When one connects the cross Numbers on a clock face, you get the following result:
8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.
These numbers could be important because they form the basis of the formative years of a person's personal growth.
At common law, the age of 7 was deemed the age of reason. A person was expected to know the difference between right and wrong.
The age of 18 confirms adulthood. A person is emancipated from their parent's guardianship. They can join the military, make contracts, get married, etc.
How one what acts and behaves during the time between age 8 and 18 is important. What were the parental guidance? What were the environmental factors? What were the support mechanisms? Did the person learn values, goals and ethics? Did he or she fall in the wrong crowd?
Look at the people devoid of parental love and attention:
Locke.
Ben.
Sawyer (after his parents were killed).
Look at people who only had the attention of one parent:
Hurley.
Kate.
Shannon.
Walt.
Claire.
Jin.
Look at people who had a "normal" upbringing:
Jack.
Sun.
Sayid.
In the "normal" group, Jack had the upper middle class upbringing which led him to become a highly respected surgeon. He was smart, encouraged, had the means and opportunity to get a large slice of the American Dream. But in the end, was he a happy person?
Sun came from a very wealthy family. She was repressed by class status and her Korean culture. The only way she could get attention and feel independent was to rebel against her father in the worst possible way: by marrying a poor man. But even that goal did not make her a happy person.
Sayid grew up in a tight family setting in Iraq. His household was ruled by a strict father and a demanding culture. Sayid did what he had to do - - - such as butchering an animal his older brother could not do - - - which gave himself value to the group. And that need to be valuable in a group was the anchor that dragged his personal ambition and happiness down.
In many ways, the characters brought up by one parent have two common traits: loneliness and selfishness. Hurley was raised by his strict mother after his father left. She was religious and pushy, especially about his social life. That caused Hurley to eat to repress his social life. As a result, his mother enabled him to become a shy, quiet, dependent child who would never want to leave the artificial womb of her home. It is selfish to stay with a parent when, with any personal drive, you should be on your own. Claire had a similar relationship with her mother. Her mother wanted her to settle on a normal path, but Claire had a wild streak. They would fight over trivial matters. The last argument led to her mother's severe and fatal injuries.
You can add bitterness to characters like Kate and Walt. They were given a relatively carefree life, their needs being met by their mothers, but they were not very grateful. Each would act up in a controlled tantrum for attention. Then they were upset when things did not go their way, not understanding that it is the effort you have to put in yourself to get the result you want.
The characters who lost their parents early in the childhood, Ben, Locke and Sawyer, all had one driving trait: criminality. Their moral compasses did not have the bearings that parents instill in their children. Ben was beaten down daily by his alcoholic father who blamed Ben for his own shortcomings and lousy life. Locke's known abandonment was reinforced like a knife blade in his back each day he was in a foster home. Sawyer could only think of revenge after his father committed murder-suicide because of a con-man's trick on the family. Each would cross paths in the criminal world and go with its flow, including Locke - - - in seeking a "family" would have been fine living in a drug selling commune if they would accept him.
They say there is good and bad in everyone. What dominates a person's adulthood comes from what happens when a child is 8 to 18 years old. Each of LOST's main characters personalities were crystallized by events that happened in their childhoods.
Showing posts with label numbers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label numbers. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
12
In order to probe for more meaning in the Series, this post postulates working the Numbers in order to see if something falls from the creative tree.
The Numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
The Numbers were the winning picks for Hurley's cursed lottery ticket.
The Numbers were the SOS signal that Hurley's mental patient friend heard in the Pacific.
The Numbers were assigned by Jacob to his candidates.
The Numbers were used to control the electromagnetic discharge.
One of the themes of the show was time. Time was an important plot and action device to move characters into twisting situations.
Time is best represented by a clock face.
If the Numbers were the first part of a code, then using clock face we can try to find hidden information. If we start at 4 then add 8 we get to 12 (circled). If we add the next Number, 15, and count through the dial we land, we land at 3 (circled). If we continue this addition around the clock we land on 6, 7 and 12 again.
If the Numbers now lead us to another set of numbers (as codes often do), what does 3, 6, 7 and 12 represent?
If we go to the lighthouse candidate dial, there begins some speculative answers.
The Number 3 does not appear in the records. Neither does Number 6 or 7. If we use this set to represent people, the first thing that came to mind was the island's first "known" family. The Number 3 could represent "Crazy Mother." Numbers 6 and 7 could represent Jacob and his brother who were born on the island. Crazy Mother killed their Roman mother in order to have company and a successor for her island guardianship.
But then who is 12?
In the lighthouse dial, the name FOSTER appears, struck out.
There was no known character with the surname Foster in the series.
But since this code has 12 doubled in occurrences, 12 must have important significance.
The word "foster" means to encourage, promote, nourish. It comes from the English word for feed, nourish. It also has a reference to "bring up another" as in being a foster parent or guardian. In English surname ancestry, the name Foster means forester, or forest ranger, a person in charge of the hunting territories.
One can make the supposition that the Number 12 represents a guardian, and in the context of the island, the island's natural guardian. It is possible that Crazy Mother was the third successor island guardian, and Numbers 4 and 5 could have been Jacob's parents who were killed prior to assuming the office or title.
Foster does impact on Jacob's childhood. Crazy Mother was actually his foster mother, not his birth mother. She raised him to become the island's new guardian. This fostering for an orphan or an abandoned child is the centerpiece of Locke's back story.
In the episode, "Cabin Fever," Locke's story starts with his mother, Emily, going out to see that older man, Cooper. Against her mother's wishes, Emily storms out to meet her boyfriend, but she is struck by an automobile. She is rushed to the the rural hospital where it is found that she is pregnant. Against all odds and 1950s medical technology, her child, Locke, is born premature. Witnessing the miracle baby from the observation window is Richard Alpert. Alpert would return to visit Locke as a child, giving him the object test to determine his character for island leadership. Locke apparently picks the wrong item, and Alpert leaves disappointed in Locke's choice.
By this time, Locke has bounced around between foster homes. In his current situation, his foster sister, Melissa, does not like him. She disrupts his board game pieces. Locke is very unhappy with his situation. But when his foster sister Jeannie dies, a golden retriever appears at the house then takes residence in Jeannie's room. Locke sees the dog as a person, the spirit of Jeannie. Once Jeannie's mother passes, the dog vanishes.
Dogs play important roles in modern society. Dogs show unconditional love, support and companionship to human beings. Dogs provide protection and comfort to people. Dogs help people, especially young children, caring, nourishment, responsibility and play.
Dogs are also powerful symbols.
In some ancient civilizations the Dog was a symbol of the underworld. In Egypt, the guardian of the dead was Anubis who was a dog-headed god. The jackal portrayed as black was the symbol of both death and regeneration.
The Dog’s quality made it associated to a guardian and therefore the protector of souls that entered the underworld. Its ability see well in the dark makes it a symbol of instinctive knowledge and the Greeks, North American Indians and Romans were said to associate Anubis with a star (Sirius) and called it a dog star.
