Rewatching LOST: It's Time or How The Island "Moves"

Here's what we've got to work with:

IF:  Mrs. Hawking ["316"] and Ben ["The New Man In Charge"] tell us that "the island" is always moving. Mrs. Hawking says The Lamp Post station was built to develop coordinates predicting where the island WOULD be, and Ben says unmanned computers at The Lamp Post station were automatically transmitting those coordinates to poor Hector and Glen, who used them to direct the drones executing the Dharma Food Drop.

THEN: The island is always moving GEOGRAPHICALLY. The coordinates provided are GEOGRAPHICAL coordinates that indicate WHERE the ISLAND is/will be on the EARTH.

That's the basic consensus, yes?

PROBLEM: A "certain point in time" does NOT translate to "approximate geographical coordinates." [Not in the physical world, anyway.]

Mrs. Hawking says "While the movements of the island seem random... a series of equations tell us, with a high degree of probability, where it is going to be at a certain point, IN TIME."

What the heck is she talking about?

Let's say you're pregnant, and I plan to visit you before your baby is born. Naturally, I ask you what your baby's due date is [an approximate PREDICTION of an EVENT WINDOW -- a pending future event IN TIME]. If your answer is  "Albuquerque," I'm now mad at you.

Now let's say I've decided to visit you tomorrow. If I ask you for your address or directions to your house and you say "June 5," now I'm really mad at you. [How dumb are you? Why am I even bothering?]

I repeat: What is Mrs. Hawking talking about?

If I pull out a calendar and ask you to point out the PLACE on the calendar that indicates your baby's due date, that might answer my "where" question. I'm asking you to show me WHERE on THIS CALENDAR ["in time"] you PREDICT a future event might happen.

That still doesn't work out quite right, does it? A baby's birth is an event with a beginning, middle and end. An island has a beginning, middle and end, too. A volcano erupts under the ocean. Over time the cooled magma builds an island [An island  is actually the tippy top of an underwater mountain]. Over time [unless you shellac it with parking lots], that island is VERY slowly eroded by wind and rain and eventually "sinks," inch by inch, back into the ocean.

But if I want directions to a specific place [say, an island in the South Pacific] on a MAP of the EARTH [like the one under the swinging pendulum], telling me "where" that place "is going to be at a certain point, IN TIME" isn't very helpful. [Unless I'm attempting to get to the island from orbit. "Head for Guam. It'll be on yer left. You can't miss it!]

[And I'm still mad at you.]

There's only ONE place I can think of where a POINT in TIME would be a geographical location.

A map of the HUMAN BRAIN.

[Don't panic. We're gonna save the brain stuff for next post. However, I'll make you a promise here and now.  I hereby solemnly swear that by the end of this post, you'll know EXACTLY how the island "moves." More bang for your buck, brought to you by LOSTblog.com! :)]

WHAT TIME IS IT WHERE YOU ARE?

Once upon a time [HA!] Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727) was The Man.  This English physicist-mathematician-philosopher-astronomer-alchemist-theologian published his book, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, in 1687 [at the ripe old age of 25] and reset the pace of scientific world for centuries.

I love Newton, okay. I'm just gonna say it. He was my hero when I was a kid because his personal philosophy boiled down to: "I'm lookin' right at it, and I'm thinking, um, DUH."

For nearly 250 years, Newton had the concept of time in a bottle [HA!!]. He reasoned that time was a constant. It passed uniformly no matter what. Even today, his reasoning is sound. No matter how hard you try, you can't stop, pause, collect, reverse or create time. No matter what system of measurement used, the bottom line was time keeps on truckin at the same pace for everything in the universe.

[Newton was big on explaining everything in the universe.]

Enter Einstein, H-bombs and the modern age. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) boiled down the answer to life, the universe and everything, including time, into one simple response.

Einstein's Answer to Everything: It depends on how you look at it.


Relativity. Basically, it means that there are NO absolutes [constants] in the known universe. Objective observation/definition of any element of the universe is impossible because everything is defined according to its relationship to something else, including YOU. Since there is an infinite number of "something elses," there are infinite definitions for each and every element in our universe.

