And what were the dominant terrestrial species at said time? Would there even be any? I have zero idea of what’s the expected survival rate of an iPhone in the fossil record, but I like to imagine a giant sloth stepped on one once and we are none the wiser.

Alternative title:

“Assuming the timeline is stable and time travel is possible, but no evidence is ever found until its invention, what would be the earliest acceptable time period for time-travel tourism, and the latest cut-off point no one would be allowed to go to?”

  • AmidFuror@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    11 months ago

    I know you updated the post and what you’re really interested in is any tech they dropped not surviving, but I wanted to point out that “cell phones” would be useless with the infrastructure. They would be better off bringing radios or Star Trek-like communicators which transmit directly from one to another.

    • DrQuint@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      11 months ago

      I was actually thinking of tourists taking photos in the past with cameras, but I found that a smartphone would be more realistic.

      • AmidFuror@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        11 months ago

        Ah, yep. So more like they bring their multi-function communication / information / documentation / entertainment devices with them. Heck, they may even use those devices for the time-travel itself. And then when they get to the ancient past, they pay no attention to the scenery and just watch reruns.