Yesterday, I had a conversation with a buddy of mine about time travel. I can't quite remember how we got there, though it did involve particle physics, Stephen Hawking, and concepts such as curved time-space and relativity.

Don't take this to mean that we were having a deeply technical discussion. I find the topics interesting but my actual understanding is very shallow. I mentioned that I'd read A Brief History Of Time several times, but had what I think of as the "Ulysses Experience" each time: there's a certain point where I no longer understand what's going on. One minute and I'm enjoying Hawking's descriptions of light and time...and then he's on to curved time-space and I'm thinking that I'd like to have steamed broccoli and brown rice for dinner. What? I feel a little guilty at my intellectual laziness so I make another attempt and stare back down at the page for an extra minute.

Yes, steamed broccoli. Definitely.

Eventually, we move off of the pure geekery (because that tank's capacity is pretty small) and get to a related subject: time travel. Specifically, the idea of being able to revisit your youth via whatever technological means. Would you do it?

I had to think about that. I'm still thinking, and am reminded of Shaw's famous quote, "Youth is wasted on the young." Did I not know any better back then? If I could go back would I make the exact same decisions with the knowledge of 'now' in my hands? Maybe. The problem is that events and their effects are slippery things and changes might bring forth unwanted consequences. My first marriage is a perfect example. The story of how we got together is a beautiful thing. The latter half of the marriage was not. But would I want to change any of that? Had I not married early on, I would not have met TheWife™ in the years that followed. (Note: TheWife™ disagrees with this, saying that there was an element of destiny at work and that we would have found each other. I, of course, think that's all hooey.)

Article Author: Mark Saleski

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He is an editor and writer for Jazz.com. He also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org and produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …

Visit Mark Saleski's author page — Mark Saleski's Blog