causal loops

A causal loop is a situation where an event is both a cause and an effect of itself, creating a cycle of influence. For example, imagine a story where someone's decision to invent a time machine leads them to travel back in time and inspire their own invention, making their future self the original inventor. In this loop, the cause and effect feed into each other, forming a closed chain of events. Causal loops are often discussed in science fiction and philosophy to explore questions about time, free will, and how events might be interconnected in complex ways.