What is the grandfather paradox?
Q: What is the grandfather paradox?
A: The grandfather paradox is a temporal paradox involving time travel, first described by Nathaniel Schachner and René Barjavel, where if you were to travel back in time and kill your grandfather, it would create a loop where you would never have been born but also could not have gone back in time to kill him.
Q: Who first described the grandfather paradox?
A: Nathaniel Schachner and René Barjavel both first described the grandfather paradox in their respective works.
Q: What is the proposed physical paradox of time travel?
A: The proposed physical paradox of time travel is the grandfather paradox, which asks what happens if you were to travel back in time and kill your grandfather.
Q: Why is the grandfather paradox unexplainable?
A: The grandfather paradox is unexplainable because it creates a loop in time that seemingly has no answer, since killing your grandfather would prevent your own existence but also prevent you from being able to travel back in time to kill him.
Q: Is time travel of this kind possible?
A: As far as we know, time travel of this kind is not possible, so the paradox is not one we will face in practice.
Q: What is the significance of the grandfather paradox in science fiction?
A: The grandfather paradox is significant in science fiction as a cautionary tale about the dangers and complexities of time travel, and as a way to explore the philosophical and ethical implications of altering the past.
Q: Who created the short story Ancestral Voices?
A: Nathaniel Schachner created the short story Ancestral Voices, which first described the grandfather paradox.
