Ronald Mallett: A Man (Literally) Wise Before His Time

Ever since he was a little boy, Ronald Mallett was, like many people, intrigued by the idea of time travel. However, unlike most scientists and philosophers, who dismiss the idea as pure fantasy- even astrophysicist Stephen Hawking scoffed at any possibility that it could become a reality after having a party for time travellers where nobody came- he has believed wholeheartedly that such an idea could become a real-life possibility someday, if not today.

His interest in time travel first manifested when he was about ten years old. His father had just died of a heart attack at the age of 33, and his death was quite tumultuous on his family. As a means of escapism, the young Mallett became engrossed in the story "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells, the quintessal time travel story. Reading the story, Ron couldn't help but think, What if it could become possible to go back and prevent my father's death? Like most young boys at that age, his dreams were dismissed as mere fantasy, nevertheless, he missed his father dearly, and would have done anything to bring him back.

He became a professor at University of Connecticut in the mid-1970s, where he teaches students about the wonders of science. Of course, when he's not giving lectures or grading papers, he's doing research into the idea of time travel, and getting interviews on his work. No, seriously- he's become quite a celebrity on his work, being featured on various news outlets like Washington Post and CNN. You could say he's the poor man's Neil Degrasse Tyson, except his work is actually doing something good for the world!

Now, time travel is so appealing, that it often pops up in popular fiction, where it tends to come in two flavors: going back in time to see historical events or to meet iconic historical figures (or at least the younger versions of family members) (Doctor Who, Back to the Future) or literally reliving your life to undo past mistakes (Avengers Endgame, The Power of Un.) (It's interesting to see that, despite reading a story about travelling in the future to meet aliens instead of changing the past, Mallett's goal is firmly suited in the latter.) Both theories are quite appealing to most people who wouldn't want to hang out with Abraham Lincoln or go back in time and prevent past mistakes? We've got a whole field out there to studying history, but honestly, most people (even, no ESPECIALLY historians whose study of historical events is their bread and butter) would be drawn to a more "in-person" approach to history.

Theory of time travel, however, is a bit more complicated than that. In fact, time travel theorists argue that, while travelling to the past may be possible in the future (oh the irony), changing the past may not. After all, if someone went back in time and killed their own grandparents, wouldn't that erase their own existence and prevent them from being born, let alone actually carrying out the action? If you changed the past, how could you go back in time to do so? (Funnily enough, despite wanting to do just that, Ron recently posted an article about how paradox-free travel might be the most likely version of time travel in real life.) Even if you could somewhat change the past- for example, changing the socks you wore one day- contrary to popular theory, nothing would change, let alone start a ripple effect. (That's right, The Butterfly Effect lied to you.)

Of course, a good chunk of his research has involved analyzing the theories of numerous scientists, including Einstein's Theory of Relativity: "In Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, both matter and energy can create a gravitational field....My current research considers both the weak and strong gravitational fields produced by a single continuously circulating unidirectional beam of light."

Now, before he can get his dream of time travel off the ground-referred to as the Space-time Twisting by Light (STL) project- he'll need, like, a lot of money. (With a dream like that, why wouldn't he? This is something really worth a GoFundMe page!) Despite the significant setbacks on his dream- he's been at it for years now- he has nevertheless been adament on one day travelling through space and time, like a real-life Doctor Who. Only, you know, not British.

Oh, and Ron, if you're reading this, I'd like to thank you for being such a hardworking inspiration to all of us, and not just kids who want to go back in time and reverse past mistakes. Your dedication to something that most deem a mere fantasy is absolutely amazing. Namaste, you awesomely amazing science dude.