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Monday, October 20, 2008

Will the Year 2036 Have Pick Up Artists?

If you're a sci-fi geek like me, you've probably heard of John Titor. Today, the Institute for Quantum Living posted an article profiling the details of John's arrival on internet message boards in the year 2000, his answers to questions about the state of the future between his time (2036) and the present day, and how he traveled through time. Entire websites and documentaries are devoted to celebrating and debunking this man and his prophesies. Cafe Press even has shirts devoted to the phenomenon.

For skeptics(also like me), it offers a what-if to chew on for awhile, even if our rational mind dismisses everything surrounding John Titor as a hoax. I've long believed that our society's overindulgence, recklessness and the slippery slope of moral values will endure a backlash. People will stand up and say "Enough is enough." I picture a world reshuffled into true communities again, smaller nexuses of activity where we rely less on purchasing tomatoes from Guatemala and more from local growers. Where townspeople dive into decisions and education and volunteering because resources from the greater governments will have lost the funds and the power to intervene in day-to-day life. A homecoming for people like me who come to realize the "opportunities" that come with big city life aren't worth the ridiculous dance we endure to be part of it.

Strangely, this is part of our future, according to John Titor. Maybe he, or whomever created this fantastic tale grew weary of the noise, the choking exhaust, the prevalent hum of fear and intolerance outside the door. Maybe for some, believing in the possibility of time travel is easier than believing we're collectively capable of real change.

I'm pretty sure my subconscious has been thinking about this for awhile. While entertaining that mind-bending twist at the end of The Night Caller, I wondered what it would be like for the reader to discover that the heroine of the 1880s they'd come to know was actually a hundred and thirty years in the hero's future and society had reversed itself, minus the hard-won lessons of humanity's darkest hours. I can't conceive of it working for this story, but someday, I'm sure the idea will surface again.

And to put this all in the proper, absurd perspective, I leave you a photograph posted of John Titor:
I'll venture he's the one in buckskin on the left. His friend is too Pick Up Artist to be convincing.

If you read the article, let me know what you think. If this is all too much for you, dissect this jokester's time travel couture.

7 comments:

Miladysa said...

I had never heard of him until today.

I believe that time travel is possible - it makes sense to me.

I hope he is a crank - 2015 is not very far away.

We need to change our ways. I think we are heading for a worldwide depression which will be followed by a great war and then we shall start to change our perspective and try to work our way out of it.

You do not need to travel from the future to see this, you just need to look back through history.

I like the look of your book and intend to read it :D

Charles Gramlich said...

Miladysa is on to it. To travel into the future one needs only read history.

laughingwolf said...

my esteemed comrades, above, nailed it...

until today, had never heard of titor [the teeter end of a teeter/totter?]

as for the garb... fuhgeddaboudit!

Maureen McGowan said...

Wow, I learn so many cool things on your blog...

The photo made me laugh :-)

Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles) said...

I dont think anyone in the future will have social skills enough to mate. Just an observation.

God...I'd love to go back in time, not into the future.....or wait...lemme look ahead before I decide.

Barbara Martin said...

Until I read your post, I had never heard of John Titor.

There are some interesting elements in the material you've posted; however, there are other elements too bizarre to be contemplated. 2036 is not that far away. One thing to note, is the alleged photo of John Titor does not belong to the articles.

For people who have never had a supernatural or wierd experience this article will confirm that the person, John Titor, is a basket case.

However, since some of the predictions have proven to be correct there is substance that John Titor, if anything, is a psychic.

Time travel is not impossible, just improbable with respect to this article.

L.A. Mitchell said...

Barbara...the photo is a joke. Someone who wanted to poke fun at the "legend". Thanks so much for stopping by :)