Abstract University of Connecticut professor of physics Dr. Ronald Mallett has developed and received a patent on his blueprint for a Time Travel Machine. This is not a hoax or a joke. Dr. Mallett is a well published and highly respected theoretical physicist. And while there are some physicists who have disputed certain aspects of his work, there is little dispute that Dr. Mallett’s work brings us very close to the possibility of time travel in the near future. The following article summarizes Dr. Mallett’s work and discusses the implications of time travel technology for people of African decent.
Time Travel is Likely to Happen in Our Lifetime! By Jomo W. Mutegi, Ph.D. April 2008
I know it sounds fantastic. Not fantastic as in good, but fantastic as in “Jomo, you ain’t gotta lie to kick it!” Well, I’m not lying, I still kick it, and it’s absolutely true: Time travel is likely to happen in our lifetime. Perhaps I should be more specific. Time travel into the past is likely to happen in our lifetime. Time travel into the future has already taken place. Experimentation with time travel into the future was conducted successfully in the 1970’s1. 1
In 1971 Joe Hafele and Richard Keating conducting an experiment using atomic clocks to empirically demonstrate Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. What they found was that time was lost for a clock traveling at a high rate of speed. The results of this experiment were published in the 1972 volume of the journal Science [Hafele, J.C. & Keating, R. E. (1972). Around-the-world atomic clocks: predicted relativistic time gains. Science, 177, 166-168; and Hafele, J.C. & Keating, R. E. (1972). Around-the-world atomic clocks: observed relativistic time gains. Science, 177, 168-170.] For more information visit http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17047881.
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Now if this news has you reeling from the effects of shock and awe, try to gain your composure, because I’ve got more shocking news. The person taking the lead on time travel research is an African American physicist on faculty at the University of Connecticut by the name of Dr. Ronald Mallet. I know it sounds fantastic, but let me reiterate, “Yes there are a few Black physicists and we have found one. Yes he is a tenured, full professor at a research I university. And yes, he has developed and patented a blueprint for a time travel machine. How does it Work? I knew you would ask that. Well basically, the time machine uses a ring laser to “stir” space and time. By so doing the ring laser creates closed time-like curves. “What is a closed time-like curve?” I knew you would ask that too. The best way I know to explain it is to say that a closed time-like curve is a worldline that is closed. And, before you ask, a worldline is the path that an object takes through four dimensions of spacetime. We can visualize the path that an object (say a baseball) travels through three dimensions. To understand a worldline try to imagine that baseball traveling through three dimensional space and the fourth dimension that is time. If my explanation of the physics is poor, Dr. Mallett gives a great explanation complete with visuals at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZpPecBX_io and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ&feature=related. What is more important for us is not the physics of how it works, but the practical aspects of its operation. Can we travel back to junior high school and live that period of our lives with more dignity? Can we travel back to senior high school and make better college choices? Can we travel back to our college days and make better relationship choices? “No, no, no.” The answer to these questions is, “No!” Dr. Mallett’s time machine only enables travel back to the point in time wherein the machine is turned on. In addition, Dr. Mallett’s time machine will not be transporting people anytime soon. Among other problems with transporting people are the energy demands that would be required. What is more likely is that Dr. Mallett’s machine will be used to transmit subatomic particles and… information. How will it be used? Well first let me give you the good. Imagine this; the CIA obtains an operative version of Dr. Mallett’s time machine on April 4, 2010. Assume they turn it on this date as well so that it can begin creating closed time-like curves. On September 11, 2010, terrorists fly commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center. On September 12, 2010, government officials send a message back in time to August 11, 2010, with instructions that will allow the terror attack to be averted. That sounds good. Doesn’t it? Think of all the catastrophes that could be prevented. Think of all the “lives that could be saved.” Doesn’t that sound terribly cliché? Anyway… How might it be abused? Now I’ve got to give you the bad. Imagine this; it’s July 5, 2010, and an upper level CIA operative sees a wonderful villa in Spokane that he and his wife would like to purchase. (Do they have villas in Spokane)? At any rate, his CIA salary won’t cut it. So he sends a message back to June 5, 2010, with instructions on which lottery numbers to play in 7 states for the next 30 days. What harm could come from taking this small liberty? Does this sound unlikely? Well then, imagine a CEO of a major company who sends a message back to himself with instructions of A publication of Sankoré Institute www.sankoreinstitute.org
