My candidate for the most thoroughly nit-witted "news" story of the week is this one, about a long-winded (and probably opportunistic) Belfast filmmaker coming up with footage he believes is evidence of a time-traveller caught on a 1928 film. (The youtube video in reference is here.) I learned about this on that fount of all wisdom, Facebook. ("If you think puppies and kittens are adorable, take our survey.")What is this indisputable evidence? A woman in the background of an obscure clip walks by who appears to be talking on a cell phone - that is to say, her hand is cupped to her ear and she may be holding something.
This one has so many flaws it's hard to figure out where to begin, so I will resort to a numbered list, a favorite literary device:
1.) It is distressing to note that this silliness is presented by no less than the Northern Ireland division of the once credible British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Not Weekly World News or the National Enquirer. Lo, how the mighty have fallen!
2.) The filmmaker says "no-one has been able to provide an explanation." No? I can think of at least five, ranging from it being a sight gag and she is perhaps holding a pomander in her hand to ward off the "scent" of the "animals" (the setting contains fake animals) to her having a toothache. Or being mentally ill or distressed. I can come up with many more.
3.) There's a quote I like by L.P. Hartley, "The past is a foreign place. They do things differently there." The "she's talking into a cell phone" observation is one a person in 2010 might jump to. But the film is from 1928. A viewer back then would interpret the scene in an entirely different context that modern viewers might be unaware of. A good exercise is to view the old photographic images on shorpy.com and read the generally enlightening comments provided by intelligent viewers. It is often the case that what you think you're seeing is something different, and perplexing details in images have perfectly sensible explanations.
4.) I am a believer in Occam's Razor, a logical and philosophical tool most simply described as, "all things being considered, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one." How the mental jump to, "She must be a time-traveller!" takes place in this instance is beyond me. But this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened. Back in 1968 a Swiss writer named Erich von Daniken examined Stonehenge and some carvings in Meso-America and, ignoring Occam and his Razor, deduced that ancient space travellers must have been responsible. His book, Chariots of the Gods? was a best-seller. From wikipedia: "His 26 books have been translated into more than 20 languages, selling more than 60 million copies worldwide, and his documentary TV shows have been viewed around the world." Proving once again that P.T. Barnum was correct in his statement about the birthrate of the gullible.
Enough about this silly film clip. I am sorry to provide even more viewers to the web page and youtube site than it already has, but this sort of thing annoys me to no end.
But let's discuss time-travel, a favorite topic of mine as I do historical reenacting. I am convinced that, in our real world, it is impossible for a human being to travel backwards in time. For one thing, it is difficult for me to conceive of a situation whereby Mother Nature would provide the means for a temporal paradox to take place, whereby, Marty McFly-like, humans can intentionally or accidentally erase themselves from existence. It seems to fly in the face of the way our universe operates. I have read many books containing the physical reasons why this cannot happen, the most convincing explanation provided being that Thermodynamic laws and entropy ensure the one-way direction of time.
Another convincing argument was offered by Stephen Hawking in one of his books - I forget which one. He sensibly asks (I paraphrase), "If time travel were possible, why haven't we seen evidence of time-traveling tourists at important historical settings?" Good question! Are there any journal entries by any of the crew aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on the morning of 2 September 1945 noting strangers in odd dress observing the Japanese surrender ceremony? Or undocumented guests on the stand when Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African-American President of the United States? Or visibly calm and unconcerned people rubbernecking at the fall of the World Trade Center buildings in 2001, or seen milling about in the Zapruder film in exactly the right place to witness the Kennedy assassination in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas in November 1963? No.
Some sci-fi oriented soul might offer a feeble explanation such as, "In the future any time-tourism would be strictly regimented and controlled, and travellers would require period-appropriate garb and behavior so as to not give themselves away," in which case I would hope that William of Occam returns from the past in a puff of quantum mechanical smoke and slaps the fellow silly.
All sorts of things are going on this weekend. Tonight (the weekend begins, after all, on Friday as soon as one steps out of workplace turf) the U.S. Army Strings are performing in Arlington. We may or may not go see that. Saturday morning I drive around to inspect what's left of the rapidly closing yard sale season, and Cari and I are kinda/sorta planning to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. That night we have a church chili social to attend (eh... I don't like chili - I may eat beforehand). Sunday night is, of course, Halloween.
I will go on record as an admirer of Norman Rockwell's art. I know it's not fashionable to admit that among the cognoscenti of the art world, but I don't care. (If any scoff I will reveal that I also greatly enjoyed the Paul Klee exhibition in D.C. a few years back.) Rockwell had technical skill and knew how to tell a story with images. Did his idealistic world of Americana ever really exist? Sure - it's as real as Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. Does it matter? It's just as real as the various visions and perceptions of the nation we hear during election season... ultimately, perhaps, what we are as a nation is not as important as what we think we are. And Rockwell was one of our best illustrators of this.
Have a great weekend!
