this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2025
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A comment by White House science adviser Michael Kratsios has gone viral after a speech in which he claimed U.S. technology can “manipulate time and space,” prompting online speculation.

Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, made the remark during a policy address at the Endless Frontiers Retreat in Austin, Texas on April 14.

“Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity,” Kratsios said during prepared remarks published on the official White House website.

While the statement was likely intended as aspirational language about technological progress, it has since circulated widely online, with some interpreting the comment literally.

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[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 hour ago

I'm just gonna quote my wife here when I talk about outlandish work stuff:

"Wow." - dream_weasel’s wife

[–] peterg75@discuss.online 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Growing up in USSR we had a saying: a comrad comes to you with a shovel, points to a patch of land and says: "you will dig from here and until supper".

I bet White House, with it's ties to Putin's Russia, means something similar.

[–] rodneylives@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

They can't even manipulate their own fool heads.

[–] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 hour ago

Please be Aliens bro. Please.

[–] Iceman@lemmy.world 16 points 11 hours ago

Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity

Ok, so your on drugs. It's not a particularly unique technology tho.

[–] DaCrazyJamez@sh.itjust.works 18 points 18 hours ago

I, too, am a source of gravity.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 29 points 21 hours ago

Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives

[–] Lighttrails@sh.itjust.works 205 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] thesohoriots@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago

Perfect. No notes.

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 143 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well they're right: it really feels like 1934 Germany right now.

[–] radix@lemmy.world 46 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's been 88 days since the inauguration....oh shit.

[–] Infernal_pizza@lemm.ee 1 points 1 hour ago

Fucking hell it's not even been 3 months!?

[–] Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 34 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Hitler's birthday is in two days. Let's see if Trump randomly declares war on Poland or something to commemorate it.

[–] Captainvaqina@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's the day that the clown traitors he appointed to destroy our intelligence agencies are supposed to hand him a report on if they can fake a reason for the filth to enact martial law.

Yep. Calling it now: insurrection act will be invoked on Sunday.

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[–] PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 17 points 1 day ago

The scenes I've seen of people around Trump, making sure to kiss his ass and over-emphasize with nervous straight faces what a genius he is and how well things are going, are the stuff of nightmares.

[–] BmeBenji@lemm.ee 18 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

It manipulates space by “moving everything around you until the space around you is not the USA, but El Salvador,” and it manipulates time by making it seem like no time has passed as the space moves, almost like you were put to sleep with a tranquilizer (but that’s definitely not what it was)

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 7 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

It manipulates time by sending the entire country back 100 years, and it manipulates space by making it seem like the middle of Europe

[–] Marthirial@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago
  • General Relativity 1905
  • Special Relativity 1905
  • Assclown Relativity 2025
[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 16 points 23 hours ago

if true this explains soooo much.

1000001416

[–] captainjaneway@lemmy.world 53 points 1 day ago

“Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity”

I - too - can walk, garden, and drink coffee.

[–] skhayfa@lemmy.world 59 points 1 day ago

The time distortion first came when a huge number of dense people gathered at the same spot in the white house.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 40 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In the speech, Kratsios emphasized the importance of American leadership in emerging technologies and criticized regulatory burdens that, in his view, had slowed progress. "We have weighed down our builders and innovators," he said. "But we are capable of so much more."

"Can we get some comments from the innovators?"

"No we fired them."

[–] BeNotAfraid@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

He's Talking about regulations on Big Tech in terms of data collection, monopoly and social engineering. We need to remove these people from the sphere of political influence. Break up Alphabet, Delete Meta, tax wealth not work.

[–] Wilco@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago

Yea, its called creative accounting ... or fraud.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago
[–] Tronn4@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago

Too bad they have it set to 1930's germany

[–] PacMan@sh.itjust.works 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)
[–] WeeneyTodd@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I was expecting something along these lines

[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 6 points 22 hours ago

did someone just explain to this guy the half a century old tech scanning tunneling microscope that uses quantum tunneling for imaging

[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

To be fair, these last 3 months have felt like 3 years so maybe they're on to something.

white house discovers cannabis

[–] Frjttr@lemm.ee 21 points 1 day ago

Sure, sure… Even a plane can “manipulate time and space”.

[–] MithranArkanere@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

I can too.

I can move through space all the way to next to my nightstand and change the clock's time with a little wheel behind it.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 4 points 22 hours ago
[–] Docandersonn@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago

"Prompting online speculation" ... This line can be thrown into literally any news article.

[–] badbytes@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Idiots just threw a wristwatch.

[–] alphapuggle@programming.dev 7 points 1 day ago

If they had the technology to manipulate time and space they'd just use it to commit election fraud

[–] Jaysyn@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

It's ketamine, isn't it?

[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 3 points 23 hours ago

Reminds me of the poster for the Terry Gilliam classic "Time Bandits."

They could travel anywhere in time or space. They just couldn't tie their own shoes."

[–] CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

Come with us now on a journey through time and space. To the world of the Might Bullshit.

[–] MyOpinion@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago

It is called the MAGAt field of stupidity.

[–] DogPeePoo@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

Amphetamines are a helluva drug

[–] KaRunChiy@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago

Oh god, the space age larpers took over

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Then go get everyone’s 401k money back

[–] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 5 points 1 day ago

The cake is a lie! They shouted, certain they had grabbed the cultural zeitgeist by the tail

The pseudoscience and grift administration has embraced the Montauk Project

[–] obvs@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

There is ZERO reason to believe this.

Or at the least there is ZERO reason to believe it in the way that it was interpreted.

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