Some, particularly the very young, appear to believe time travel is a present day fact and not an elusive, distant desire. This in itself may seem harmless, but unscrupulous, so called humorous websites have been reinforcing their beliefs with official looking “guides to time travel.” These mix credible scientific theories from Einstein and other physicists such as Kip Thorne and J. Richard Gott with horrific instructions like “run into a car, swallow some gold, jump off cliffs or take excessive amounts of sleeping pills.”

When a twelve year old girl tragically jumped off a Beijing building last year after disclosing she wanted to time travel back to the Tang Dynasty, the intensity of the debate was bound to escalate.

Extreme views from supporters and detractors of the time travel have surfaced either calling for censorship or freedom of artistic expression. Advising against time travel as a theme for discussion or dramatization on radio, film and television appears to be the current official line. Whether this is a temporary directive until a long term solution can be found is not yet clear.

It is all too easy for westerners to dismiss the threat of science fiction in general and time travel in particular as nonsense. But only over time did we become adept at spotting the clever ploys of writers and program makers.

Don’t believe me? Try putting yourself in the shoes of those 1938 radio listeners and imagine how you would have reacted to the instructions.

What is obvious to many is that education is the key to preventing heartbreaking deaths. It’s not just a case of informing the public whether this or that production is fiction rather than fact but a need to rethink the delivery of knowledge in schools.

When a child is pressurized into remembering vast amounts of factual data for a constant series of often meaningless tests, they are at risk of believing everything they read in print, hear spoken or see on a screen. They have not developed the skepticism that afflicts most adults and are less likely to distinguish between fact and fiction.

By giving children the opportunity to think about and openly discuss topics such as the fantasy of time travel, they are less likely to fall foul of any malicious suggestions that are aired. Without an education system that promotes creative and evaluative thought, today’s youth will never be safe from such potentially dangerous lies.

The author is a communications professional, film maker and published writer with a keen interest in life.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.