The Magic and Mystery of Time

Out of the thinker came something to think…

Time. That strange, unexplained entity we all feel ticking away — it’s everywhere, shaping every second, every heartbeat, every thought.

Einstein once called it “a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

And indeed, time can feel like an enigma — especially when it comes to time travel. The mystery of time has sparked countless theories, movies, and philosophies. I’ve spent hours pondering it, caught up in the strange beauty of timelines and paradoxes, wondering: is time fixed, or can it be rewritten?

After much thought, I realised there are two major schools of thought on the nature of time.

Time as a cyclical/simultaneous construct and Time as a linear construct

Simultaneous time

The Fixed Time Loop: Destiny Set in Stone

One theory suggests that time is fixed— a tapestry woven all at once. In this view, past, present, and future are all locked in place. It’s the theory where time travel changes nothing because every event has already occurred, with no possibility for deviation.

Think of it like this:

A woman in the present is saved by a man from the future, though the man hasn’t yet decided to go back and save her. But eventually, he will. He must — because he already did; it’s already part of the timeline.

K-drama series like Atypical Family and movies like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban capture this paradox perfectly.

Remember how Harry travels back to save himself and his uncle, only to discover that he was his own saviour all along?

This interpretation says that nothing can be rewritten; everything is already “written in the stars.” It’s a comforting yet eerie idea that every action, every moment, is preordained.

So, time is fixed and nothing changes.

Linear time

The Fluid Time Theory: Choices and Divergent Paths

The second perspective says that time is fluid, a sequence of choices leading to infinite possible outcomes. In this view, going back in time and changing something creates a new branch — a different future.

Time as a linear construct

Imagine the same woman dies in the present, but her fate is not sealed. The man can go back, save her, and create a new timeline where she lives. This fluid approach implies that each decision we make is like a fork in the road, shaping different possible futures and creating a parallel reality.

Simply put, our choices shape the future. We wouldn’t be our current selves if one of our previous choices or experiences were tampered with.

Movies like The Umbrella Academy and The Flash dive into this theory, where a single change can disrupt timelines, leading to a new chain of events, hence a new future. In this theory, time is delicate, full of possibilities, and any change — big or small — can create a ripple effect.

The Paradox of Coexistence

Constant/simultaneous time and linear time co-existing? I think not.

And here lies the paradox: both perspectives can’t coexist.

If I could travel back in time and, for some strange reason, eliminate my own parents before I was born, I wouldn’t exist.

But if I don’t exist, then how could I go back in time in the first place?

It’s a maddening thought that leaves us caught between two seemingly impossible realities.

So, where does that leave us?

This mind-bending paradox hints that time is a concept we might never fully grasp. The mystery of time remains, ever-shifting, impossible to define. Maybe it’s fixed and flowing at once, or maybe it’s something else entirely beyond our understanding.

Sometimes, I think, the beauty is in the contradiction. It doesn’t all have to be tied in a neat little knot.

So, I don’t just think outside the box — I break these boxes and exist without them in my thoughts.

And I’ll keep pondering and questioning, unravelling these mysteries and letting them inspire me to wonder, now and always.

Signing off,

The Thinker