From where did the concept of time travel come?

The vision of time travel has been a long-standing and universal fascination. But where did this captivation with time manipulation originate, and why is the idea so compelling?

The notion of time travel, navigating through time as we do in three-dimensional space, can actually be traced back to our perception of time. Linguists have identified that our communication about temporal issues inevitably intertwines with spatial references.

"In any language, there is no closer relationship than that of space and time," noted Israeli linguist Guy Deutscher in his 2005 publication, "The Unfolding of Language."

"We may not always realize it, but we consistently speak about time using spatial references, reflecting our mindset that time is a spatial concept."

Deutscher highlights that when we plan to meet a friend "around" lunchtime, we are employing a metaphor, as lunchtime has no literal physical dimension. Similarly, time can't be "long" or "short" like a physical object, "pass" like a vehicle, or move "forward" or "backward" any more than it can move sideways, diagonally, or downward.

Perhaps this linking of space and time led to the intriguing possibility that time can be experienced differently and even traversed, an idea that surprisingly has deep historical roots.

One of the earliest known instances of time travel is found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit epic poem composed around 400 BCE.

Lisa Yaszek, a professor of science fiction studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, shared with Live Science:

"In the Mahabharata, there's a tale about King Kakudmi, who lived millions of years ago and was searching for a worthy husband for his lovely and talented daughter, Revati. The two journeyed to the residence of the creator god Brahma for guidance."

"However, while they were in Brahma's realm, they had to wait for the god to finish a 20-minute song, after which Brahma revealed that time flows differently in the heavens compared to Earth."

As it turned out, "27 chatur-yugas" had elapsed, equivalent to over 116 million years according to an online summary, which meant everyone Kakudmi and Revati had ever known, including family and prospective suitors, had passed away. The story concludes on a positive note with Revati being promised in marriage to Balarama, the twin deity of Krishna.

Time: A Fleeting Phenomenon

According to Yaszek, stories like these serve as early depictions of what we now term as 'time dilation'. This concept, part of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, suggests that different observers perceive time differently, depending on their relative frames of reference.

Such narratives are not unique to one culture or region, Yaszek points out. For instance, a tale from the 1st century B.C Middle East talks about a miraculous Jew who falls asleep under a budding carob tree and wakes up seven decades later to find the tree in full bloom. Carob trees are notorious for the length of time they take to start bearing fruits.

The 8th century Japanese folklore about a fisherman, Urashima Tarō, also resonates with the theme of time dilation. Tarō visits an underwater palace, falls in love with a princess, and upon his return, discovers a hundred years have elapsed. This story was published online by the University of South Florida.

Flash forward to the modern era, between 1700 and 1800, stories of time travel gained popularity. Some of the prominent examples include the classic Rip Van Winkle story, Edward Belamy's 1888 novel "Looking Backwards," and H.G. Wells' 1899 novel "The Sleeper Awakes." The concept of moving backwards in time was introduced around this period, as seen in Mark Twain's 1889 satire "An American in King Arthur's Court."

Objects like clocks that could propel someone through time also started appearing in stories. Lewis Carroll's 1889 fantasy "Sylvie and Bruno" features a clock that doubles as a time machine. Yaszek attributes the prevalence of such narratives to the standardization of time and the increased use of clocks.

A Journey Through Time

H.G. Wells' 1895 novel stands out for its innovative plot that involves a vessel capable of traveling back and forth in time. "This happens when we start using steam engines, trains, and the first automobiles," Yaszek explains.

Time travel narratives have always been popular, thanks to their visually appealing time machines. The BBC's "Doctor Who" features a blue police box (TARDIS), while "Back to the Future" presents the DeLorean, a silver luxury speedster.

In recent years, time travel has been employed as a tool to investigate our connection with our past. Particularly, narratives crafted by women and people of color like Octavia Butler's 1979 novel "Kindred" have used time travel to reexamine historical relationships.

The genre has permeated various forms of media, including comedies like "Groundhog Day" and video games such as Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask."

Yaszek posits that the flexibility and omnipresence of time travel narratives suggest their ability to offer an escape from our conventional reality. "They allow us to imagine breaking free from the confines of linear time," he said, "and offer a fresh perspective on human experience."

The popularity of time machine stories among modern audiences, Yaszek suggests, may reflect our living in a technology-driven world.

However, the fascination with time travel certainly has deeper roots, woven into the very fabric of our language and appearing in some of our earliest imaginations.