Additionally, in ancient Mexico, the dog was buried with human sacrifice so that it could guide it to the hereafter while in ancient Scottish legend the green dog of the fairy world was believed to drive nursing mothers into the hills so as to provide milk for the fairy creatures.
It is important to connect the massive amount of ancient Egyptian symbolism in the LOST mythology. Many believe that the time and resources to create these backgrounds, symbols and messages were important background clues to the island mysteries and the overall series premise.
And what did Crazy Mother tell Jacob about the light cave? It was the source for life, death, and re-birth. Anubis, the dog god of ancient Egypt was the symbol of death and regeneration (or rebirth). These stories fit perfectly like adjacent puzzle pieces.
The Number 12 must represent Anubis, as the guardian of life, death, the protector of souls, and the underworld's agent of regeneration in the after life. As the guardian of the underworld, this means that the island is a portal or intermediate stage along the journey from life, death and rebirth. That is why Crazy Mother and Jacob sought to protect it from outsiders like Widmore who had evil intentions.
As a way station between the living and the dead, it does not mean the main characters were "dead" on the island - - - they may have been caught between the two worlds. A person's candidacy to immortality ends with their death; but to become the guardian, one needs to "accept their death" in order to be reborn. This could be what the series creators were asking in their big questions: what is life? what is death?
To assume such a powerful and important role, a viable candidate would need the compelling traits of a dog: loyalty, faithful, honest, willing to fight injustice, protect others, be vigilant, and nourish other people. The two successor guardians, Jack and Hurley, had those qualities.
The island guardians may be the gatekeepers, like the ferrymen on the River Styx, and not actually the heir to Anubis' throne. The island ordeals may have been the tests of who was worthy of the role of helping others in their journey to the next level of existence.
And this makes more sense when you realize that the last character "to awaken" to take the next step was Jack. On the island, he was the leader who rallied the survivors into a community. He continues to put himself behind the needs of other people. He helped, counseled, treated and risked his own life for them. In the sideways world, he was the last person in the church to realize what had happened to them. That they were now dead and ready for the next stage. His friends in the church greeted him warmly. Jack sat in the first pew, almost in a daze that "the most important people" in his life created the ending so they could stay together, forever.
And this parallels Jack's final moments on the island. For it is Walt's dog, Vincent, who comes from the jungle to lie next to Jack. Recall, it was Vincent who first awoke Jack after Flight 815 crashed on the island. It was Vincent's interaction with Jack that set Jack on the path to the beach, and into the chaos of helping all of the survivors - - - without any judgment.
Some may doubt the importance of Vincent as a character. Vincent was in the jungle, he heard a whistle from Christian Shephard, who we would learn was the human manifestation of the smoke monster. We presume that there were two smoke monsters on the island: Jacob and MIB as being the two immortal beings. It called Vincent over and told him to go wake up "his son." That is not a true statement, unless you use it in the context of being a foster parent. As Vincent ran off towards Jack to do this, Christian stated that Jack "had work to do." One could use those statements to indicate that this Christian form was in fact Jacob, who brought "his candidates" to the island to play a game with MIB.
But that opens the possibility that Vincent was the manifestation of MIB, taking the command from Jacob to start a "new" game. But there is a more plausible explanation - - - that Vincent was not MIB but a higher power in disguise. A higher power more important than Jacob, in a role that would not shine any light of suspicion or concern on the island hierarchy.
The final link in this decoding of the Numbers shows that Vincent is Anubis. Vincent found Jack in the bamboo clearing and led him to his flock of lost souls. In turn, it was Jack who guided the decisions for the survivors to find salvation. Vincent was present to observe all of the island tests. In a quiet way, Vincent also helped push the characters into finding clues or messages when he would "get lost" and search parties had to go and find him. It was in these searches that the characters began to bond which would be an important factor in facing the long journey and island trials. What better way to get people to do what they need to do by nudging them along instead of commanding them to so something?
And the symbolism of new numbers embodies the qualities of the family unit: mother, father, children. Parents are present to foster, nourish and develop their children into good human beings. Children are present to explore a new world, challenge it, learn about it, find their values and principles, to create purpose and understanding to their lives . . . . then repeat the process of creation.
Anubis creates new family units for the island over the eons on time. As society has developed from small tribes of hunter-gatherers into modern technology advanced families, Anubis recognizes and supports the concept of "foster" families to help lost souls find deep and meaningful relationships in life. And his foster families can include misfits, outcasts, cripples, criminals, the mentally weak, lonely and rebellious. . . the main characters on the show.
The Numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
The Numbers were the winning picks for Hurley's cursed lottery ticket.
The Numbers were the SOS signal that Hurley's mental patient friend heard in the Pacific.
The Numbers were assigned by Jacob to his candidates.
The Numbers were used to control the electromagnetic discharge.
One of the themes of the show was time. Time was an important plot and action device to move characters into twisting situations.
Time is best represented by a clock face.
If the Numbers now lead us to another set of numbers (as codes often do), what does 3, 6, 7 and 12 represent?
If we go to the lighthouse candidate dial, there begins some speculative answers.
The Number 3 does not appear in the records. Neither does Number 6 or 7. If we use this set to represent people, the first thing that came to mind was the island's first "known" family. The Number 3 could represent "Crazy Mother." Numbers 6 and 7 could represent Jacob and his brother who were born on the island. Crazy Mother killed their Roman mother in order to have company and a successor for her island guardianship.
But then who is 12?
In the lighthouse dial, the name FOSTER appears, struck out.
There was no known character with the surname Foster in the series.
But since this code has 12 doubled in occurrences, 12 must have important significance.
The word "foster" means to encourage, promote, nourish. It comes from the English word for feed, nourish. It also has a reference to "bring up another" as in being a foster parent or guardian. In English surname ancestry, the name Foster means forester, or forest ranger, a person in charge of the hunting territories.
One can make the supposition that the Number 12 represents a guardian, and in the context of the island, the island's natural guardian. It is possible that Crazy Mother was the third successor island guardian, and Numbers 4 and 5 could have been Jacob's parents who were killed prior to assuming the office or title.
Foster does impact on Jacob's childhood. Crazy Mother was actually his foster mother, not his birth mother. She raised him to become the island's new guardian. This fostering for an orphan or an abandoned child is the centerpiece of Locke's back story.
In the episode, "Cabin Fever," Locke's story starts with his mother, Emily, going out to see that older man, Cooper. Against her mother's wishes, Emily storms out to meet her boyfriend, but she is struck by an automobile. She is rushed to the the rural hospital where it is found that she is pregnant. Against all odds and 1950s medical technology, her child, Locke, is born premature. Witnessing the miracle baby from the observation window is Richard Alpert. Alpert would return to visit Locke as a child, giving him the object test to determine his character for island leadership. Locke apparently picks the wrong item, and Alpert leaves disappointed in Locke's choice.
By this time, Locke has bounced around between foster homes. In his current situation, his foster sister, Melissa, does not like him. She disrupts his board game pieces. Locke is very unhappy with his situation. But when his foster sister Jeannie dies, a golden retriever appears at the house then takes residence in Jeannie's room. Locke sees the dog as a person, the spirit of Jeannie. Once Jeannie's mother passes, the dog vanishes.
