Is Time Travel Really Possible?
Q: I read where a survey of 3,000 people has revealed 30 per cent of adults across the UK believe time travel is possible and not confined to the realms of fictional films or television. And nearly half of adults (44 per cent) wrongly believe memory-erasing technology similar to that used in the film, Men in Black, and hover boards, such as those showcased in Back to the Future, exist in reality. Are people that gullible on your side of the pond?
A: Heck, we’ve got people here who believe our President is an alien. Brits have some catching up to do when it comes to reality checks.
Q: I heard that Stonehenge is being scanned using modern laser technology to search for hidden clues about how and why it was built. All visible faces of the standing and fallen stones, many of which are obscured by lichen, will be surveyed. Some ancient carvings have previously been found on the stones, including a famous Neolithic “dagger.” What might they find?
A: I think there are mysteries from our past for which we may never find the answers. It’s possible new technology could reveal a symbol that when deciphered reads “Using lasers will cause this giant stone to crumble.”
Q: Proof that aliens exist recently came from Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, who says he has found conclusive evidence of alien life — fossils of bacteria found in an extremely rare class of meteorite called CI1 carbonaceous chondrites. (There are only nine such meteorites on planet Earth.) What exactly does this mean? Are we going to be invaded by bacteria?
A: Who knows? It could be that bacteria from outer space is smarter than humans on earth. After all, we’re talking the Journal of Cosmology. I hardly think a magazine for hair stylists could be considered credible.
Q: A search showed a 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online. The notebook written by Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, recounts the fate of women accused of having relationships with the devil at a time when England was embroiled in a bitter civil war. This made me think of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in 1692. Are witches still being persecuted today?
A: I don’t know. My knowledge of witches is from watching the Wizard of Oz each year and recalling Christine O’Donnell on a Bill Maher show.
