The future according to John Titor

[Bamspeedy]

There will be 3 posts for his predictions/comments, so please wait until you read them all before posting.

From Nov 2000 to April 2001, a man claiming to be a time-traveller from the year 2036 posted on the internet. He posted on various time-travelling forums, where people were more open-minded about the possibility of time travel (although there was still many skeptics there). After he stopped posting in April '01, he has not returned.

His postings, while often cryptic, made people laugh, scared, angry, and even cry. Some people went and wrote a book about him (claiming to be written by his mother) and made plays about him, and one person even went to get a copyright of his predictions. There have been of course many hoaxers since then claiming to be John Titor.

His photos sure look fake, and some of his physics have been debunked, and there have been some very small inconsistencies in his story. The vast majority believe now that he was NOT a time traveller, and the only debate left is who this person really was (some say it was Disney employees in Celebration, FL), and debate about how many of his predictions will/have come true.

Disclaimer: No, I don't believe he was a time traveler.
This thread is more about his predicitions and his philosophy, not whether or not he was a time traveler.

First, here are some of the predictions (although sometimes vague), that have come to pass:

Remember, he posted these before 9/11, Iraq War II, etc.

Are you really surprised to find out that Iraq has nukes now or is that just BS to whip everyone up into accepting the next war?".

-Granted, this does cover both sides (if they did or did not have WMD), but who would make a comment like that before 9/11 and the 'War on Terror'?

I'm glad to see it's so easy for to dismiss the Middle East. Yes, I suppose it is a no brainer but pretty soon it will be a "no arrmer" and a "no legger".

He hinted several times (in hypothetical situations about things that were being discussed) about a space shuttle having problems. Then the Columbia disaster happened.

He said the U.S. government would increasingly invade the citizen's freedoms in the name of security.
--We got the Homeland Security act, Patriot Acts I and II, just to name a few.

I believe they (the Chinese) are pretty close to putting a man in orbit. It shouldn't surprise you if they do that soon.

-Which they did.

Someone named 'John' who talked about many of the same things that Titor talked about called into Art Bell's show back in '98 (Titor did say he went back to '98 briefly) and said in one of the timelines he traveled to there was a building in New York that wasn't there anymore. 9/11? Although it was a pretty vague prediction.

He talked about several future physics discoveries that some of which did come true after he left. This led some to think that he worked at CERN (which he talked about alot).

I have tried to tell people about CJD disease and it seems to be "catching on" in Europe.

"The "Mad Cow" story here is yet to begin but don't worry, the fruited gelatin deserts are safe."

--It later did strike the U.S., but he seemed to hint that it would be worse than it was. Although 'Mad Cow' had been around for years, it became much more widely REPORTED. Is it still possible it may hit us real bad?

He also asked what everyone thought about 'IT' (GINGER). Ginger is the Segway, a consumer product which the government 3 years later found a use for in military applications. (The government is Titor's enemy in his timeline)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/default.aspx?id=3606962&p1=0

All the really interesting information is months or years away and I'd be gone when it happens

He said this on Feb 2, 2001 and 'Months' later, 9/11 happened and turned most of these predictions from 'outlandish' to 'feasible'. Yes, this is extremely vague.

Future predictions in next post:

 

[Bamspeedy]

Future predictions:

Real disruptions in world events begin with the destabilization of the West as a result of degrading US foreign policy and consistency.

This becomes apparent around 2004 as civil unrest develops near the next presidential election.

The civil war in the United States will start in 2004. I would describe it as having a Waco type event every month that steadily gets worse. The conflict will consume everyone in the US by 2012 and end in 2015 with a very short WWIII.

The war is a result of faulty politics and desperation from Western leadership during the US civil war. Yes, I suppose you could stop it.

As a result of the many conflicts, no, there were no official Olympics after 2004. However, it appears they may be revived in 2040.

The Jewish population in Israel is not prepared for a true offensive war. They are prepared for the ultimate defense.
Wavering western support for Israel is what gives Israel's neighbors the confidence to attack.
The last resort for a defensive Israel and its offensive Arab neighbors is to use weapons of mass destruction.

The year 2008 was a general date by which time everyone will realize the world they thought they were living in was over.

