[futureshock]

I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead. I have lived many lives. New careers, new cities, new countries, new friends, new families. By my count I’ve lived 14 iterations of life and counting. New lives are always beckoning. After awhile you get good a recognizing the ones worth stepping into.

[FinnLobsien]

It's true that life can always evolve and change, new opportunities open, responsibilities appear, etc.

But in other ways it's not true. For example, there's no way to be 19 again and be in college, date the person who, looking back was clearly into you. Study the thing you really wanted to study (not what you thought would be best for your career), etc.

I think the fantasy of going back isn't about being unable to change, it's about "getting it right this time"

[card_zero]

Central to the plot of Back to the Future Part II (for some reason not referenced in the New Yorker) is the sports almanac with information about future results. Any fantasy of going back and getting it right hinges on this kind of transfer of knowledge back into the earlier situation. The problem is then whether the information is subtle enough to be interesting, that is, to prevent the fantasy from devolving into a mere cheat to get rich by knowing things in advance. In practice the time traveller would at least attempt to invest early in bitcoin, learn the skills that will be in demand, befriend the awkward person who is going to be cool and successful later, and other cheaty stuff.

I suppose a better fantasy would involve going back into a similar but rearranged situation, with all the variables and trends changed to prevent predictions.

[nonameiguess]

Similar to the other top-level reply, without perfect foreknowledge, there is no way to know you're "getting it right this time." I dated the person into me and studied what I loved. We got divorced and I ultimately ended up with a person I didn't meet until I was 30. I had to go back to school and change careers later in life because the job prospects sucked for what I loved.

Given I ultimately ended up in a good place anyway, I don't even regret anything. The only thing you can't come back from is death. As long as none of your bad decisions kill you, I don't see much to fret about.

[owebmaster]

> I think the fantasy of going back hides the reality that new possibilities are always stretched out ahead.

It also hides the incapability of many to do what they should to succeed. Most people already know what they should do different to succeed without going back in time but still they do not have the will power to do it and they probably would still not have if they had a time machine.

[MangoToupe]

Ironically, I think characterizing life as a question of success-or-not was THE major barrier in my life to finding the contentment I was actually looking for.

[jampekka]

What do you mean by succeed? I find learning to not care so much about succeeding - at least in the usual criteria imposed by the society - is maybe the best thing I've learned since touch typing.