I have a dislike of the bootstrap paradox. I find it’s the one that I can visualise quite well, but as a result, I don’t like what I see.

I first saw a version of this in whichever Harry Potter movie it was and immediately didn’t like it because it didn’t make sense, because I saw a closed loop that had a discrete ending. And circles don’t have endings. I left it at that, back then.

I’ve probably encountered more through other shows and stories, but I only became conscious of the loop during the 11th Doctor, I think it was during the opening of the Pandorica when he encounters his dying self. Again, I didn’t like it, but I accepted it because he is a time traveller and can handle these things appropriately.

It wasn’t until the 12th Doctor explicitly talks about the bootstrap paradox that I realised I need to write down my interpretation of how to manoeuvre this scenario to understand why I don’t like it. Luckily, it’s coincided with me thinking about which of my characters can cross their own timestreams and get away with it (well, there’s always a consequence, but not as dire as shows make it out to be). Continue reading →