When Albert broke the objectivity mold, thousands of years of mathematical/scientific/philosophical studies bounced out the theoretical window --- leaving physicists, above all, sheepishly holding the bag. He was particularly touchy about the assumptions scientists made about time and space, and he was pretty irked when the scientific community failed to "get it" after he published his Special Theory of Relativity and E=mc² articles in 1905, [at the ripe old age of 26]. Didn't take long though. By the following year, scientists were eating that stuff up!

Mostly on his own, and mainly by daydreaming about the problems/questions when he was supposed to be working, Einstein figured out:

• Time is not absolute: "Despite our common perception that a second is always a second everywhere in the universe, the rate at which time flows depends upon where you are and how fast you are traveling."
• Light travels at a constant speed: "his Special Theory of Relativity. The theory, which revolutionized our understanding of time and space, is based on Einstein's astonishing recognition that light always travels at a constant speed, regardless of how fast you're moving when you measure it" [UNlike TIME].
• Energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared (²), or E=mc²: "The secret the equation revealed—that mass and energy are different forms of the same thing—had eluded scientists for centuries."
• Gravity and acceleration must be equivalent: Gravity [of the Earth on US] is equal to acceleration [of US as we fall to Earth]. This is why, if you're on a plane and it hurdles to the ground, you'll float like you're in outer space. During the fall, you are weightless. [And after the fall is over, you barf your guts out]. Astronauts actually train for zero gravity this way.

Bummer for Newton, turns out he was wrong about GRAVITY after all [according to NASA].

"When Einstein wrote his general theory of relativity in 1915, he found a new way to describe gravity. It was not a force, as Sir Isaac Newton had supposed, but a consequence of the distortion of space and time, conceived together in his theory as 'space-time'. Any object distorts the fabric of space-time and the bigger it is, the greater the effect.

Just as a bowling ball placed on a trampoline stretches the fabric and causes it to sag, so planets and stars warp space-time - a phenomenon known as the 'geodetic effect'. A marble moving along the trampoline will be drawn inexorably towards the ball.

Thus the planets orbiting the Sun are not being pulled by the Sun; they are following the curved space-time deformation caused by the Sun. The reason the planets never fall into the Sun is because of the speed at which they are traveling." ["Einstein was right: Space and time bend." The Observer, April 15, 2007]

That last bit works just like a ball on a string. Swing that ball round and round. The faster the ball is moving, the more stable its orbit around your hand (via the string). Slow the ball down, and the orbit collapses.

ALSO, the shorter the string, the faster the ball moves. Ever see a lifeguard spin his/her whistle? Same thing. [FYI: Lifeguards spin their whistles because it keeps them from going nuts waiting around for someone to drown. I'm not making that up. I used to be a lifeguard in my svelter days.]

MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS POST

Good news is: Einstein DID prove Newton was right about TIME -- to an extent. Time IS moving at a constant rate -- for EARTHLINGS. Because we are all moving (with the Earth) at the same rate and are all exposed to the same level of gravity.

However, if we were still on Earth (like on an island) and exposed to a something special in the environment -- a HIGH level of EM energy, perhaps (like that of a powerful pocket of EM energy), time might not move at the same rate for us as it does for everyone else. Hm.

[Ahhhhhh -- did you see it? I think we just figured out what the Dharma Initiative was trying to do with the island.]

REMEMBER: There's the HISTORY of the island, the MYTHOLOGY of the island and the STORY of our lostes (happening in the "present" - as we watch). They are interrelated, but each one can be separated out from the other two and deciphered on its own.

The Dharma Initiative was part of the HISTORY of the island, the physical island that existed and had its own story before our losties landed. [Cuz the DI guys are all dead BEFORE our losties land. According to Naomi in "Some Like It Hoth," the dead RESIDE at the island. And the dead folks, in case you haven't noticed, are doomed to repeat history.]

