Like every other morning, my alarm clock went off.   I grudgingly got out of bed in an effort to quell the annoying ring.   I looked at the clock, which read 5:59.   With some relief, I pressed the snooze button and went back to bed because I had some time.  However, as I got back into bed, I could not fall asleep.  Instead, I toyed with the idea of time in my mind.   What would happen if I were to go back in time to prevent myself from waking up that day?

There are many different theories associated with the idea of backwards time travel; however, I have narrowed them down to two distinct theories, which I have labeled as the paradox theory and the multiple universe theory.  The paradox theory is based on the idea that if I were to go back in time in the hope of altering the past, my actions will have no affect on the present.   For example, if a person travels back in time to prevent his or her parents from meeting, his or her actions will ultimately result in the parents meeting each other.  The multiple universe theory, on the other hand, is associated with the belief that if I were to go back in time, my actions would cause a butterfly effect and create an alternate universe.   With this theory, the person’s efforts to prevent his parents from meeting will result in another universe in which the person does not exist because his or her parents never met.

Assuming that time travel is possible, deciding which theory is more valid is a personal choice, whether or not you believe in fate or freewill.  The paradox theory aligns with the notion of fate, while the multiple universe theory coincides with the idea of free will.  I personally choose the latter. I believe that our universe is built on the principle of randomness and that our decisions are not apart of some grand scheme. The paradox theory, on the other hand, implies that the individual has no control of his or her own fate.

So what exactly would happen if I were to go back in time to prevent myself from waking up that day? Based on my own preference for the multiple universe theory, my response to this question is that I probably would create a universe where I did not toy with the idea of time and did not write this column.