I finally watched Arrival, perhaps the most discussed movie in the last few months. I liked it and obviously, this film can win all the Oscars for which it is nominated. I didn't like only the plot, but also the way the story was structured; it was not a movie that presented aliens as monsters, but as something I would characterise as educative. It was a different and qualitative approach of entities that could evolve outside of the Earth. I will not tell anything else about the film so as not to create spoilers. I will just convey the aliens' message to humans: "You know both the past and the future."
Snapshot from the International Trailer of Arrival by Sony Pictures Entertainment Official Youtube Channel
Regardless from the science fiction concept and the philosophical contemplation which is detectable through the scenes, I consider this phrase as very true and I feel the need to analyse it. It made me notice that indeed humans know both the past and the future, but obviously they cannot totally realise it and they separate the one from the other - their perception might be to blame for this - I will present the signs that amplify this thought.
During the course of humanity, there were and still are people who are engaged in the foreseeing of the future. All these are called seers, prophets, clairvoyants, soothsayers, predictors or prognosticators. Many people disregard their work, but some of them have managed to predict events that happened in the future. How? The most reasonable explanation is through their experience. They examine what has happened in the history, they see what is happening in the present and they can see what will happen in the future as expectation. Of course, not all of the predictions and prophecies come true, but some of them do. And there are many people who take them into account.
Apart from that, knowledge can help in predicting the future and science knows that well. By studying medicine, astronomy, statistics and psychology for example, you can behold what is next. Doctors know that by prescribing a particular therapy or drug to a patient he will become better. They see the future. Astronomers observe the movements in the Universe and know when comets will pass from the Earth's orbit. Galaxies' collisions and stars' deaths are also included in their predictions. They see the future. Statistical surveys reveal things about the future too, like the polls, which transfer most people's wish; the majorities eventually define future. Psychologists observe human behaviour and know how a man can behave. Don't those kind of things mean that future is known?
Besides, in the everyday life, citizens can predict situations based on their experience and knowledge, such as what to avoid to eat or what to avoid to drink. Journalists give their insight through their articles. Politicians read people's tendencies to build a better society. Even dreams conceal what future holds; many people have detected allegories in what they dream during their sleep with what happens in their life later. This is where dream books are based. Even visions occur: Joan of Arc, the heroine of France in the 15st Century, is famous for her visions that played role in her actions.
Concluding, one of the hottest topics in science is the attempts humans to find a way to travel to the future. It is said that this can only be done in speeds faster than the speed of light, which is currently considered as impossible. However, as my above mentions show, a travel to the future is right now possible. Through the mind. With all the flaws of the brain and all the restrictions from nature. Of course, the future doesn't exist for us - it might exist inside time - and even predictions and prophecies can fail. And the only way to go to the future is by living the present. But there are indications and hints that disclose future, though these are not recognisable to everyone. Arrival taught me something about it.