Solving the Grandfather Paradox

Eddie Andrews: It's because it all comes down to a binary choice.

Frank Parker: That doesn't fix the paradox

EA: It does, though. Have you beaten Bioshock Infinite?

FP: Nope!

EA: Then that example won't work.

FP: I'll play it eventually

EA: Okay, you have two people that decide to have a kid. That right there is the binary choice: You are either born, or you aren't. In the even you are born, you go back and kill your parents. So now, if they decide to have a kid, that kid ends up killing them before they have a kid. So the only choice left is to not have a kid. It's the only way the parents will still exist.

FP: So it's impossible to cause a time paradox if you don't exist in the first place

EA: Kind of...? It's impossible to cause a paradox, because all events come down to a binary choice. All the paradox does is prevent one of those choices from happening. It eliminates the choice.

FP: So in the event two people will have a kid that would cause a time paradox, it is inherently corrected by them never having a kid?

EA: Correct. Because if they have a kid, then the parents would already have been dead. The fact they can make the decision means they won't have a kid.

FP: But I exist, and given the ability to travel back in time I have the physical ability to kill my parents

EA: At which point you would no longer exist. Because if you did, you won't exist. :P

FP: But I exist now

EA: You're thinking linearly.

FP: For me to exist now, I must never go back in time and kill my parents, which means that part of my future is already determined

EA: In one sense, yes. But also, the instance of you that would initiate the paradox would still have their own past. It would just be irrelevant. From any other perspective, you wouldn't have ever existed. From your own, though, you'd still have your own past. These are still things you would've done. The fact that you are present in my past, though, negates that.

FP: hmmm

EA: So no, you won't go back and kill your parents. :P

FP: Don't tempt me

EA: Good luck?

FP: I suppose time travel would be the first piece to conquer

EA: Which won't happen in your lifetime. Cause I remember you.

FP: It doesn't need to XD

EA: Therefore, you can't go back and erase yourself. QED.

FP: As long as it happens in someone's lifetime

EA: But the technology will never reach YOUR lifetime. Either that, or you're too chickenshit to go through with it. :P SO I'LL TEMPT YOU ALL I WANT.

FP: FINE. I'm decently positive you won't be traveling through time either

EA: HOW DO YOU KNOOOWWW. I never wanted to erase myself.

FP: Suuure

EA: I'd probably just erase you. And you'd still remember. Up until the point I go back. Cause they're still your memories. And I would remember, cause I'm the one doing it. :P

FP: That's about it though

EA: That only holds true if this conversation only happened due to a tampering with a past event, though. Cause I would need to be the first iteration of myself with this idea.

FP: And the chances of that are..?

EA: Either 0% or 100%. So 50%.

FP: Yay binary choices

EA: Yup. xD I kinda wanna post this conversation somewhere again.

FP: Do it. I don't know where somewhere is though