Wolf Gnards

Bit surprised at some of the comments bashing this article, I get the gist of what he is saying, basically it is directed at the notion that some youngsters are trying to look bad on purpose, which somehow makes them look cool, and their excuse for this style is 'being ironic', which of course it isn't, simply because they don't look cool whether they think they are or not.
Perhaps it would be ironic if they had no thoughts or cares about image or style, and by coincidence ended up looking far more stylish amongst people who obsess and spend money and time trying to look good. But trying to look un-fashionable deliberately does not make it ironic.
The only ironic thing about being a hipster is that it started as an attempt at individuality and has turned into a mass trend.
The article then briefly delves into the possible origins of the misunderstanding of the word irony. The song 'Ironic' being sourced as the main proprietor, even as a child hearing that song it was obvious that nothing that she sang was ironic at all.
I would say this article is more based on the misuse of the term irony rather than having a dig at hipsters, which some people seem to have taken it as.
In my personal opinion hipster are the pioneers of terrible fashion sense or anti-style, which to them makes them cool and ironic, but unfortunately to everyone else it looks exactly like it is, poor dress sense, regardless of the motive.

Actually, there is a good reason why they couldn't get the gas from the other DeLorean, because gas goes bad. Within a few months, without special additives, gasoline goes bad, gels and no longer burns. Doc Brown likely would know this, so he would have PUMPED OUT the gas from the car and used it in his furnace (and probably for experimenting with those presto logs of his).

The damage to the car was the gas tank (Doc says he could fix that easy enough), but the fuel was the real problem, and he probably didn't mention the gas in the other DeLorean because he knew there wasn't any. And MARTY would have known there wasn't any because he pulled the car out of the mine. So both knew they had no extra gas.

SWOON

"And now all of that belongs to Marty A. He has usurped Marty B’s life, he’s done nothing to earn that truck or a family that loves him or a man-child Biff to wait on him and wax various cars in various driveways."

I just want to point out that Marty A did *everything* to deserve that, as he provided causation to alter his own trajectory through time. Marty A expended the necessary effort to go into the past, and follow the days spent in 1955 until the trajectory was pointed towards Marty B's present. It's actually Marty B that didn't do anything to deserve the upper-middle class conditions of his birth (though perhaps he did expend the effort, in a more conventional sense, to deserve the sweet truck).

What's really interesting is that there is a chance that no Marty ever returns to Marty A's present, (regardless, "Doc A" dies because in the trajectory that led to that Doc's existence, he was never warned about the shooting in advance).

However, you're explicitly only arguing *one* theory of time travel (many worlds) and presenting it as the only theory of fluid time travel. The movie series, though vague, hinted heavily that it wasn't a presentation of the many worlds theory of time travel (i.e. the tangible disappearance of Marty A, unless you're chalking that up to hallucinations caused by exhaustion or something). The movie was very clearly a presentation of the idea that physical dimensionality (the characteristic existence of a thing) is malleable across the time domain, rather than multiple realities existing at each time.

Think of the timeline as being broken into three segments, time before 1955, item between 1955 and 1985 and time after 1985. In timeline A, Marty A exists in 1985 and jumps back to 1955, creating timeline B. Marty B is born between 1955 and 1985, and grows up. Marty A travels from 1955 to 1985 in timeline B ("returns" is the wrong word, because he's not returning to timeline A. Instead, he's traveling to timeline B). Now, between 1955 and 1985 Marty B exists but Marty A doesn't. So, in 1985, Marty B travels back to 1955 and creates timeline C. However, Marty A has just traveled from 1955 to 1985, and has no reason to return back to 1955 again, and no other Marty A exists in timeline B. Therefore, only Marty B exists in 1955C. Marty C is born between 1955C and 1985C, and Marty B returns to 1985C. Marty A doesn't exist in 1985C because he returned to 1985B. In 1985C, there was no Marty A who traveled back to 1955C, so there's no Marty A to return to 1985C. So, we wouldn't expect to see an infinite number of Marties in either 1955 or 1985, assuming that all the Marties do the same thing in 1955 (which, I agree, is unlikely).

Marty B merges with Marty A in 1955 because they both jump to the same place and time. The only reason there are two Marty As in 1955 is because the Marty A from BTTF2 jumps to a different place and time in 1955.