Technology is not gone in 2036 nor is it the private domain of "government" leaders. Computer printers just didn't work very well on 12 volts and many people just got used to doing things the old way. After the war, the main problem was distribution. Can anyone tell me how many companies in the United States still manufacture bicycle tires today? Anyone who still has a bike in 2008 will find out.

-There are still a few bicycle manufacturers left in the U.S., but not many.

Yes, there are unusual events in 2012 but they do not cause the world to end. It is important that they be a surprise. Perhaps you are familiar with the story of the Red Sea and the Egyptians?

Q: The Arab countries appear to have weapons of mass destruction. Do they use them against America?

Not against America but they are used against each other.

Q: How and why do the Arabs Jews become entangled in the civil war of the U.S.A?

They are not directly involved but political situations are dependant on Western stability, which collapses in 2005.

A world war in 2015 killed nearly three billion people.

There is a civil war in the United States that starts in 2005. That conflict flares up and down for 10 years. In 2015, Russia launches a nuclear strike against the major cities in the United States (which is the "other side" of the civil war from my perspective), China and Europe. The United States counter attacks. The US cities are destroyed along with the AFE (American Federal Empire)...thus we (in the country) won. The European Union and China were also destroyed. Russia is now our largest trading partner and the Capitol of the US was moved to Omaha Nebraska.

Q: Are some areas of the United States safer than others?

Take a close look at the county-by-county voting map from the last elections.

<http://rosecity.net/al_gore/election_map.html>

Yes there were biological and chemical weapons used. No mind control weapons but there are new "non-lethal" weapon systems that turn out to be quite lethal.

Q: Are the Great Pyramids standing in 2036?

Yes, although one of them was severely damaged.

Q: Can you tell me when the police stop busting people for weed?

It happens about the same time they stop coming to your house when you dial 911.
In any case, it also lets Darwin take over. One of the reasons drug abuse isn't a major problem in 2036 is because no one wants to die from it and everyone else who did is dead.

The President or "leader" in 2005 I believe tried desperately to be the next Lincoln and hold the country together but many of their policies drove a larger wedge into the Bill of Rights. The President in 2009 was interested only in keeping his/her power base.

-Female president in 2009?

I never fought any Chinese but their ability to hit Western cities with missiles made a lot of people unhappy.

Q: Does the continuing conflict between Arabs and Jews have anything to do with the upcoming war?

Yes.

The United States is still a representative republic in 2036 but it was touch and go for a while. After the war, the U.S. had divided into 5 general areas based on their economic and defensive strengths. Many people blamed the government organization for the war and the last Constitutional Congress was held in 2020 to officially scrap the Constitution and start over.

I know exactly where I was and every detail of the exact moment the first nuclear warheads began falling on Jacksonville.

South America went relatively unharmed. However, there is still a great deal of internal conflict with conventional arms.

I've noticed that when most Americans think about Canada in this time, they think about pine trees, <derogatory term> and back-bacon. It may interest you to know that most Canadians in 2036 are some of the most efficient, ruthless and dangerous people I know. God help Quebec.

There are no Republicans or Democrats to speak of. There are now over 10 major political parties.

The states, as you know them, still exist but their political power has been combined with other states around them. There are now 5 major geopolitical areas in the United States.

Yes, we still have the flag. There is a debate about changing it from 50 stars to 5.

Suggesting there is a war coming is a bit different than saying avoid Washington DC at 3:45 AM on March 12, 2015.

Africa is not a pleasant place to be in 2036 although I would characterize it as recovering.

Russia and China have always had a very strange relationship. Even the news I see now indicates that continued weapons deals to allies, border clashes and overpopulation will lead to hostilities. The West will become very unstable which gives China the confidence to "expand". I'm assuming you are all aware that China has millions of male soldiers right now that they know will never be able to find wives. The attack on Europe is in response to a unified European army that masses and moves East from Germany.

-China attacks looking for wives????

I guess you could say that. Taiwan, Japan and Korea were all "forcefully annexed" before N Day.

Australia is sort of interesting in what is unknown. After the war, they were not very cooperative or friendly (can't blame them really). It is known they did repulse a Chinese invasion and most of their cities were hit. They have a trading relationship with the U.S. but I would characterize them as reclusive and ticked off.

As far as space travel goes, no, we are not on Mars yet but we're trying very hard so we can avoid another "Hell's Kitchen" outcome from an overpopulated Earth

-Although we have craft on Mars, I believe he is referring to actually getting people there.