Dogs play important roles in modern society. Dogs show unconditional love, support and companionship to human beings. Dogs provide protection and comfort to people. Dogs help people, especially young children, caring, nourishment, responsibility and play.
Dogs are also powerful symbols.
Dog is a symbol for companion and guardian. In a positive light they are a symbol of loyal, faithful, honesty and willing to fight injustice.
The dog is seen as a powerful symbol of loyalty, intelligence and vigilance. As a descendant from the Asiatic Wolf man’s relationships with dogs goes back over 40,000 years and then it was the 11th sign of the Zodiac where it represented symbols both positive and negative.In some ancient civilizations the Dog was a symbol of the underworld. In Egypt, the guardian of the dead was Anubis who was a dog-headed god. The jackal portrayed as black was the symbol of both death and regeneration.
The Dog’s quality made it associated to a guardian and therefore the protector of souls that entered the underworld. Its ability see well in the dark makes it a symbol of instinctive knowledge and the Greeks, North American Indians and Romans were said to associate Anubis with a star (Sirius) and called it a dog star.
Additionally, in ancient Mexico, the dog was buried with human sacrifice so that it could guide it to the hereafter while in ancient Scottish legend the green dog of the fairy world was believed to drive nursing mothers into the hills so as to provide milk for the fairy creatures.
It is important to connect the massive amount of ancient Egyptian symbolism in the LOST mythology. Many believe that the time and resources to create these backgrounds, symbols and messages were important background clues to the island mysteries and the overall series premise.
And what did Crazy Mother tell Jacob about the light cave? It was the source for life, death, and re-birth. Anubis, the dog god of ancient Egypt was the symbol of death and regeneration (or rebirth). These stories fit perfectly like adjacent puzzle pieces.
The Number 12 must represent Anubis, as the guardian of life, death, the protector of souls, and the underworld's agent of regeneration in the after life. As the guardian of the underworld, this means that the island is a portal or intermediate stage along the journey from life, death and rebirth. That is why Crazy Mother and Jacob sought to protect it from outsiders like Widmore who had evil intentions.
As a way station between the living and the dead, it does not mean the main characters were "dead" on the island - - - they may have been caught between the two worlds. A person's candidacy to immortality ends with their death; but to become the guardian, one needs to "accept their death" in order to be reborn. This could be what the series creators were asking in their big questions: what is life? what is death?
To assume such a powerful and important role, a viable candidate would need the compelling traits of a dog: loyalty, faithful, honest, willing to fight injustice, protect others, be vigilant, and nourish other people. The two successor guardians, Jack and Hurley, had those qualities.
The island guardians may be the gatekeepers, like the ferrymen on the River Styx, and not actually the heir to Anubis' throne. The island ordeals may have been the tests of who was worthy of the role of helping others in their journey to the next level of existence.
And this makes more sense when you realize that the last character "to awaken" to take the next step was Jack. On the island, he was the leader who rallied the survivors into a community. He continues to put himself behind the needs of other people. He helped, counseled, treated and risked his own life for them. In the sideways world, he was the last person in the church to realize what had happened to them. That they were now dead and ready for the next stage. His friends in the church greeted him warmly. Jack sat in the first pew, almost in a daze that "the most important people" in his life created the ending so they could stay together, forever.
And this parallels Jack's final moments on the island. For it is Walt's dog, Vincent, who comes from the jungle to lie next to Jack. Recall, it was Vincent who first awoke Jack after Flight 815 crashed on the island. It was Vincent's interaction with Jack that set Jack on the path to the beach, and into the chaos of helping all of the survivors - - - without any judgment.
Some may doubt the importance of Vincent as a character. Vincent was in the jungle, he heard a whistle from Christian Shephard, who we would learn was the human manifestation of the smoke monster. We presume that there were two smoke monsters on the island: Jacob and MIB as being the two immortal beings. It called Vincent over and told him to go wake up "his son." That is not a true statement, unless you use it in the context of being a foster parent. As Vincent ran off towards Jack to do this, Christian stated that Jack "had work to do." One could use those statements to indicate that this Christian form was in fact Jacob, who brought "his candidates" to the island to play a game with MIB.
But that opens the possibility that Vincent was the manifestation of MIB, taking the command from Jacob to start a "new" game. But there is a more plausible explanation - - - that Vincent was not MIB but a higher power in disguise. A higher power more important than Jacob, in a role that would not shine any light of suspicion or concern on the island hierarchy.
The final link in this decoding of the Numbers shows that Vincent is Anubis. Vincent found Jack in the bamboo clearing and led him to his flock of lost souls. In turn, it was Jack who guided the decisions for the survivors to find salvation. Vincent was present to observe all of the island tests. In a quiet way, Vincent also helped push the characters into finding clues or messages when he would "get lost" and search parties had to go and find him. It was in these searches that the characters began to bond which would be an important factor in facing the long journey and island trials. What better way to get people to do what they need to do by nudging them along instead of commanding them to so something?
And the symbolism of new numbers embodies the qualities of the family unit: mother, father, children. Parents are present to foster, nourish and develop their children into good human beings. Children are present to explore a new world, challenge it, learn about it, find their values and principles, to create purpose and understanding to their lives . . . . then repeat the process of creation.
Anubis creates new family units for the island over the eons on time. As society has developed from small tribes of hunter-gatherers into modern technology advanced families, Anubis recognizes and supports the concept of "foster" families to help lost souls find deep and meaningful relationships in life. And his foster families can include misfits, outcasts, cripples, criminals, the mentally weak, lonely and rebellious. . . the main characters on the show.
Friday, February 12, 2016
TIME NUMBER
What is the most important Number in Time?
That question popped into my head while I was looking at a large public wall clock.
I saw the line between 12 and the 6 and started doing simple math: 12 minus 6 equals 6.
Then I mentally drew lines around the clock face:
11 -5 = 6
10-4 = 6
9-3 = 6
8 -2 = 6
7-1 = 6.
I concluded that 6 was a key number in time.
A minute is 60 seconds; an hour 60 minutes and a tenth (our current counting system) of an minute is .6.
Time was a major theme in LOST. In one aspect, Time had trapped Jacob and his brother on the island. Time was frozen for thousands of years based upon the people brought to the island. Jacob and his brother were then also brought to the island as candidates by Crazy Mother.
Who was the Number 6 candidate in the Lighthouse?
Jensen.
But his name was stricken.
What does Jensen mean?
EXPRESSION: People with this name tend to be a powerful force to all whose lives they touch. They are capable, charismatic leaders who often undertake large endeavors with great success. They value truth, justice, and discipline, and may be quick-tempered with those who do not. If they fail to develop their potential, they may become impractical and rigid.
There was a character who showed leadership ability with a strong sense of personal independence to leave his brother and his mother. He had a single focus on a large concept that there was something bigger and better away from the island; home. He helped the survivors try to harness the energy of the island to find a way home. He was quick tempered when his plans were thwarted, because he was rigid in his mission and ideals.
That man was Jacob's brother.
We were never told his name. But it could have been Jensen based upon the attributes of the Number 6, the number tied to Time itself, something that MIB was desperately trying to release so he could become mortal and go home.
