If We Can't Send People Back in Time, Can We Send Information?

Even if it were possible, there are good reasons not to try to send information back in time.

By Paul M. Sutter
Jun 30, 2023 2:00 PM
Data transfer
Illustration of information being sent through spacetime. (Credit: agsandrew/Shutterstock)

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Causality is kind of important.

Causality — the concept that causes always come before effects — forms the bedrock for our physical understanding of the universe. It isn’t just a theory or law of physics. Causality is physics.

Therefore, we assume causality to be true every time we construct a new theory or develop a new model. And we always bake it into each of our equations, automatically constructing models where (you guessed it) causes lead into effects.

But causality doesn’t just form the basis for science; it underpins our entire logical understanding of reality itself.

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