I look at it as time shifting around the principle time traveller.

So Marty reemerges in 1985 at the end of the first movie. It is the same '85 until he enters it, then time changes instantaneously around him. Marty B (for lack of a better term) is the same as Marty A, about to go and do the exact same thing A did in 1955. Then when he returns to '85 the loop will continue, changing around him into Life is Awesome '85 while Marty C goes and does the '55 thang. So it's a mix of fluid and static, in that things only change and are perceptable to those involved in the change.

Thanks for all the comments! And I think everyone is correct: 1955 is going to get jam packed with McFlys.

Another note for one of the previous commenters: if doc would have put enough fuel in the delorean to make two trips, then past him would not learn of the shooting. If doc from 1955 never learns of the shooting then he would die. So in order for doc to live, there can only be enough fuel for one trip.

As mentioned in the article it is mentioned that Marty A may not actually the original Marty. Because of this I believe that the plot of the second back to the future movie could be playing out in the first movie. What I mean by that is there may be a Marty from previous timelines making sure that Marty A gets pushed in front of the car that Lorraine's father is driving to create the story that he grew up hearing from his parents. You may ask "then why don't we see another Marty in the first movie." Well this is probably because the same thing is happening as in the second movie where Marty A is trying to avoid himself from the previous movie. By that logic, shouldn't there be infinite Marty's in 1955 in every single timeline?

Is the past fluid as well? Is 1955 is always 1955. Original Marty A went back to Nov 5th, 1955. Meaning if any subsequent alternate Martys or anyone else for that matter time travel to Nov 5th 1955, Marty A will always be there trying to hook up Lorraine and George. When B goes back, A will be there, when C goes back, A and B will be there, when D goes back A, B, and C will already be there. Much like The Falconer sketch from SNL

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-falconer-time-travel/n12049/.

Or does Marty A get erased from existence Nov 5th-12th when he returns to 1985 on Nov 12th?

If Marty B is a different person and goes back in time, why would he have to make sure his parents meet? They're different people from different upbringings; therefore, they act differently. Marty B might not go to the diner and run into his father before he peeps on Lorraine. Marty B might have learned more about cars and is able to fix the delorean himself and drive straight to Doc Brown's house to get the flux capacitor working.

If Doc Brown has already thought to put on a bullet proof vest, perhaps he also put extra plutonium in the delorean before the Libyans arrived, so Marty would be able to return home immediately after getting the delorean running again. He would then return to the timeline of Marty C and begin an infinite loop. At some point possibly, one of the Martys will know that Doc Brown doesn't die, and will return exactly when they leave, instead of 15 minutes early, thus closing the loop permanently.

My question is: if Doc Brown knew enough to put on a life jacket (a magic one that will stop AK 47 ammo), then why didn't he change the location of the trial run? Or do a better job conning the Libyans? Actually, I have a lot of questions. Good post!

Flux Capacitor?! Your BTTF expertise in serious question.

You answered your own question here.

"Does he become Marty A? Does Marty A pencil erase from time? Is it like Time Cop and they merge into a big blob of Michael J. Fox?"

Your graphic shows it. Marty A is living in Marty B's timeline. But that Marty B will now be living in Marty C's timeline... and so forth.

I guess the real question is, do all timelines converge? Or are there an infinite number of timelines that one could live on... I think flash forward was based loosely around this idea.

I've always wondered if Doc Brown B's friendship with young Marty B ever felt forced. It's hard for a friendship to grow organically when Doc's known since '55 that it was his density to become pals with this kid.

And would the perhaps well-adjusted Marty B even feel the need to rebel against his parents, play rock 'n' roll or go hang out in a garage behind Burger King with some crazy, wild-eyed scientist?

! I'm mostly stuck on Marty B going back to 1955. !!

"Garbage can. Garbage can. Remember the garbage can."
- Ted "Theodore" Logan

I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK.

Then again, I've always had a thing for the 'bad guys'.... ;)

If I recall correctly, Patrick Stewart once mentioned that the upper portion of the uniform was poorly fitted, which is why he's seen tugging on it so very often. Perhaps Frakes adopted this particular sitting style (let's call it the Riker Maneuver) in an attempt to reduce his need to adjust the sloppy costume work.

That, or he likes flashing his crotch at everyone every time he sits down.

Finally someone is shedding some light on this situation!!