The concept of time travel has fascinated me since I first watched Back to the Future. After all, the idea of being able to travel to the past so you can change the future is a concept that fascinates many.

Wouldn't it be great if you could turn back the clock and say, re-take that test you failed, or prevent yourself from making big mistakes? The possibilities are endless.

However, almost everyone I've spoken to about this has the same idea: Travel back 20 years, buy the right stocks, and choose the winning Toto and 4D numbers, so you can become a multi-millionaire. Others have said that they would buy loads of Bitcoin so they can become crypto billionaires.

While the thought of being fabulously and ridiculously wealthy has its appeal, it's also rather scary. That's because I tend to over-imagine and think about scenarios holistically, so I end up dreaming about the bad that goes along with the good.

Photo: Chris Leipelt, Unsplash

Can being a billionaire be a bad thing?

For starters, I'm not sure how I'd react if I did travel back in time to purchase Bitcoin when it first launched. Would I be able to handle the shock of suddenly having more money than I knew what to do with? I'd probably need therapy, followed by counselling, to ensure that I don't go bankrupt in six months.

My wish-list at this moment includes three watches (none are even worth five figures, though), several old film cameras (none even costing four figures), three cars, and two motorcycles.

In case you're wondering why I don't want an entire garage filled with dream machines, it's because I won't have enough time to drive and ride them all. They will end up sitting around unused, which to me isn't worth it.

I'm also not interested in living in a palatial GCB (Good Class Bungalow), because I'd have to hire and manage several staff members just to maintain the property. And given the money laundering scandals, the authorities might end up investigating my sudden wealth, too.

The only useful thing about amassing so much via time travel is being able to make numerous (and large) charitable donations. Building hospitals and creating foundations to fund scholarships and charities are causes worth pursuing.

Photo: Andy Beales, Unsplash

How exactly would I time travel?

In the Back to the Future series, time travel was only possible using the fictional flux capacitor. The only other method of time-travel I've seen is from the Terminator movies.

Suppose I wanted to travel back to the late 1950s. I've always wondered what life was like back then. It would also be nice to drive cars from that era as well.

But going back Terminator style means arriving who-knows-where penniless and naked. What would I do for money? No ancestors/relatives of mine would recognise me either. I'd also have to think up a backstory to tell people from whatever era I'm in.

What happens if someone witnesses you travelling through time? Photo: Roger Ce, Unsplash

Now, suppose I manage to - based on my knowledge of future events - make enough money back then to purchase classic cars I've always dreamed of. More issues will arise. Where do I keep these vehicles?

Even if I could build a temperature- and humidity-controlled warehouse for them, who would care for the facility for the next few decades? And, given how quickly Singapore keeps changing, the Government might even acquire the land the warehouse sits on. What then?

Changing my past for a 'better' future?

Automobiles aside, I've also pictured going back in time to change my life. There are exams I could have passed instead of failed. Maybe I could have steered myself to becoming a doctor or a lawyer. But there is something called the 'Butterfly Effect' that concerns me.

The 'Butterfly Effect' refers to how a seemingly minor action can lead to major consequences. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, our editorial manager fell sick. This resulted in our GM having to take over a video shoot.

In turn, he was unable to attend a car launch, so I covered it in his stead. Thus, those stories on the backburner ended up being further delayed. These are minor matters. Time-travel might lead to even greater chaos.

The ramifications of time-travel are an unknown that I'm not keen to discover. Photo: Peter Hermann, Unsplash

Now, imagine if I tried messing with the past to give myself a 'better' present.

I have no way of predicting the consequences and effects of my actions, and that is something to be wary of. Even travelling back to the past as a 'time tourist' could be more dangerous than I think. Every person I interact with could lead to a minor ripple turning into a much larger wave.

So, time travel is a nice idea to toy with. However, once my head is out of my self-made clouds, there is one thing I always realise: I'm happy with who I am and what I have, and I don't need time travel to change that.