That question popped into my head while I was looking at a large public wall clock.
I saw the line between 12 and the 6 and started doing simple math: 12 minus 6 equals 6.
Then I mentally drew lines around the clock face:
11 -5 = 6
10-4 = 6
9-3 = 6
8 -2 = 6
7-1 = 6.
I concluded that 6 was a key number in time.
A minute is 60 seconds; an hour 60 minutes and a tenth (our current counting system) of an minute is .6.
Time was a major theme in LOST. In one aspect, Time had trapped Jacob and his brother on the island. Time was frozen for thousands of years based upon the people brought to the island. Jacob and his brother were then also brought to the island as candidates by Crazy Mother.
Who was the Number 6 candidate in the Lighthouse?
Jensen.
But his name was stricken.
What does Jensen mean?
The name Jensen is a Scandinavian baby name. Its meaning is from:
Hebrew John 'Jehovah has been gracious; has shown favor.
In Numerology, the name Jensen is tied to these attributes:
SOUL:
People with this name have a deep inner desire to use
their abilities in leadership, and to have personal independence. They
would rather focus on large, important issues, and delegate the details. EXPRESSION: People with this name tend to be a powerful force to all whose lives they touch. They are capable, charismatic leaders who often undertake large endeavors with great success. They value truth, justice, and discipline, and may be quick-tempered with those who do not. If they fail to develop their potential, they may become impractical and rigid.
There was a character who showed leadership ability with a strong sense of personal independence to leave his brother and his mother. He had a single focus on a large concept that there was something bigger and better away from the island; home. He helped the survivors try to harness the energy of the island to find a way home. He was quick tempered when his plans were thwarted, because he was rigid in his mission and ideals.
That man was Jacob's brother.
We were never told his name. But it could have been Jensen based upon the attributes of the Number 6, the number tied to Time itself, something that MIB was desperately trying to release so he could become mortal and go home.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
WINNING IS HARD
Winning is hard. If you are playing the U.S. lottery, even harder. As Lifehacker explains:
The odds of having a jackpot winning ticket for the current Powerball is about 1 in 292 million. Just to emphasize how small of a chance that is, you’re looking at around 0.000000003% of buying a single winning ticket. You have a better chance of finding the last of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets. Mainly because they’re fictional and nobody would care if you said you found one, so you might as well spend the $2 on a Wonka bar and eat some chocolate.
If the odds are so small, though, why do so many people play? We like to daydream of a better life, it’s super easy to buy a ticket and play, and somewhere deep down we all know that someone has to win and it could be me.
If you want to buy a ticket for fun, there’s nothing wrong with that,
but spending more than a few dollars on tickets isn’t worth it.
Mathematically speaking, the only way to increase your odds of winning
Powerball is to buy more tickets, but that doesn’t mean you should.Unless you’re willing to throw down outrageous amounts of cash, your odds hardly increase at all.
Buying 10 extra lottery tickets only increases your odds from 1 in 292 million to, well, 11 in 292 million, which is still astronomically small.
Of course, if you were determined to earn some kind of prize and “win” the lottery, there are ways to do that. Based on the numbers from a previous high-prize Powerball in 2013, Business Insider explained that it’s possible to guarantee a “win” with some math. If you buy somewhere between 200 and 300 different lottery tickets, you’re all but guaranteed to end up with at least one cash prize. Then again, the non-jackpot cash prizes range anywhere from the most common $4 prize all the way up to the extremely rare $1,000,000 prize. So you could buy 300 Powerball tickets and guarantee a “win,” but that prize could be a measly $4. If you really wanted to cross “winning the lottery” off of your bucket list, a better approach is to buy 35 tickets that each have a different Powerball number. You’ll be guaranteed a $4 win, but be down $66.
Even if you were already incredibly wealthy, you couldn’t even game the system to win the jackpot. You would have to buy every single one of the over 292 million different number combinations. That would cost you around $584 million and—even with this epic jackpot of $1.5 billion—would still put you in the hole. You would only get about $886 million if you took the lump sum payout (which most people do), and you would have to pay 39.6% of that in federal taxes. That leaves you with around $624 million. But that is even a myth because one would have not enough time to purchase all the required tickets.
Furthermore, if you were crazy enough (and rich enough) to do that, you better hope you’re the only one trying because it would be possible that you would have to split the winnings if someone else tried use the same strategy, or worse, a dumb luck shmuck who waged only two bucks.
If you want to experience how remarkably small your odds of winning are first hand (and without losing any money), try this Powerball simulator from the Los Angeles Times to see how truly bad your chances are. If you’re still not convinced, financial experts state that you are around 1,488,095 times more likely to die in a car wreck on the way to the gas station to buy the lottery ticket than actually win the jackpot.
To guarantee a cash prize, you have to buy the 300 or so tickets. At $2 a ticket, you’ll be spending $600. If you don’t live close to somewhere that sells Powerball tickets, you should consider your travel time and fuel consumption as well. Some folks drive for hours to buy tickets, and that makes buying tickets cost even more.
If, for example, you were thinking about driving a few hours to buy $600 worth of Powerball tickets, you could be spending closer to $700 or $800 (plus the potential opportunity cost). As Kiplinger newsletter stated, you are far better off in the long run putting that $700 toward paying off credit card debt or student loans, increasing your 401(k) contributions, starting a savings account, or investing in an index fund that all but guarantee an actual return on the money you spent.
However, occasionally paying a dollar to daydream about being a millionaire is harmless fun. You’re probably not going to win, but if you go in with the right mindset, buying a lottery ticket can give you a nice little morale boost for the day. Plus, portions of the money people spend on lottery tickets usually goes to something beneficial for your state like education or parks, so you don’t have to feel too bad for playing unless you are in a state like Illinois which has failed to pay its lottery winners over $600 for months due to a budget stalemate.
The odds of having a jackpot winning ticket for the current Powerball is about 1 in 292 million. Just to emphasize how small of a chance that is, you’re looking at around 0.000000003% of buying a single winning ticket. You have a better chance of finding the last of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets. Mainly because they’re fictional and nobody would care if you said you found one, so you might as well spend the $2 on a Wonka bar and eat some chocolate.
Buying 10 extra lottery tickets only increases your odds from 1 in 292 million to, well, 11 in 292 million, which is still astronomically small.
Of course, if you were determined to earn some kind of prize and “win” the lottery, there are ways to do that. Based on the numbers from a previous high-prize Powerball in 2013, Business Insider explained that it’s possible to guarantee a “win” with some math. If you buy somewhere between 200 and 300 different lottery tickets, you’re all but guaranteed to end up with at least one cash prize. Then again, the non-jackpot cash prizes range anywhere from the most common $4 prize all the way up to the extremely rare $1,000,000 prize. So you could buy 300 Powerball tickets and guarantee a “win,” but that prize could be a measly $4. If you really wanted to cross “winning the lottery” off of your bucket list, a better approach is to buy 35 tickets that each have a different Powerball number. You’ll be guaranteed a $4 win, but be down $66.
