Time Machine Travel

[Tvtyrant]

If you could go to any period and place, where would you go, what would you do, and why?

Limitations/abilities are you can only bring 500 pounds of materials/people with you, your current vaccinations magically keep you from spreading modern diseases or catching extinct/old ones, and EDIT: you can speak the local languages.

I would pick middle east around 8,000 BC to see what the fertile crescent was like when they were making early walled towns.

[nedz]

I would like to record the dyonesian festival in Athens, especially the lost play of the Oedepus tetrology.

[Jeff the Green]

In before killing Hitler!

In all seriousness, probably around 100 AD in Alexandria. That's about the time the virulent anti-science sentiment that eventually led to the dark ages started, and also when Greek natural philosophy (i.e. science) and Roman engineering began to stagnate. I'd judiciously introduce some inventions, like using steam engines for more than toys and religious chicanery, blast furnaces, and antibiotics, and some science, like evolution, Newtonian physics, optics, and heliocentrism. I'd also promote some of the philosophers of the time like Musonius Rufus that had enlightened views of slavery and gender relations. Imagine what the world would be like now if European/Near Eastern culture hadn't stagnated for hundreds of years!

[The Second]

Can we make multiple trips?

If so, first stop would be Japan, 1600 AD, to follow the the travels of Musashi. A handbook on proper Japanese etiquette would be a must.

Next stop, 70 AD to sit at the feet of Pliny the Elder. Bring a stack of notebooks and a box of pencils.

Next, 30 AD to follow the life a man who's name cannot be be posted due to not wanting to violate forum policy. Bring more notebooks and another box of pencils.

Seven more stops to view each of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Bring a sketchpad and yet another box of pencils.

Last stop, the late Cretaceous to see the event that sparked the extinction of the dinosaurs. Bring along a lead lined box... It might help me survive the impact.

If I can choose only one, I'd go with Musashi. I'd give my left eye to see then man who was arguably history's greatest warrior in action.

[Morph Bark]

inb4grandfatherparadox

30 AD is a good one.

Julius Caesar would be on my list of people to meet.

Queen Nefertiti as well.

And Genghis Khan.

Go check out Edo Japan.

And one of those old South American cultures (at least the ones that didn't practice human sacrifice).

Oh, and probably hop by the 50s or 60s for a musical soiree.

If I'd have to pick one though?

Prolly meetin' Jules.

[Ravens_cry]

Yeshua BenYosef is someone I want to meet.
I'll Just leave it at that due to forum rules.
On a broader scale, Imperial Rome, Ancient Greece, The Indus Valley Civilisation at its height. Cro-magnon Man, Neanderthals, anywhere with dinosaurs. Lots of places.

[Maxios]

Any time between 1927 and 2009 so I can talk to my grandfather again.

Oh, and Ancient Greece so I can find the lost parts of The Trojan Cycle.

[scurv]

I would sit in when Socrates was teaching his class with his son Nicomachus in it, Just to see how badly it got distorted. Actually I would love to do that with all the great teachers

I would wish see The Maid of Orléans, Her's was a life, lived in a very full way, All things considers

I would go to 1749 to watch the numbers bridge being built in Cambridge.

Other than that, I would wish to watch the great generals and the defeated side of every war, just to capture their story.

[Ravens_cry]

The Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Medieval Europe, Medieval Arabia, Perisa, Babylonia, Victorian Europe, pretty much any part of the 20th century.
And . . .The Future!
Do we expand as a species out into the cosmos, or do we merely retract, pull back, afraid of infinity?

[Kelb_Panthera]

Ignoring for a moment that the implications of time-travel and the fact that those implications give me shudders and fits, *twitches a little* I think I'd like to go back about 6 months to my own home and spend most of that time interacting with myself.

I could get in some serious sparring, have interesting conversations in which one of me deliberately plays devil's advocate on various topics, "entertain" the wife in fun new ways.

That or back to just before the Edo period in Japan. Get a look at some of the more interesting conflicts and historical figures just before samurai culture starts to civilize, followed by a quick hop to about 75-ish years after that to compare and contrast.

[ForzaFiori]

I have no idea how I could chose just one place... See the Roman Republic and Empire, sit in with Socrates and Plato, browse the Library of Alexandria, meet various religious/political figures, see the beginning of civilization, the building of the wonders of the world (not just the big 7 either, the wonders from all across the world, from the Great Wall to the Pyramids in Central America), Florence during the renaissance, the Roaring 20's, meet my grandfather, there's just so many things...

I suppose that's the problem of asking a historian that question...

[Serpentine]

I would (after learning the appropriate Italian), go get Leonardo da Vinci, and bring him to the future. I'd show him all the amazing inventions we use now, especially the ones he'd worked on, and everything we know about science and anatomy and the natural world and the universe, and how we reached the moon, and a look at what happened in art since he died. And I'd take him to the Louvre and anywhere else his art and his workbooks are kept to show him that even now in an era of marvels we're still in awe of the things he did. And I'd just talk to him about everything: science, art, his life, his sexuality (just for my own curiosity), his relationships...

My second stop would be the 1700s, to meet my convict ancestor, Elizabeth Thomas. It sounds like she had an incredibly interesting life, and there's a few unanswered questions I'd like to ask.

I'd also like to go to the Library of Alexandria and rescue as much as I possibly could before it was destroyed, get to know various forum-inappropriate figures personally, see Tenochtitlan and the Great Pyramids in their glory, annnnd see a real-live dinosaur.

I'm very curious to see the future, but at the same time afraid of what I might see.

[factotum]

Last week with a note in my pocket containing the winning numbers for the lottery? I mean, I *like* the present day, but having a bit of money to spare would improve it greatly...