I think the new government is good. However, since the concept of nationally subsidized welfare is gone, most people here may not appreciate it.

There's nothing like the look on someone's face when you tell them 100,000 people will be dead tomorrow.

The education system has been through many changes. School in 2036 is no longer a political indoctrination system and students "learn how to learn". Since community activity varies from place to place, the emphasis on basic reading, math and language is augmented with skills particular to the community. One school may emphasis farming while another teaches woodworking. Having children is a bit different and less common in 2036. A typical school day involves a setting very much like it was 100 years ago with smaller classes and few administrators to teachers. Other areas of study that are less common now are history, citizenship and personal economics.

Yes...genetic engineering is used but it's like any other technology. It can be good and bad. One thing we did not do was create more hybrid seeds. What are people thinking???

- Hybrid seeds, for those that do not know, are seeds that produce 'seedless' fruits and such. That means you can grow them once, but must purchase new seeds from a company. Not a good idea, in my opinion.

In 2036, a great deal of effort is going into 'repairing' our environment.

You’ve been to Cedar Key? You must be aware I don’t know any personal information about you. If I was just going to guess, I would say it's important to avoid the rattlesnake or you might be "walking" back to shore. You may be happy to know that although the bridge is gone, Cedar Key is still there.

-Cedar Key, Florida? It is on an island right now and a bridge connects it to the mainland if I'm looking at maps correctly.

Yes, Europe is a mess.

The 21st century has awhile to go but the most significant person in my opinion is the farmer-general who led us to victory.

Yes, we have the death penalty. We also have public punishment.

It’s hard to say what the exact racial make up of the U.S. is. I would say it’s probably the same minus 130 million people or so.

Yes, there are same sex marriages but it’s not very common. Again, people have lived through so much hardship that if what someone else is doing does not affect them or harm the community, it’s not a big issue.

Q: I'm guessing the date of your return to the future is April 19th. Is this correct?

That is a day to remember but I was thinking more along the lines of March 21.

-Is March 21 a prediction for a future event, or is it just something to do with the 'correct conditions' for his leap back to his time (march 21 is the start of spring)? 'Day to remember' is most likely speaking about our past (OKC, Waco).

I would characterize world politics as two boxers who have just gone multiple rounds and they're both pretty beat up. I'm sure someone out there wants to kill us but no one is very organized yet. There is a great deal of fear over rogue groups coming across un-launched missile systems, 55-gallon drums of Anthrax or portable nuclear weapons

-How many people even know what anthrax was before 9/11?

More comments in next post:

 

[Bamspeedy]

Not any predictions, but some usual comments from him:

Q: Are you here now to observe the results of the presidential election?

I would use the word "elections" a bit cautiously. Perhaps it's easier now to see a civil war in your future?

-He said this on 11/11/2000, a week after the elections. Imagine if we have a repeat of that in this years elections.

What you do on your worldline is your own business. I can't think of any better way to start a war than for someone to figure out how to make a time machine. Go for it.

Have you considered that your society might be better off if half of you were dead?

I suppose we could agree that no particular era in history is famous for its development of humanity but just once I would like to hear questions like, "What is family life like in the future? How does society deal with poverty? Is AIDS, abortion and drug use still a problem?"

While you sit by and watch your Constitution being torn away from you, you willfully eat poisoned food, buy manufactured products no one needs and turn an uncaring eye away from millions of people suffering and dying all around you. Is this the "Universal Law" you subscribe to?

Perhaps I should let you all in on a little secret. No one likes you in the future. This time period is looked at as being full of lazy, self-centered, civically ignorant sheep. Perhaps you should be less concerned about me and more concerned about that.

Please, please wake up. Look at the signposts around you now.

Why are you concerned about what I might do to corrupt your worldline when you have no problem letting other people do it around you every day?

I mean mysteries not of this world. For example: I suspect that the final thing we will have to give up to get to God is our free will. Do you think many people will be standing at the pearly gates saying "yes" to that one if they had a choice to come back here?

The reason time travelers do not revel themselves is because your society scares the hell out of us. We do not want to end up in a cement room on a permanent supply of sodium prenatal as men with lab coats poke at our machine with a screwdriver.