Even if you were already incredibly wealthy, you couldn’t even game the system to win the jackpot. You would have to buy every single one of the over 292 million different number combinations. That would cost you around $584 million and—even with this epic jackpot of $1.5 billion—would still put you in the hole. You would only get about $886 million if you took the lump sum payout (which most people do), and you would have to pay 39.6% of that in federal taxes. That leaves you with around $624 million. But that is even a myth because one would have not enough time to purchase all the required tickets.
Furthermore, if you were crazy enough (and rich enough) to do that, you better hope you’re the only one trying because it would be possible that you would have to split the winnings if someone else tried use the same strategy, or worse, a dumb luck shmuck who waged only two bucks.
If you want to experience how remarkably small your odds of winning are first hand (and without losing any money), try this Powerball simulator from the Los Angeles Times to see how truly bad your chances are. If you’re still not convinced, financial experts state that you are around 1,488,095 times more likely to die in a car wreck on the way to the gas station to buy the lottery ticket than actually win the jackpot.
To guarantee a cash prize, you have to buy the 300 or so tickets. At $2 a ticket, you’ll be spending $600. If you don’t live close to somewhere that sells Powerball tickets, you should consider your travel time and fuel consumption as well. Some folks drive for hours to buy tickets, and that makes buying tickets cost even more.
If, for example, you were thinking about driving a few hours to buy $600 worth of Powerball tickets, you could be spending closer to $700 or $800 (plus the potential opportunity cost). As Kiplinger newsletter stated, you are far better off in the long run putting that $700 toward paying off credit card debt or student loans, increasing your 401(k) contributions, starting a savings account, or investing in an index fund that all but guarantee an actual return on the money you spent.
However, occasionally paying a dollar to daydream about being a millionaire is harmless fun. You’re probably not going to win, but if you go in with the right mindset, buying a lottery ticket can give you a nice little morale boost for the day. Plus, portions of the money people spend on lottery tickets usually goes to something beneficial for your state like education or parks, so you don’t have to feel too bad for playing unless you are in a state like Illinois which has failed to pay its lottery winners over $600 for months due to a budget stalemate.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
COMPUTER ERROR
The BBC recently reported that computers have a problem with a number, a large number, specifically the number 2,147,483,647 – which is the maximum positive value of a 32-bit signed register. A computer calculating a value higher than that number crashes. The resulting disaster could shut down a guidance system, a launch sequence or orbital probe or in the case of the European Space Administration, the loss of a rocket.
LOST was keen on hyping the Numbers as a key component to unlocking the series mysteries.
4-8-15-16-23-42.
Hmmmmmm.
If you multiply the Numbers you get 7,418,880, which is within the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.
But as one number it would be 4,815,162,342, which is OUTSIDE the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.
But if you did not input the Numbers every 108 minutes, the Hatch containment field would fail and the island would experience the purple flash (time-space disruption).
There was never a clear connection between the Numbers and the main characters since the Numbers were used as the countdown timer "prior" to the assignment by Jacob of the Candidates.
But in a circular view, that is not true. When Desmond used the fail safe key, the island purple flashed sending several of the Candidates back to 1970s. Those Candidates, already being on the island, would have been assigned their Number.
But not all the Candidates were in 1974 Dharma. Jack and Kate were thrown back in time to meet up with Sawyer, who was a security officer living with Juliet, with his crew of Hurley, Miles and Jin. Daniel Faraday then arrived at the island from the Dharma HQ in Michigan. Sawyer tried to recruit Jack to operate on young Ben, who had been shot by Sayid. So in the 1970s, before "the Incident" at the Hatch which would later require the countdown timer, Hurley (4), Sawyer (15), Sayid (16), Jack (23) and Jin (42). Locke (8) was the only missing "Number" prior to the Incident.
But Locke himself had bounced around as far back as 1954, and met with Richard Alpert. So his memory could be considered a presence in the 1970s Dharma.
So the Numbers, as a representation of Jacob's Candidates, were used as a "fail safe" device to hold back the electromagnetic energy. As such the Candidates, through their Numbers, were used as part of a "shield" mechanism to hold back the energy. For what purpose? We can only assume that if the energy was not contained, MIB could be "released" or "escape" the island which would lead to the destruction of the universe.
But with the Incident happening essentially AFTER Desmond used the fail safe key which set in motion the Candidates going into the past which would later create the Hatch protocols BEFORE the Incident, we have a serious time travel paradox.
But if the spiritual spell casting background of ancient Egypt is a guide, the Numbers could cast a spell on the smoke monster to keep it at bay. MIB's adoption of Locke's physical form and memories must have been its attempt to break "the code" or barrier of the island so it could leave.
But then the fatal blow to MIB's plans was caused not by the Numbers or the Candidates represented by them (even though Jack (23) fought MIB in the end), it was Kate (51) who delivered the final death blow by shooting Flocke on the cliff.
So what were the Numbers/Candidates symbolic of? A fatal computer error in the universe? A pathway to parallel time travel universes to avoid a paradox? The gateway code to time-space? Or a spiritual spell to keep demons at bay?
LOST was keen on hyping the Numbers as a key component to unlocking the series mysteries.
4-8-15-16-23-42.
Hmmmmmm.
If you multiply the Numbers you get 7,418,880, which is within the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.
But as one number it would be 4,815,162,342, which is OUTSIDE the range of the highest maximum value in computer science.
But if you did not input the Numbers every 108 minutes, the Hatch containment field would fail and the island would experience the purple flash (time-space disruption).
There was never a clear connection between the Numbers and the main characters since the Numbers were used as the countdown timer "prior" to the assignment by Jacob of the Candidates.
But in a circular view, that is not true. When Desmond used the fail safe key, the island purple flashed sending several of the Candidates back to 1970s. Those Candidates, already being on the island, would have been assigned their Number.
But not all the Candidates were in 1974 Dharma. Jack and Kate were thrown back in time to meet up with Sawyer, who was a security officer living with Juliet, with his crew of Hurley, Miles and Jin. Daniel Faraday then arrived at the island from the Dharma HQ in Michigan. Sawyer tried to recruit Jack to operate on young Ben, who had been shot by Sayid. So in the 1970s, before "the Incident" at the Hatch which would later require the countdown timer, Hurley (4), Sawyer (15), Sayid (16), Jack (23) and Jin (42). Locke (8) was the only missing "Number" prior to the Incident.
But Locke himself had bounced around as far back as 1954, and met with Richard Alpert. So his memory could be considered a presence in the 1970s Dharma.
So the Numbers, as a representation of Jacob's Candidates, were used as a "fail safe" device to hold back the electromagnetic energy. As such the Candidates, through their Numbers, were used as part of a "shield" mechanism to hold back the energy. For what purpose? We can only assume that if the energy was not contained, MIB could be "released" or "escape" the island which would lead to the destruction of the universe.
But with the Incident happening essentially AFTER Desmond used the fail safe key which set in motion the Candidates going into the past which would later create the Hatch protocols BEFORE the Incident, we have a serious time travel paradox.
But if the spiritual spell casting background of ancient Egypt is a guide, the Numbers could cast a spell on the smoke monster to keep it at bay. MIB's adoption of Locke's physical form and memories must have been its attempt to break "the code" or barrier of the island so it could leave.
