h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: “Greetings. I am a Time Traveler From The Year 2036” - A4536461
Author: Lususnaturae101 - U1402914

Looking forward to hearing comments and suggestions for this entry. Many thanks for reading it.

Hi Lususnaturae,

With a title like this I just *had* to read it. It's very well laid out and a good, solid, read. There is a story here to be told without doubt. I also note that you have used careful language throughout which is very apt for a topic such as this.

Trouble is, I don't believe a word of it . I accept that a person calling himself (or herself) 'John Titor' possibly wrote these things, but the truth of what was said sounds like a typical hoax to me.

That said, this article probably is a worthy candidate for the Edited Guide, because it's writing about something that took place, i.e. the internet phenomenon of 'John Titor'. The only thing I would advise however is that you remain as impartial as possible, *tending towards the skeptical*, throughout this entry. This is a clear case of an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary proof. If you don't know for a fact that John Titor said something, you should state that it is claimed or alleged he said it. Most significantly, if there is 'evidence' supporting a particular 'prediction' you should provide a countervailing viewpoint. If you can't think of counter arguments, wait a while: other members of the community may be able to provide them.

Some aspects of your style seem to suggest that the reader should accept this person as bona fide, or to "keep an open mind" on it. I would have a problem with this as in cases like this it is better to be skeptical. As Carl Sagan once said: you can have an open mind, but not so open to make your brains fall out. Sentences that need rephrasing include:

"There is apparently a video showing Titor returning to his own time" - I would prefer "It is claimed that..",

"Titor made a number of other significant predictions :" - did he make these predictions or did someone claim he made them? You need to be very careful here. Use the words "allegedly" if you don't actually have direct evidence. Incidentally, nothing in these 'predictions' leaves me to think he has any insider knowledge - they would all have been well known fears during the turn of the Milennium. I don't see mention of 9/11 or a South Asian tsunami. Funny that.

"In the early 2000's CERN will lay the foundations for time travel. In the autumn of 2001 after Titor had left, CERN released a statement indicating the creation of mini blackholes was possible." - that's still a long way off time travel.

"This has been interpreted as a reference to the USA Patriot Act." - by whom?

Interestingly I noted the following "If Titor is to be believed we need to accept he is visiting from another closely related time line with its subtle differences from our own." - wow, so he has invoked the classic opt-out as well - not needing to be right all the time. Also there is the "puff the Magic dragon" hypothesis : "Even so, even if all his predictions are not fulfilled this would not necessarily constitute absolute proof Titor was not a time traveller." This is equivalent to me constructing in my mind a polka dotted dragon that smokes Marlboro and speaks a dialect of Andalucian existing somewhere in the universe, but because we have never seen one we can't say he doesn't exist. This kind of stuff is a deliberate attempt to manipulate credulous people and alarm bells should always be sounded when you read something like this. In a sentence, and to put it rather crudely - someone somewhere is taking the piss.

"Whatever the truth, Titor has done an excellent job in bringing the possibility of time travel a little closer to reality, at least in the imaginations of many people, which is a positive and harmless asperation." - What exactly are you trying to say here? You say something quite wrong first of all, that he has done an excellent job in bringing it closer to reality (no he hasn't), and then you back off by saying "at least in the minds of other people".

To summarise, you have done a good job with this entry, but to get it in you need to stand back a little bit more, and be willing to include counter arguments to supposed evidence for some of the claims. The bit about him not needing to be always right really devastates his argument, to be quite honest with you, and I would include some words on why this makes the whole story problematic for so many people.

The title? Well, it's catchy! Let's see what others think.

Well done, and good luck!

Woodpigeon

Interestingly I note the following text from abovetopsecret.com

'The opinion of many senior staff and members of AboveTopSecret.com on the writings and postings of timetravel_0 a.k.a. "John Titor" is that he is a hoax, and in no way a time traveler of any type'

And *that's* coming from a conspiracy theory discussion group!

I like the entry - which could be a great deal more sensationalised, so well done making this something that can be read by a rational person without laughing.

I'd agree with some of Woodpigeon's suggested changes, and perhaps a couple of caveats could be included, but at the end of the day - if you accept the possibility, then this is a reporting of an occurance, and it should be in the mind of the individual whether or not to believe it.

Hi, Game of Nature (hope I translated that right!)

I have to confess I'm really not sure about the title. When I first saw this I thought it was going to be a work of fiction. Now I see that it isn't, of course - it's a very interesting entry on something factual. So perhaps a title that could reflect that, and clearly tells the reader what the entry is going to be about?

Hi,

I think this is a great entry. It's well written, easy to read and certainly gives the reader food for thought. I've got to hand it to Mr Titor for having such a great imagination. The story certainly held my attention. A very good read. Thank you!

Well done!

Flame

Hi and many thanks to all who have been kind enough to read this entry

After reading through the responses and suggestions so far I have made a few changes which I hope deal with the main issues raised.

If any further suggestions are brewing in anyone's mind I will of course be very pleased to try to incorporate them into this piece.

Thanks once more

PS: I'm glad to see no one has taken Titor too seriously

Hi!

This is an interesting subject and I for one had not heard of this particular 'urban legend'.

You need to add an extra l to traveler in your subtitle (traveller).

At the moment I can't see any other things you would need to change but will have another read through later

Good stuff!

Jules

This is very good and very well written account. I'll resist the obvious temptation to rubbish the theory itself, but suffice to say I found it a little suspicious that someone who posted a lot on message boards (i.e. a computer nerd) also stated his reasons for travelling as retrieval of a computer (of all things), talks a lot about the millenium bug, bases most of his global political predictions around the US, and understands time travel (remember he was supposed to be a militia solider). The whole thing seems to be taken straight from The Terminator - perhaps this should be mentioned somewhere.

One thing that confused me slightly was the war that began in the US and developed into a nuclear exchange with Russia - but the worst affected areas were Europe, Australia and Africa Australia isn't even a nuclear power. Perhaps this could be explained a bit further? Did he make any predictions on climate change?

Also "Isreal" -> "Israel".

Otherwise excellent!

I reckon, that with just a few minor alterations and additions to clarify that this is a factual account of something that is largely assumed to be an internet hoax, this is absolutely perfect EG material. Well done!

Paully

Hi Paula

Thanks for your encouraging remarks for this entry. It would be helpful though if you could let me know what modifications would be needed for this entry to be accepted into the guide. Many thanks

Psst Lususnaturae101, don't call him "Paula"

[whips long blonde wig out from the drawer]

"But I'm a Laydeee..."



Paul(ly)

I also am disturbed by the reference to the Millennium Bug. Since the existence of the Millennium Bug and the work done to prevent the chaos is well documented, Titor's comment must mean one of the following:

1. He doesn't know much about computers.
2. He is a modern person who knows about computers and is playing a prank and we can't believe a word he is saying about any topic.
3. He is a time traveller who is playing a prank and we can't believe a word he is saying about any topic.

I'd be inclined to go for number 2 myself.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Well done!

Congrats! I enjoyed this entry, well done!

GB

Well done! Great entry.

Flame