[golentan]

About 100-200 years from now. I'd be too scared of messing up history going back in time, and going too far forward might result in me being incapable of communicating effectively. I'd be curious to see how things are going.

[Elemental]

Seven more stops to view each of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Bring a sketchpad and yet another box of pencils.

When you do that, can you please solve the problem as to where the Hanging Gardens actually were?
I've just been checking up on that, and the only references to a royal garden in Babylon were made centuries after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar the Second. Admittedly, one quoted a Babylonian priest, but the description does not necessarily resemble anything of the magnitude discussed in the legend and all the accounts vary considerably in important details.

As for me, I would likely not travel back in time to avoid the whole problem of altering the past in a dangerous manner.
Though, if I could, I would request a cloak of invisibility such that I may not disturb the locals while I take photographs of life in ancient times in order to enrich our understanding of the present.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Into the future!

Far into the future. Like, 2000 years, at least. Then I'd hang back and study history

[Tvtyrant]

Last week with a note in my pocket containing the winning numbers for the lottery? I mean, I *like* the present day, but having a bit of money to spare would improve it greatly...

This one feels like cheating to me, but I was foolish enough to give you a time machine

[Ravens_cry]

This one feels like cheating to me, but I was foolish enough to give you a time machine

I wonder if the Butterfly effect would be enough to change the numbers from the disturbance made by going back in time.

[Karoht]

For stuff this century:
-The 1960's. Seriously, I would spend all decade here, go and see all the famous bands in their prime from this era, go to woodstock, etc. I'd avoid the drugs though.
-The 70's. To buy an old school muscle car and drive it like an old school muscle car. Maybe tour route 66. And see more bands from this era.
-The 40's. Watch some of the original nuclear tests.
-The 20's. It's the roaring twenties, what's not to love?


For stuff not of this century:
Everything.

[nedz]

Maybe we should just go back and stop the Dalek invasion ?

[Amidus Drexel]

I would probably travel just a bit back in time and mess with people .

Oh, all the shenanigans I could pull off if there were two of me.

[Aran nu tasar]

Because I've been doing too much math recently, seeing the original proof (or lack thereof, which is probably more likely) of Fermat's last theorem. Or to the start of various world religions, because that would be absolutely fascinating. Or Genghis Khan. Because I like the Mongols. But that would probably end with me doing something stupid and getting killed, so maybe not. I wouldn't try something like rigging the lottery, however, because that's asking for paradoxes. My role should be an observer, not a participant.

[Xondoure]

One year ago today.

And thus began the epic adventures of Xondoure and Xondoure.

[Moff Chumley]

1981, to catch Talking Heads on their Remain in Light tour, with 500 pounds of recording gear.

[Jeff the Green]

I wouldn't try something like rigging the lottery, however, because that's asking for paradoxes.

Eh, if there's time travel, there's presumably some protection from paradoxes. Hopefully not the Reapers.

I'd also be interested in visiting Jules Verne and asking him to add some even more uncanny predictions. Like having the Nautilus run on pitchblende or the Journey to the Center of the Earth be revealed to be the fever-dream of the explorers who got too close to the mantle. Putting in tectonic plate theory somewhere would be awesome.

Edit: Or maybe visit Edgar Allan Poe and tell him he was right about the Big Bang Theory. And give him penicillin/a rabies shot/anti-epileptics and tell him to write a new will.

[Sanguine]

Absolutely everything.

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Rome has just been so such an influence on all of Western culture, it would be absolutely fascinating to see how it became what it is and was. Also I'd love to be there for the founding of the city itself.

Tons of stuff in ancient Greece: Talking with the great philosophers of the time, finding out if Troy really existed and what it was like, having a chat with Alexander, finding out which mythological heroes, if any, actually existed and what they were actually like and did.

Talking with Sun Tzu.

Meeting all the major religious leaders.

Seeing the Wonders of the World.

Meeting Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Nicola Tesla, Sir Isaac Newton, Jean d'Arc, Winston Churchill, Cleopatra, and so many more.

Plus all the wonders the future might hold.

I would spend every moment of my life experiencing some new and wonderful thing. People talk about using Time Travel to make money, I wouldn't do that. If I have all the wondrous and fantastic things the world has to offer why would I waste even a single moment of my life on anything so banal as rigging the lottery.

[Morph Bark]

Oh, and there's one thing keeping me from going to places and times I'd love to go to but "shouldn't": language barriers. Unless I get a Babelfish, then it's k.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Though it's not in the OP I gather from the bulk of responses that the language thing is being handwaived.

TvTyrant may want to add something to that effect, if he's concerned that people that might otherwise respond aren't because they don't feel like they could go anywhere because of language barriers.

Which actually does bring up a place I'd like to take a look at. Earliest pre-history when man was first developing language and may or may not have learned to harness fire, somewhere in sub-saharan Africa if I understand correctly.

[noparlpf]

Maybe we should just go back and stop the Dalek invasion ?

I'm just up to "Death to the Daleks", "Genesis of the Daleks" is in a few episodes. I'm looking forward to it.

Edit: Better yet, let's go back and save the missing episodes from the BBC's irresponsible storage system.

[Deth Muncher]

Well, there's some obvious things, like go back in time to all the historic book burnings and save the books, and like was partially mentioned before, any time there's a gap in a series of ancient plays or stories, go and recover the full versions.

Aside from altering a few poor life choices I've made down the years, and maybe visiting some relatives I never really got to spend time with and now no longer have the opportunity, I'd probably do something silly like go throughout time and ask various historical figures what their favorite foods were, then publish a cookbook present day.