But then the fatal blow to MIB's plans was caused not by the Numbers or the Candidates represented by them (even though Jack (23) fought MIB in the end), it was Kate (51) who delivered the final death blow by shooting Flocke on the cliff.
So what were the Numbers/Candidates symbolic of? A fatal computer error in the universe? A pathway to parallel time travel universes to avoid a paradox? The gateway code to time-space? Or a spiritual spell to keep demons at bay?
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
TODAY IS "LOST" DAY
Variety reports that today is LOST DAY, because April 8, 2015 lines up with the Numbers on LOST.
Wednesday is being dubbed “Lost” Day by fans, as it’s the day that Hurley’s infamous lotto numbers — 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 — finally align on the calendar (April 8, 2015). The numbers really line up perfectly at 4:23:42 p.m., for those keeping track
.
The series of numbers first appeared in the show on Hurley’s (Jorge Garcia) winning lotto ticket, though he was convinced that the numbers were cursed and brought him bad luck wherever he went. They would go on to become forever intertwined in “Lost’s” vast mythology, taking on a deeper meaning as the show went on.
Viewers later found out that the numbers were the ones that Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) punched into the computer in his hatch on the island every 108 minutes for three years. And as any avid “Lost” viewer knows, there are few simple coincidences in the show.
Each number actually represents one of Jacob’s candidates for becoming protector of the island, which he determined via degrees on a lighthouse mirror. For many Losties, however, the numbers simply represent hours spent obsessing over trying to figure out what they meant.
While the meaning of the numbers did disappoint some fans, there’s no doubt the once-in-a-decade day will be filled with “Lost” binge-watching, reminiscing, speculation and, of course, venting about the mysteries that still plague viewers today.
Wednesday is being dubbed “Lost” Day by fans, as it’s the day that Hurley’s infamous lotto numbers — 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 — finally align on the calendar (April 8, 2015). The numbers really line up perfectly at 4:23:42 p.m., for those keeping track
.
The series of numbers first appeared in the show on Hurley’s (Jorge Garcia) winning lotto ticket, though he was convinced that the numbers were cursed and brought him bad luck wherever he went. They would go on to become forever intertwined in “Lost’s” vast mythology, taking on a deeper meaning as the show went on.
Viewers later found out that the numbers were the ones that Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) punched into the computer in his hatch on the island every 108 minutes for three years. And as any avid “Lost” viewer knows, there are few simple coincidences in the show.
Each number actually represents one of Jacob’s candidates for becoming protector of the island, which he determined via degrees on a lighthouse mirror. For many Losties, however, the numbers simply represent hours spent obsessing over trying to figure out what they meant.
While the meaning of the numbers did disappoint some fans, there’s no doubt the once-in-a-decade day will be filled with “Lost” binge-watching, reminiscing, speculation and, of course, venting about the mysteries that still plague viewers today.
Friday, March 13, 2015
FRIDAY THE 13TH
Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. It is a superstition passed down from generation to generation, culture to culture.
The number 13 was said to be unlucky because when archeologists researched the Roman Coleseum chambers where the slave gladiators were housed, the best gladiator scratched only 13 victories before his death. Once you got to 13 wins, the next time you would die, hence 13 being an unlucky number.
Why Friday and 13 got a bad rap is probably because in the modern work week, Friday was supposed to be the start of the weekend, relaxation away from work. There is a possible dread that the boss will complicate your life by adding a ton of work on that day, ask you to work on Saturday, or make an unreasonable deadline in which upsets your plans.
In any event, numbers played a role in causing Hurley to have his own bad luck. It was not his curse, but a crutch, an excuse, to smooth over his own insecurities and faults. At times, negative thoughts can instill negative behavior and actions. Even when Hurley won the lottery, his negative thoughts appeared to manifest itself in death, destruction and bad luck all around him.
There is an old saying that a person makes their own luck.
Luck is the success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions or a chance considered as a force that causes good or bad things to happen. Many believe luck is something regarded as bringing about or portending good or bad things, a pre-state of mind.
Some lucky bastards are more lucky than good, and that ticks some people off with envy, jealousy or hatred. Why is this person wealthy, prettier, successful, stress-free, or happy? Why can't I have those things? He or she is not better than me!
You can see how a negative perception of one's self can lead to an internal circular argument that some outside influence, luck, is creating your personal state of unhappiness.
The LOST world was mostly an unhappy world. Every day seemed to be like Friday the 13th. The main characters shadows were their ever present fears, phobias, anxieties and dark behaviors. Over time, these shadows began to eat away at their mental outlook on life. For some, it took them deep in the pit of despair. For others, it took them deep into irrational behavior, like Ben.
But Hurley was the one main character who readily admitted his bad luck, that he himself created bad luck, and that people should not be around him because he was bad luck. This is the grand excuse of an introvert and loner. A hermit who built excuses to isolate himself from interacting with the real world, with real people, and to make real friends.
Locke had a similar path, except he did admit he was unlucky with family, friends, career or goals. He pretended to be an extrovert and leader, with grand ideas and hopes, but with no means to accomplish them because he could never forge true bonds with other people in order to fulfill his dreams. He built his own isolation from anger about how the world around him did not understand him, that he was smarter, better and more entitled to have the wealth, happiness and prosperity of his bosses. He was more like a hermit crab striking out at others, which reinforced a negative stereotype to others.
So Locke and Hurley created their own bad luck. And they suffered for it because they could not change their own personal outlook on life. Locke never achieved any reformation. Hurley, as best we could tell, found some peace of mind (but apparently only in the after life).
So on any Friday the 13th take heed not what is around you, but what is inside you.
The number 13 was said to be unlucky because when archeologists researched the Roman Coleseum chambers where the slave gladiators were housed, the best gladiator scratched only 13 victories before his death. Once you got to 13 wins, the next time you would die, hence 13 being an unlucky number.
Why Friday and 13 got a bad rap is probably because in the modern work week, Friday was supposed to be the start of the weekend, relaxation away from work. There is a possible dread that the boss will complicate your life by adding a ton of work on that day, ask you to work on Saturday, or make an unreasonable deadline in which upsets your plans.
In any event, numbers played a role in causing Hurley to have his own bad luck. It was not his curse, but a crutch, an excuse, to smooth over his own insecurities and faults. At times, negative thoughts can instill negative behavior and actions. Even when Hurley won the lottery, his negative thoughts appeared to manifest itself in death, destruction and bad luck all around him.
There is an old saying that a person makes their own luck.
Luck is the success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions or a chance considered as a force that causes good or bad things to happen. Many believe luck is something regarded as bringing about or portending good or bad things, a pre-state of mind.
Some lucky bastards are more lucky than good, and that ticks some people off with envy, jealousy or hatred. Why is this person wealthy, prettier, successful, stress-free, or happy? Why can't I have those things? He or she is not better than me!
You can see how a negative perception of one's self can lead to an internal circular argument that some outside influence, luck, is creating your personal state of unhappiness.