As you said, it's interesting that I see a time machine and you see a weapon. Maybe it's a sign of the "times". However, it is a good point. If the Chinese or Russians thought you had one of these what do you think they would do?

The first time I walked into a "superstore" I cried. I'd never seen so much excess in one place at one time.

Q: You suggest a bicycle. What about horseback?

Yes, horses are good if you can feed and water them. Also, it's very hard to eat a bicycle.

Q: What is the result of the duplicates arriving simultaneously?
(This is when you go back in time 30 seconds and the two of 'you' see each other).

Psychological confusion and a few fist fights.

In my opinion, the Gen Xr's ended up in two categories. There were the ones who had learned to be independent by breaking away from tradition and societies expectations and the others who had no idea how to take care of themselves and just wanted the trains to run on time. The ones in the first group feel very guilty about "letting" the world go to Hell and the ones in the second group are dead.

The reason the job of President was split into an office of 5 has 4 main reasons. With 5 (presidents), foreign policy is more consistent, power shifting between parties has less of an impact on the overall government, individual strengths between presidents add to the strength of the overall office, and one president is elected for each major area in the United States.

During this Congress, the leaders discovered and decided that coming up with a new and better form of government was nearly impossible. The original Constitution itself was not the problem it was the ignorance of the people that lived under it.

In my travels, I have discovered that most people really don't want to know about the future because if its different than what they want it ticks them off. Actually, I don't blame them.

As far as the future goes, your worldline is about 2.5% different than mine. This is a roughly cumulative measurement based on my arrival in 1975. As far as I can tell right now, you are headed toward the same events I would call "my history" in 2036.

I disapprove of murder. Man as a species is incapable of changing his nature through will alone and war is a tool of biology. The ability for war sleeps in each one of us and we must decide what we will do before the beast awakens. As for morality, again I point to the "universal" balance of good and evil. For every worldline where there is peace, there is a worldline that has destroyed itself.

Q:What are the social prejudices in 2036?

Yes there are. However, as odd as it may sound, it serves a useful purpose in my time. First, you must realize that your experiences with "prejudice" and mine are different. I would characterize the intolerance you have here as a result of ignorance and fear. I have observed that people with unfounded and irrational fears about their fellow man in this time have the luxury of not having their beliefs tested.

After the war, much of the prejudice you have now was swept away by simple necessity. People had to work and fight together just to survive. This has a way of opening a person's eyes as to the value of fellow human beings.

What difference does the color of a man's skin make when you are both fighting against the same enemy to survive or find water or grow food? On my worldline, if a man doesn't pull his weight in the community, then we feel prejudice towards him as a burden to us. This feeling of shame he experiences then makes him realize his responsibilities

Q:What is the health care like in 2036?

You would probably not like it at all. I would compare it to what you see in Western movies. We do have hospitals but there are more family doctors and house calls as compared to what you are used to. There is no real organized health care. If you get a serious disease, you die. This however has had a tendency to strengthen the general genetic pool. Doctors are more concerned about things like broken legs, snakebites and delivering healthy babies.

I think the war would be good for you and your society. I don’t want to stop it.

I don't expect to be believed - I don't want to be believed.

I do not seek credit for anything. The most I hope for (for the most part) is to be at least interesting and engaging.

If there are infinite worldlines and infinite possibilities and an edge to the super universe, doesn't that mean occurring events on worldliness are staggered as they reach the edge? (time could end at any moment without warning).

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[Hamlet]

Has anyone ever 'arrived' from the future and said anything other than "Yeah, apocalypse is just around the corner!"

At least he/she could have been original.

Although I suppose saying that the world is going to progress fairly gently for the next fifty years doesn't make exciting fiction, and nobody would pay any attention to you.

 

[CivCube]

I take it you were a regular on those forums?

 

[Bamspeedy]

No, I just found out about it a few weeks ago, and spent the last 2 weeks (~10 hours a day) reading through all the posts. (just one thread was 60 pages long).

The original threads are gone due to forum updates/site closings, etc. over the years, so all there is left is reconstructions of the threads (which nobody has said is fake, not even the non-believers) from people who saved copies of the threads/posts.