According to the LOST Encyclopedia, in 1970, Alvar Hanso, the "financial backer" of the D.I. learned of the island from his ancestor's diary. He told the DeGroots, founders of the D.I., about the existence of the island and suggested it as a research site.

Team DeGroot poked around and discovered underground, interconnected pockets of electromagnetic energy all over the world. They found a "unique pocket of energy in Los Angeles and built a research room around it -- the Lamp Post" (p. 212). They had enough evidence from Hanso's journal that the island existed, but they couldn't find the damn thing.

That's when they started looking for "where [the island] is going to be at a certain point, in time."

[Dang. Now we're back where we started!]

Let's focus on what we've learned today and try to apply it to the Dharma Initiative story.

• TIME is RELATIVE -- NOT absolute, NOT a CONSTANT.
• Where you are, how fast you're moving and the level of gravity you're exposed to AFFECTS the way YOU feel and measure time.
• Gravity is NOT a FORCE. It's a distortion of space and time, which leaves the door open: what else can distort space and time?
• "Any object distorts the fabric of space-time and the bigger it is, the greater the effect."

Let's say I've found an island in the South Pacific with an enormous pocket of EM Energy underneath it.  I suspect that the magnetic field around the island (confined to this island) due to this energy pocket will disrupt the fabric of space and time. I've even got empirical evidence -- the journal of an eye-witness -- to the effects of the island on peeps who go near it.

I surmise that compared to how time moves everywhere else on Earth, time will SLOW considerably proximate to the source of energy. Therefore, if I am proximate to the source of energy, then TIME will slow down for me, too.

I call you up and tell you I'm going to the island for two weeks to run a little experiment. We meet for drinks and say goodbye.

Two weeks later, I come back. Turns out I'm right! For every two weeks that passes on the island, two YEARS passes everywhere else. You are TWO YEARS OLDER than when we last saw each other, and I'm only TWO WEEKS OLDER.

Buyer Beware:  My MIND is two weeks older than when we last met. According to MY memories and MY perception of MY reality during my time on the island, I THINK only two weeks has gone by. I only REMEMBER two weeks going by.

Here's the question, and I think it's the question the Dharma Initiative was trying to answer: Which kind of time was distorted for me while I was on the island? Virtual time (described as hours, minutes and seconds) perceived in a left brain mode, OR EXPERIMENTAL time, which is perceived through the memory.

Is my BODY two weeks older? Or two YEARS older?

If my body is only two weeks older after spending two Earth years on the island, then guess what? I've just discovered the secret to immortality. The source of POWER to live FOR CENTURIES. Or MILLENIA, even.

["Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket/Never let it fade away..."]

EPILOGUE


As for the Lamp Post coordinates, I had a military historian [the one that lives with me] take a look at them. He told me that they look remarkably similar to "return to force" coordinates used by the military [U.S. Navy].  If you are in a military airplane, for example, and you lose contact with your peeps, esp peeps on an aircraft carrier, you simply open up your "return to force" specs and navigate your way back.

The "return to force" specs are NUMBERS -- coordinates that give you specific directions on a predetermined PATH to return to the ship. That way, when you fly back, YOU'LL FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH and approach the ship on the RIGHT BEARINGS. They'll know you're one of "US" and won't shoot you down [very important].

These numbers are pre-determined with a combination of direction, location, speed and altitude to define a safe CORRIDOR for the plane to fly home, and they are rotated daily for security reasons. [You'll already know just about where the ship will be at a certain time: the place you were supposed to land when your mission was over. Military planes can't land on an aircraft carrier unless it is moving, so determining where the ship will be at the end BEFORE you take off is pretty important.]

If it matters in which direction you approach the island, and we already know it does, then the coordinates generated and transmitted by the Lamp Post could be for that purpose, which would mean, the "safe passage" path is constantly changing.

That's weird. Why would the path change? And what does that mean?

[WATCH THIS.]

I'm thinking MAGNETS are the key [HA! Key! Get it?]