The LOST world was mostly an unhappy world. Every day seemed to be like Friday the 13th. The main characters shadows were their ever present fears, phobias, anxieties and dark behaviors. Over time, these shadows began to eat away at their mental outlook on life. For some, it took them deep in the pit of despair. For others, it took them deep into irrational behavior, like Ben.
But Hurley was the one main character who readily admitted his bad luck, that he himself created bad luck, and that people should not be around him because he was bad luck. This is the grand excuse of an introvert and loner. A hermit who built excuses to isolate himself from interacting with the real world, with real people, and to make real friends.
Locke had a similar path, except he did admit he was unlucky with family, friends, career or goals. He pretended to be an extrovert and leader, with grand ideas and hopes, but with no means to accomplish them because he could never forge true bonds with other people in order to fulfill his dreams. He built his own isolation from anger about how the world around him did not understand him, that he was smarter, better and more entitled to have the wealth, happiness and prosperity of his bosses. He was more like a hermit crab striking out at others, which reinforced a negative stereotype to others.
So Locke and Hurley created their own bad luck. And they suffered for it because they could not change their own personal outlook on life. Locke never achieved any reformation. Hurley, as best we could tell, found some peace of mind (but apparently only in the after life).
So on any Friday the 13th take heed not what is around you, but what is inside you.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
WHAT NUMBERS REPRESENT
What do Numbers represent?
A number is an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting and making calculations and for showing order in a series or for identification. It is also a quantity or amount; such as several, in a group, company or order (such as a magazine issue to indicate a position in a series).
In the LOST mythology, the Numbers were the glue that bound many clues.
We really first learn of the power of the Numbers by Hurley hearing them while he was at the mental institution. The Numbers were supposed to have been heard by a patient, who said they were cursed. But despite the warning, Hurley used the Numbers on a lottery ticket. So, the Numbers were at first, lucky. But as Hurley started to embrace his new wealth and fame, the winning lottery ticket became his own curse (with family members being hurt, people dying, etc.)
We also found out that the Numbers were broadcast possibly as an island location beacon to the DHARMA group. Why the numbers were important to DHARMA has led to speculation that the main purpose of island research was to re-set the Valenzetti Equation, a large doomsday-predicting formula on the demise of mankind.
We also found the Numbers stamped on the Hatch cover. This apparent serial number freaks Hurley out as a bad omen. In some respects, that was true. The Hatch discovery led to Desmond and the internal workings of DHARMA, and more mysteries and clues (such as the blast door map). Desmond was a lost soul also imprisoned on the island to do unexplained work for an alleged higher purpose. (One new theory is that the Hatch and electromagnetic fields were being operated by human souls in order to regulate the gateways between life, death, heaven and hell. The operators were not told of their role, least they could interfere and destroy the natural world.)
Finally, the Numbers are the code in which needed to be placed into a computer control every 108 minutes or bad things would happen (an electromagnetic build up would create a lockdown, a purple flash, release of energy, to dangerous explosion-implosion events). Why human beings had to enter the code to regulate the release of an alleged energy build up is unclear, but may take homage to the soldiers who man defense missile silos - - - who have to manually enter launch codes in order to fire destructive nuclear warheads. The idea is that these men and women have the final say on their own fate; and as a check against a computer malfunction.
So the Numbers represented good luck, bad luck, a key, a curse, and tie that bound many different elements of the story together. But in the end, TPTB merely said that the Numbers were a red herring, with no real significance to the main story. That reveal was one of the major disappointments to serious fans.
A number is an arithmetical value, expressed by a word, symbol, or figure, representing a particular quantity and used in counting and making calculations and for showing order in a series or for identification. It is also a quantity or amount; such as several, in a group, company or order (such as a magazine issue to indicate a position in a series).
In the LOST mythology, the Numbers were the glue that bound many clues.
We really first learn of the power of the Numbers by Hurley hearing them while he was at the mental institution. The Numbers were supposed to have been heard by a patient, who said they were cursed. But despite the warning, Hurley used the Numbers on a lottery ticket. So, the Numbers were at first, lucky. But as Hurley started to embrace his new wealth and fame, the winning lottery ticket became his own curse (with family members being hurt, people dying, etc.)
We also found out that the Numbers were broadcast possibly as an island location beacon to the DHARMA group. Why the numbers were important to DHARMA has led to speculation that the main purpose of island research was to re-set the Valenzetti Equation, a large doomsday-predicting formula on the demise of mankind.
We also found the Numbers stamped on the Hatch cover. This apparent serial number freaks Hurley out as a bad omen. In some respects, that was true. The Hatch discovery led to Desmond and the internal workings of DHARMA, and more mysteries and clues (such as the blast door map). Desmond was a lost soul also imprisoned on the island to do unexplained work for an alleged higher purpose. (One new theory is that the Hatch and electromagnetic fields were being operated by human souls in order to regulate the gateways between life, death, heaven and hell. The operators were not told of their role, least they could interfere and destroy the natural world.)
Finally, the Numbers are the code in which needed to be placed into a computer control every 108 minutes or bad things would happen (an electromagnetic build up would create a lockdown, a purple flash, release of energy, to dangerous explosion-implosion events). Why human beings had to enter the code to regulate the release of an alleged energy build up is unclear, but may take homage to the soldiers who man defense missile silos - - - who have to manually enter launch codes in order to fire destructive nuclear warheads. The idea is that these men and women have the final say on their own fate; and as a check against a computer malfunction.
So the Numbers represented good luck, bad luck, a key, a curse, and tie that bound many different elements of the story together. But in the end, TPTB merely said that the Numbers were a red herring, with no real significance to the main story. That reveal was one of the major disappointments to serious fans.
Friday, May 16, 2014
19
The Numbers were a constant throughout the series. Fans want the Numbers to mean more than the explanation given by TPTB.
In typical in-series episode clue hunting, scratch math of the Numbers:
If we look at the "progression" of the Numbers, we find an interesting pattern. The number "19" is produced by the first four number sets and by the final number set.
How does the Number 19 apply to LOST?
In the lighthouse, candidate 19 was Nguyen, and that name was crossed out. Lostpedia references the trivia of brutal Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Mihn was born Nguyen.
In the chart of elements, Number 19 is for potassium. It's symbol is K.
K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet.It's abbreviation denotes things like
• kelvin(s).
• Computing kilobyte(s).
• kilometer(s).
• kindergarten.
• king (used esp. in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess):
• knit (as an instruction in knitting patterns):
• (also k ) informal thousand
• Baseball strikeout.
• karat.
• a constant in a formula or equation.
• Chemistry Boltzmann's constant, the ratio of the gas constant to Avogadro's number, equal to 1.381 × 10−23 joules per kelvin. (Symbol: k ).
It is interesting to note so many things pop up from K. Kelvin was the character in the Hatch who lied to Desmond to keep him imputing the Numbers into the computer. He was also a military officer Many people think the characters interactions with each other was like kindergarten children. Everyone wanted to be king of the island. The turning point for Jack, in captivity, learned the Red Sox won the World Series, reversing a fan curse. We were also told about "constants" by Daniel as the means of surviving the island's unique properties, including time travel.