I was skeptical that they could have been faked so I did do alot of research, and found many threads (still accessible and not re-constructed) from late '01, '02, '03, etc. that all talk about him and his postings. In fact there is one post from Sept 10, 2001 about his postings. Before 9/11 nobody had paid too much attention to him after he had left, but after 9/11, Iraq war, etc. it really started sparking ALOT more interest as events unfolded.

 

[HamaticBabylon]

He may not be referring to this time i.e. 2004 but some were over the horizon I see a third world war

 

[stormbind]

There was a big hunt to uncover J Titors family etc.

It turns out he was right about weird peices of history like the intricate details of early computers which nobody would think about. If it was a hoax he went to a lot of effort researching facts to backup his story.

The "predictions" that came true don't surprise me though. I predicted them too - and I'm not from the future

 

[HamaticBabylon]

or are you....

 

[stormbind]

lol @ admin ... all the posts on this forum are dated 2004!

They need to update their clocks

 

[Amenhotep7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor

Wiki link.

I don't believe him, but it is interesting to think about his predictions. Personally, I see no civil war around the corner, but then again, he says it starts after the elections, it seems...

 

[Bamspeedy]

This is the forum that has all of his reconstructed threads if you want to read any of them:

http://www.timetravelportal.com/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=7023b02bce0d15cf18ffaf0376da67cd


The 'sticky' threads (not the polls) are the reconstructed threads. The one poll about him gives a brief introduction and history of him, along with several links.

 

[Esckey]

You said the photos are look fake and the physics has been debunked, got a link or do you have a post coming up for all that stuff?

 

[Bamspeedy]

Originally posted by Esckey
You said the photos are look fake and the physics has been debunked, got a link or do you have a post coming up for all that stuff?

Dr. Robert Brown's analysis

Pictures and diagrams of machine Scroll down to see them. Warning, it will take awhile to load all the pictures on a dial-up connection.

Although nobody has figured out what parts he used for the machine, it just looks like a bunch of army/NASA surplus items/junk that were thrown together. The big yellow thing ontop of the device (near the CB microphone cord) has already been identified. If anybody recognizes what the other parts actually are/come from, that would be great. The computer shown in the photos is actually an IBM 5110, not a 5100 (so don't point that out), as that picture was taken by someone else of a computer they had, it's not the one Titor supposedly got.

The 'bent laser' to me just looks like a fishing pole, CB antenna (Firestik), or some sort of glowing cable or something that is probably already being used as special effects for something. Some have been able to duplicate the bending light to some extent with normal laser pointing lights (although those are too thin to be this). Honestly, I don't think it really is 'glowing', and the 'gaps' of darkness in the light (which would seem to indicate it isn't a solid object) seems to me to be just either due to photo quality, loss of quality by going from one photo format to another, or it could just be black electrical tape wrapped around a fishing pole or Firestik CB antenna. The 'light' seems to be straight for a bit until it bends. That could just be due to the angle that we are looking at it (looks can be a bit deceiving).

 

[Archer 007]

This fake. It reads like Nostradamus.

 

[amadeus]

If I made 10,000 vague predictions, I'll bet one of them will turn out to be true.

Some time in the future, a new person will register at Civfanatics.com's forums!

 

[stormbind]

Puh! As nobody appears to be holding up the other side of the argument, I'll volunteer to do it...

If changing now also affects the future, then maybe John Titor changed things

Also, his devices may have been disguised to resemble historical parts. In star trek, they dress up when going back in time. Camouflage isn't time travel.

The strategists are unlikely to be the pilots. John Titor may have been an ignorant pawn fed with the information he was supposed to deliver

 

[Bamspeedy]

Yeah, he did mention he may have already screwed up our worldline.
"What huge event was supposed to happen in the last year and a half that never happened"?
Y2k (maybe didn't happen because of him going to '75).

What kind of political stance do you think he had?

Communist?
Liberterian?
Militia extremists?
He was a terrorist and this is the timeline for their 'plans'?

 

[Archer 007]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
If I made 10,000 vague predictions, I'll bet one of them will turn out to be true.

Some time in the future, a new person will register at Civfanatics.com's forums!

So true.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I've noticed that when most Americans think about Canada in this time, they think about pine trees, <derogatory term> and back-bacon. It may interest you to know that most Canadians in 2036 are some of the most efficient, ruthless and dangerous people I know. God help Quebec.

Canadians? Ruthless?