# Searching the Internet for Evidence of Time Travelers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-the-internet-for-evidence-of-time-travelers/677876>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 4, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-the-internet-for-evidence-of-time-travelers/677876 "2014-01-04T14:43:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-the-internet-for-evidence-of-time-travelers/677876/21 "2014-01-06T15:43:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> In this work, we report on a series of searches for digital signatures that time travelers potentially left on the Internet. Specifically, we search for content that should not have been known at the time it was posted. Such information is here referred to as “prescient”. To the best of our knowledge, no similar search has ever been published previously. Section 2 of this work outlines possible types of time travelers. Section 3 describes one search for prescient content placed on the Internet, highlighted by a search of tweets on Twitter. Section 4 describes a search for prescient terms submitted in Internet search engines, highlighted by a search for two specific terms in the online search engine for the Astronomy Picture of the Day web site. Section 5 describes an experiment involving the request for a prescient timed communication to be sent either as a tweet or an email. Section 6 summarizes the results and draws some conclusions concerning the nature of the results.

Did they address how they corrected for the fact that, rather than discovering time travellers, their methodology might just discover real psychics?

Although it’s worth noting, their null result means they didn’t find any of those, either.

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-the-internet-for-evidence-of-time-travelers/677876/22 "2014-01-06T16:02:22Z")

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> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Just hide the clues better. Who, back in 1975, would have questioned a personal ad which had the phrase “never gonna give you up”?

Rickrolling? THAT’S your idea for finding time travelers?

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**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-the-internet-for-evidence-of-time-travelers/677876/23 "2014-01-06T16:26:31Z")

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> [@Horatius](#):
>
> Did they address how they corrected for the fact that, rather than discovering time travellers, their methodology might just discover real psychics?
> 
> Although it’s worth noting, their null result means they didn’t find any of those, either.

If I were in on the test protocols, I would filter for precogs by checking context of the anachromeme. A precog will use it in context, as they are picking up cultural resonance from future minds. A time traveller will use it as a flag or a marker, trusting that the phrasing will be noted by their controllers.

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