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exactly when to sell stock in his company, so that he could avert the disaster that will fall on the company’s employees and stockholders. Now that should sound likely. Hold tight because it could get worse. How might people of African descent be abused? Alas, let us examine the ugly. Imagine this; some African giant comes to prominence August 5, 2020 and begins mobilizing people of African descent to change their condition. Following this charismatic leader, African people all over the world stop consuming alcohol and cigarettes, which wreaks financial havoc on these industries and lowers the sin tax income of hundreds of local municipalities. They stop committing drug-related crimes, which causes a near collapse of the prison-industrial complex. They begin building and supporting their own schools, retail outlets, transportation companies, and entertainment industries. Needless to say this African giant has caught the attention of quite a few people. Needless to say while life is better for large numbers of people (African and otherwise), there are also large numbers of other people who would rather continue building wealth on the substance abuse, crime and lack of selfdetermination of African people. Well by July 2024, the “powers that be” have seen enough. They send a message back to 2015 with instructions for neutralizing the African giant to prevent him from upsetting the nation’s “domestic tranquility.” Does this sound conspiratorial? You don’t think that J. Edgar Hoover would have traded in his pumps and purse for Dr. Mallet’s Time Machine? The interested reader should visit our friends at The Talking Drum (http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/cointelpro.html). They have a very nice summary of the FBI’s counter intelligence program. The reader who is tired of reading can check it out on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNPwO-YXDLE). What does this mean for African people? When I talk about the importance of African people doing science that is in their own best interest, I am often asked, “What does science have to do with race?” There is a widespread notion that true science is objective and that it transcends race and culture. The reality however, is that science is as culturally embedded as any another activity engaged in by humans. All races and cultures of people engage in some activity that helps them to learn about nature. In modern western society that activity is called “science.” The process that modern western Europeans use to learn about nature is different from the process used by other races of people because the culture which supports it is different. The application of Dr. Mallett’s technology (in fact the application of any technology) is important to African people because they largely need to secure their future in a world that is hostile to their success and at times their existence. Ignorance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) puts African people in a position of being subject to the whim of those Europeans who develop, promote and use STEM advances to their own benefit, which may or may not benefit African people. Imagine the rewards that were realized for those who were involved with cell phone technology at the time it was just being developed. Imagine the same with heavier than air flight, or the development of the internet, or the automobile. Dr. Mallett’s technology is exciting beyond mention. What’s more exciting is that we have the opportunity to be a part of its development. And in all this excitement we should not miss the sobering responsibility that is before us. We A publication of Sankoré Institute www.sankoreinstitute.org
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owe it to our ancestors, ourselves and future generations to be involved with this coming technology not as consumers but as producers and decision-makers. Dr. Mallett’s work promises to revolutionize the way that humans live, work, and play. It’s difficult to find words that adequately capture the magnitude of his work. So for now, perhaps we should simply say to him, “Thanks! Keep up the good work.” For the rest of us, remember that the future belongs to those who prepare for it.
STEM 2058 subscribers and other readers are encouraged to get a copy of Time Traveler by Dr. Ronald Mallett. It is an excellent, informative, and inspiring read for both children and adults. We also have an audio-documentary available on the Sankoré Institute website. We encourage readers to listen to the documentary and provide feedback. We hope the documentary can be developed into a tool to increase the interest of African American junior and senior high school students in STEM.
A publication of Sankoré Institute www.sankoreinstitute.org