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SciFi author Ted Chiang is at Vanderbilt talking about "Time Travel and Free Will" from the perspective of fiction.
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Chiang's first mind-opening claim: ancient stories of prophecy are part of the time travel genre. Prophets are visitors from an unalterable future timeline. #scifi #timetravel
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Chiang: First modern time travel story is Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The Ghost of Christmas Future is a visitor from a possible timeline that Scrooge prevents.
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Chiang: Broken, multiple timelines characterize modern time travel stories.
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Chiang: Root of this distinction is difference between ancient belief in fate and modern belief in free will.
