{"id":50357,"date":"2020-02-20T16:18:23","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T16:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?p=50357"},"modified":"2020-02-20T16:18:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T16:18:23","slug":"travelling-in-time-is-it-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/science-environment\/travelling-in-time-is-it-possible","title":{"rendered":"Travelling in time: will it ever be possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cardiff Science Festival kicks off delving deep into one of humanity\u2019s most explored questions: \u201cIs time-travel possible?\u201d <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure style=\"width: 851px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/Cardiff-University-lecture.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Cardiff-University-lecture.jpg\" width=\"851\" height=\"478\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/Cardiff-University-lecture.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Cardiff-University-lecture.jpg\" width=\"851\" height=\"478\" \/><\/noscript> Dr Edward Gomez delivering his jam-packed lecture about time-travel.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Time-travel has long fascinated the human race.<\/p>\n<p>To physically transport oneself into the future and discover whether the Earth will survive climate change, or to travel right back into the heart of the past and make sense of the origins of our complicated but beautiful planet, would change humanity forever.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the Royal Astronomical Society\u2019s 200th anniversary, and kicking off Cardiff\u2019s Science Festival, an honorary lecturer from Cardiff University reflected on time-travel and its infinite possibilities to an engaged audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And for Dr Edward Gomez, his\nfascination in time-travel goes beyond its potential ramifications for\nmathematical and scientific study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople would like to go back and\nchange something that they did wrong. Everybody has a thing or things that they\nfeel like they could have done better at some point in the past. Or just\nreliving an experience. Going back in time and having one more afternoon with\nyour grandparents. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is these types of things which\nmake fiction interesting, he goes on to argue. \u201cIt is just another device to\nexplore what the human condition is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This exploration of the human condition partly explains why time-travel oriented sci-fi shows such as Doctor Who have had strong telematic success and generated such interest in the tricky subject to its audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPut simply, shows like Doctor Who offer the spectator a chance to ponder\nwhat life would be like if we could ever travel back or forward in time.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think that\u2019s why people are\nfascinated by time-travel, it\u2019s the tantalising possibility that science offers\nwhich could help people in some terms live a better life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The show, relaunched in 2005 after an 18 year hiatus, explores this human condition in many ways: from going back in time to visit Vincent Van Gogh\u2019s mental anguish and depression; basing an episode in Nazi Germany and questioning whether it was right to \u2018kill Hitler\u2019 or the moral quandary of finding yourself stuck in Pompei and debating whether or not, as the volcano erupts, the rules of time travel \u201callow\u201d the Doctor to save one family who are about to drown to death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These\nthree episodes have something in common: The Doctor and their companions go\nback in time but not to change history. They are not allowed to, as per the\nshow\u2019s mechanisms, because of the effects this meddling would have on the past,\npresent and future of the planet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is\none of the main ethical problems with time-travel, if it were to someday become\npossible: where would it stop?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is this\nworldwide fascination with Doctor Who and time-travel which has, in part,\nallowed Gomez to give talks at Harvard, Milan and Warsaw and other places, talking\nabout robots, telescopes and planets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up, he simply wanted to be able to solve problems. Being a fan of Classic Doctor Who, a computer user and interested in astronomy, he always had had a keen interest in this area. And when he was studying for his A-levels he was taught by a former astronomer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGod, I could do this. This is\nactually a discipline. A scientific discipline that I could study that matched my\ntechnology, space and computers and maths interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Gomez\u2019s current research includes machine learning and investigating properties of galaxies, yet, additionally, he gives talks, interviews and chats aplenty about the science behind Doctor Who. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I meet scientists, they always\nsay Cardiff! That\u2019s where they film Doctor Who! Which is phenomenal for the\ncity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Brexit is something that time-travel\ncannot fix, he argues that Britain\u2019s decision to leave the European Union will\ndo the field of astrophysics more harm than good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOh my god Brexit is going to be\ndisastrous for science.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEveryone who can do science would be\nlike: why would I stay in Britain and not be on an international playing field?\nWe have such special links. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as the lecture ends, and the\nfloor is open to the public, a small, primary school aged boy, asks a\ncomplicated question about a certain property of blackhole. The short answer,\nGomez states, is he does not know the answer to this enthusiastically put\ninquiry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reality is, however, there is so\nmuch about the universe that we do not know about, with the possibility of\ntime-travel, although tantalising, still a long way off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even though steps are being taken\nto increase scientific research in the matter, it will not happen anytime soon,\nor even in our lifetimes, despite the keen and attentive crowds at lectures\nlike these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cActually, you have to deal with the\nsituation you have right now or otherwise you will never be fulfilled,\u201c\nreflects Dr Gomez. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"410\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-120x300.png 120w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-768x1920.png 768w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-500x1250.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"410\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-410x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-120x300.png 120w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-768x1920.png 768w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists-500x1250.png 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/5-famous-astrophysicists.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Dr Edward Gomez:  \u201cEvery branch of science is an international collaboration.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lecturer from Cardiff University discusses time-travel and why humanity is fascinated by this science. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":395,"featured_media":50402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[170],"coauthors":[629],"class_list":["post-50357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-environment","tag-doctor-who"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Travelling in time: will it ever be possible? 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