--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I became interested in this question of…" description: "\"I became interested in this question of whether you can build wormholes for interstellar travel. I realized that if you had a wormhole, the theory of g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/kip-thorne-15554_backward_i-became-interested-in-this-question-of_2432904.jpg" --- # I became interested in this question of whether you can… ![“I became interested in this question of whether you can build wormholes for interstellar travel. I realized that if you had a wormhole, the theory of general relativity by itself would permit you to go backward in time.” quote by Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/kip-thorne-15554_backward_i-became-interested-in-this-question-of_2432904.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/kip-thorne-15554_backward_i-became-interested-in-this-question-of_2432904.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/kip-thorne-15554_backward_i-became-interested-in-this-question-of_2432904.jpg) > “I became interested in this question of whether you can build wormholes for interstellar travel. I realized that if you had a wormhole, the theory of general relativity by itself would permit you to go backward in time.” [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wormholes could enable faster-than-light travel, but they also allow time travel, raising paradoxes. **In simple terms:** Wormholes might let you travel fast and back in time. Key Takeaway Consider ethical and physical limits of such tech. Themes science physics time travel paradoxes Mood curious cautious Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - space exploration - theoretical research - science policy Key Concepts general relativity wormhole theory causality Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards are needed for time-travel tech? - Can causality be preserved? A Different Perspective Practical creation of wormholes remains speculative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [General relativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-relativity/) [Relativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relativity/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Wormhole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wormhole/) [Wormholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wormholes/) ## Related quotes > [“Instead, I opened my eyes to find the thing in front of my face, wafting dead horse breath across my chin and up my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-celebi/instead-i-opened-my-eyes-to-find-the-thing-in-front-of-my-face/) [Shannon Celebi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-celebi/) > [Everything I learn about the world, whether it's the simple arcana of how commercial products are manufactured and designed and how they reach our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/everything-i-learn-about-the-world-whether-it-s-the-simple-arcana-of/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [A mathematician makes plans to travel backwards in time through a wormhole to a parallel universe when he can't even make it to Mars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-mathematician-makes-plans-to-travel-backwards-in-time-through-a/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [The energy necessary to create a wormhole or to wrap time into nuts is incredible. It's not for us. It's maybe for our descendants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/the-energy-necessary-to-create-a-wormhole-or-to-wrap-time-into-nuts/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [Combining quantum entanglement with wormholes yields mind boggling results about black holes. But I don't trust them until we have a theory of everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/combining-quantum-entanglement-with-wormholes-yields-mind-boggling/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [It was quite a surprise when I realized that with a single wormhole you could have time hook up towards the future or towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/it-was-quite-a-surprise-when-i-realized-that-with-a-single-wormhole/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [If you have a wormhole, then you can turn them into time machines for going backward in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/if-you-have-a-wormhole-then-you-can-turn-them-into-time-machines-for/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Wormholes - if you don't have something threading through them to hold them open, the walls will basically collapse so fast that nothing can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/wormholes-if-you-don-t-have-something-threading-through-them-to-hold/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [The jury is not in, so we just don't know. But there are very strong indications that wormholes that a human could travel through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/the-jury-is-not-in-so-we-just-don-t-know-but-there-are-very-strong/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [We see no objects in our universe that could become wormholes as they age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/we-see-no-objects-in-our-universe-that-could-become-wormholes-as-they/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [We have to have a combination of general relativity that describes the warping of space and time, and quantum physics, which describes the uncertainties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/we-have-to-have-a-combination-of-general-relativity-that-describes/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Gravitational waves will bring us exquisitely accurate maps of black holes - maps of their space-time. Those maps will make it crystal clear whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/gravitational-waves-will-bring-us-exquisitely-accurate-maps-of-black/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-doctor/there-s-a-lot-of-things-you-need-to-get-across-this-universe-warp/) [The Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-doctor/) > [“The fourth approved approach for the problem of frontally attacking a guarded wormhole was to shoot the officer who suggested it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-fourth-approved-approach-for-the-problem-of-frontally-attacking-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“The point of absolute equilibrium is where the Universe reaches its “highest absolute” point on the macro side and its “lowest absolute” point on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-point-of-absolute-equilibrium-is-where-the-universe-reaches-its/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) ## More by Kip Thorne > [My passion is to understand the non-linear dynamics of warped space-time, and the ideal venue for this is black-hole collisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/my-passion-is-to-understand-the-non-linear-dynamics-of-warped-space/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [I wanted to be a snowplow driver when I was a kid. Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, that's the most glorious job you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/i-wanted-to-be-a-snowplow-driver-when-i-was-a-kid-growing-up-in-the/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Black holes do not emit light, so you visualize them through gravitational lensing - how they bend light from other objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/black-holes-do-not-emit-light-so-you-visualize-them-through/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [We'll have four different gravitational wave windows open within the next 20 years, and each of them will see something different. We'll be probing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/we-ll-have-four-different-gravitational-wave-windows-open-within-the/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [I can enjoy 'Harry Potter' and 'Star Trek,' but I really appreciate hard science fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/i-can-enjoy-harry-potter-and-star-trek-but-i-really-appreciate-hard/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [I have used movies to go to sleep at night. You flip from channel to channel to channel and see just enough to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/i-have-used-movies-to-go-to-sleep-at-night-you-flip-from-channel-to/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [I got a lot of notoriety early on. Much of my career I was just trying to prove I was as good as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/i-got-a-lot-of-notoriety-early-on-much-of-my-career-i-was-just-trying/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Gravitational waves will bring us exquisitely accurate maps of black holes - maps of their space-time. Those maps will make it crystal clear whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/gravitational-waves-will-bring-us-exquisitely-accurate-maps-of-black/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [If you have a wormhole, then you can turn them into time machines for going backward in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/if-you-have-a-wormhole-then-you-can-turn-them-into-time-machines-for/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Wormholes - if you don't have something threading through them to hold them open, the walls will basically collapse so fast that nothing can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/wormholes-if-you-don-t-have-something-threading-through-them-to-hold/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [A big misconception is that a black hole is made of matter that has just been compacted to a very small size. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/a-big-misconception-is-that-a-black-hole-is-made-of-matter-that-has/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [We're born with a curiosity about the universe. Those people who don't have a curiosity don't have it because it's gotten beaten out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/we-re-born-with-a-curiosity-about-the-universe-those-people-who-don-t/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [A black hole really is an object with very rich structure, just like Earth has a rich structure of mountains, valleys, oceans, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/a-black-hole-really-is-an-object-with-very-rich-structure-just-like/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [It was quite a surprise when I realized that with a single wormhole you could have time hook up towards the future or towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/it-was-quite-a-surprise-when-i-realized-that-with-a-single-wormhole/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Each black hole spins on its axis like the Earth spins. That spin creates two vortexes of twisting space, somewhat like vortexes in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/each-black-hole-spins-on-its-axis-like-the-earth-spins-that-spin/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) [Explore all 42 Kip Thorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) Browse all 340 Backward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I became interested in this question of whether you can build wormholes for interstellar travel. 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