• When Sayid is orientering in Season 1 ["Hearts and Minds"], he demonstrates to Jack how the compass John gave him "is obviously defective" because it's not pointing "where north should be." Sayid and Jack know where north really is based on the position of the sun in the sky.
• We know the "source" on the island is responsible. John's compass is NOT defective. [and the sun is telling our losties the "truth."]
• We also know electromagnetic interference on the island increase the closer you get to one of the "pockets." The compass needle SPINS when you're on top of one ["Happily Ever After"]. It points NOWHERE

Consider: Since Sayid can determine where north SHOULD be [via the sun] and compare it to where the compass says north is, he can calculate the DEGREE of VARIANCE caused by the island's electromagnetic interference.

Let's pretend after Sayid explains the problem to Jack, Sayid stays right where he is [with one eye on the compass, one eye on the sun and paper and pencil in hand] for exactly 1 year. My best guess is the DEGREE of VARIANCE will CHANGE over time -- maybe slowly and consistently, like a clock, or in spurts because the EM energy fluctuates. Maybe both. If Sayid plots the variance every day using the sun to find true north and the STARS to calculate the day of the YEAR, guess what?

He'll MAP OUT the PATTERN of the EM interference's fluctuations' effects on the COMPASS over time. Almost like an EQUATION. [Isn't he a CLEVER FELLOW?]

Did you see it, my lovely LOST readers? CORRECTLY PLOTTING the location of the island is only half the problem. As soon as you get close to it, the island "moves" north [the island "moves" the DIRECTION "North." It's classic Team LOST Wordplay Bullshit!]. And, since the island is always "moving" north, it's nearly impossible to find it ON PURPOSE. If you never know where you are, it's impossible to get to a specific destination.

[That's called being LOST, btw.]

AND [because Team LOST is SMART], skipping the compass and relying on electronics to stay on target won't work either.  The EM field generated by the island kills any electronics as soon as they cross the field's "border."

OMG! We've just figured out why:

• FLYING OVER the island is the best way to get there from the outside. The field works like a dome. The closest you can get to the island's exact location without being inside the field is to be ABOVE the field.
• Leaving the island headed in a certain DIRECTION (by boat) and maintaining that direction makes you go in CIRCLES.
• An underwater BEACON is still necessary for the submarine to find the island.
• Naomi has to adjust the Uber phone by HAND once she's ON the island ["The Beginning of the End"].
• Peeps on the freighter think its not MOVING ["Ji Yeon"].  They ARE moving. They just THINK they're not moving because the instrument readings never change [Sure. Michael cut the engines, but they should still be floating around, right?]. The instruments never change because the freighter is IN SYNC with the EM anomaly's fluctuations -- its "movement." It's like the freighter is the BALL on the STRING (the safe path to the island), and the island is the HAND spinning it around. For all intensive purposes, the freighter is in a safe ORBIT around the island. That's why they can't move any closer to the ISLAND (they can't safely shorten the string). [This one is more of Amy's Guess. I'll need to rewatch that Season 4 to be sure.]
• Plotting a course on a BEARING works if you want to get to/leave the island. Bearings are RELATIVE. [If I tell you to "bear to your right," you could be headed north, south, east, west -- any direction. I'm telling you which way to go in relation to where you are NOW. This is why when someone says, "Go right," we ask, "My right or your right?"]

[Wow. I just got a buzz.]

We've also FINALLY figured out what the heck Mrs. Hawking (and Ben) are talking about!

When Mrs. Hawking tells the story of how that "clever fellow" found the island, what she's explaining how, given a pattern of variance over time, PREDICTING "where" the island is supposed to be is possible. Whoever this guy was, he WAS a very clever fellow because not only do you have to recognize the variance over time, you have to account for the gradually INCREASED variance as you approach the island.

The island itself never changes geographic locations. The "movement" of the island is an ILLUSION created by the magnetic properties of the island itself.

In order to GET to the island, you have to KNOW the exact geographic location, recognize the illusion, sync up with the pattern of the illusion AND compensate for it over time and distance.

Like I said. Wow. Even my brain hurts! Let's save the rest [how the PENDULUM at the Lamp Post proves our little theory] for next time.

Happy rewatching!