion, as well as creative open minds...as you know from your past experience with me. My office hours will be Tuesday and Thursday during the school day.
"Questions?"