Potassium is never found free in nature, but is obtained by
electrolysis of the chloride or hydroxide. It is one of the most reactive and electropositive of
metals and, apart from lithium, it is the least dense known metal. It is
soft and easily cut with a knife. It is silvery in appearance
immediately after a fresh surface is exposed.
So the Number 19 is a number derived from LOST's series of numbers. Is it a clue that the key to understanding LOST can be learned through Kelvin? Probably not. He was a minor character who conveniently shows up on two different characters' background stories. The themes attached to him include military, duty, manipulation, lies, and wanting to escape. Potassium is never found "free" in nature; it must be manipulated to be obtained. Again, the clue could be that the characters had to be manipulated by the island in order to escape the traps and lies of their human existence.
In typical in-series episode clue hunting, scratch math of the Numbers:
How does the Number 19 apply to LOST?
In the lighthouse, candidate 19 was Nguyen, and that name was crossed out. Lostpedia references the trivia of brutal Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Mihn was born Nguyen.
In the chart of elements, Number 19 is for potassium. It's symbol is K.
K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet.It's abbreviation denotes things like
• kelvin(s).
• Computing kilobyte(s).
• kilometer(s).
• kindergarten.
• king (used esp. in describing play in card games and recording moves in chess):
• knit (as an instruction in knitting patterns):
• (also k ) informal thousand
• Baseball strikeout.
• karat.
• a constant in a formula or equation.
• Chemistry Boltzmann's constant, the ratio of the gas constant to Avogadro's number, equal to 1.381 × 10−23 joules per kelvin. (Symbol: k ).
It is interesting to note so many things pop up from K. Kelvin was the character in the Hatch who lied to Desmond to keep him imputing the Numbers into the computer. He was also a military officer Many people think the characters interactions with each other was like kindergarten children. Everyone wanted to be king of the island. The turning point for Jack, in captivity, learned the Red Sox won the World Series, reversing a fan curse. We were also told about "constants" by Daniel as the means of surviving the island's unique properties, including time travel.
Potassium is a metal and is the seventh most abundant
and makes up about 1.5 % by weight of the earth's crust. Potassium is
an essential constituent for plant growth and it is found in most soils.
It is also a vital element in the human diet.
So the Number 19 is a number derived from LOST's series of numbers. Is it a clue that the key to understanding LOST can be learned through Kelvin? Probably not. He was a minor character who conveniently shows up on two different characters' background stories. The themes attached to him include military, duty, manipulation, lies, and wanting to escape. Potassium is never found "free" in nature; it must be manipulated to be obtained. Again, the clue could be that the characters had to be manipulated by the island in order to escape the traps and lies of their human existence.
Friday, March 28, 2014
THE GOLDEN RATIO
Throughout history, the Golden Ratio has been deemed a magical mathematical formula that is the basis of the greatest engineering feets (i.e. the pyramids) to objective marks of human beauty.
The Golden Ratio is 1.618.
The human eye is drawn to this proportion.
It somehow fits the world into our long term mental picture of our environment.
Throughout history, some of the greatest mathematical minds of all ages, from Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, through the medieval Italian mathematician Leonard of Pisa and the Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, to present-day scientific figures such as Oxford physicist Roger Penrose, have spent endless hours over this simple ratio and its properties. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.
In the numerology of LOST, 1.618 can be interpreted as follows:
1. The number 16 and 18. In the candidates representation, that would mean Sayid and
Kueffner is a surname that appeared to be scratched off on the lighthouse dial.
2. 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 can be added, subtracted or used to get many other number combinations to include 16 and 18 (16 + 2).
Kueffner is a name that means "barrel maker" in German.
In historic Germany, why were barrel makers so important? Barrels were needed to ferment and store beer or "spirits."
That may be another clue that the LOST island and events was part of a spiritual world, as referenced through Sayid's "multiple" deaths from wounds that could not be healed in the Temple pool, to the shocking reincarnation, to his final demise by bomb detonation on the submarine.
Spirits may inhabit us in multiple lives.
The Golden Ratio is 1.618.
The human eye is drawn to this proportion.
It somehow fits the world into our long term mental picture of our environment.
Throughout history, some of the greatest mathematical minds of all ages, from Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, through the medieval Italian mathematician Leonard of Pisa and the Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, to present-day scientific figures such as Oxford physicist Roger Penrose, have spent endless hours over this simple ratio and its properties. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.
In the numerology of LOST, 1.618 can be interpreted as follows:
1. The number 16 and 18. In the candidates representation, that would mean Sayid and
Kueffner is a surname that appeared to be scratched off on the lighthouse dial.
2. 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 can be added, subtracted or used to get many other number combinations to include 16 and 18 (16 + 2).
Kueffner is a name that means "barrel maker" in German.
In historic Germany, why were barrel makers so important? Barrels were needed to ferment and store beer or "spirits."
That may be another clue that the LOST island and events was part of a spiritual world, as referenced through Sayid's "multiple" deaths from wounds that could not be healed in the Temple pool, to the shocking reincarnation, to his final demise by bomb detonation on the submarine.
Spirits may inhabit us in multiple lives.
Kueffner \
ku(e)-ff-ner\ as a boy's name is a variant of Kiefer (German), and the meaning of Kueffner is "barrel maker".
Read more at http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Kueffner#glgZqTlqWl03J6Id.99
ku(e)-ff-ner\ as a boy's name is a variant of Kiefer (German), and the meaning of Kueffner is "barrel maker".
Read more at http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Kueffner#glgZqTlqWl03J6Id.99
Thursday, November 28, 2013
AJIRA 316
The island hosted a second significant plane crash, Flight 316.
Flight 316 was piloted by Frank Lapidus, who based upon his background and mental state after Flight 815 crashed, would not have resumed being a commercial pilot. He was one of the few people to escape the island after being rescued by Penny's boat.
Flight 316 was a Boeing 737 from LA to Guam. Eloise Hawking told the O6 that this flight was their only way to return to the island. The plane crash landed on the Hydra Island in 2007, but not before Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid were teleported by a white light to the Island in 1977. Now, the four that went to 1977 were all contacted by Locke off-island in his quest to get everyone to go back to the island. The other person on board who had contact with Locke off-island was Ben, who did not time flash to 1977 (possibly because his child self was on the island at that time). Ben wound up facing the ghost of Locke (MIB as Flocke) with the survivors of the Ajira flight.
Fourteen days after this crash, Frank miraculously pilots the damaged plane off the island. Kate, Claire, Alpert, Sawyer and Miles were on board. We do not know what happened to them after take off, or whether they actually made it to land.
The significance of the number, 316, was not lost on fans.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16, which some scholars call "the Bible in a nutshell."
The theme of eternal life is central to many unified theories of LOST.
Who was the son?
Who were the believers?
How were the 815ers granted eternal life?
None of the characters expressed any devotion to Christianity. Clearly, none of them practiced devout religious beliefs while on the island.
The fact that the Ajira plane went through some sort of island barrier is a key. This barrier had to have some intelligence as it separated four passengers from the rest of the people on board. However, three people previously on the island, Sun, Frank and Ben were not transported to 1977. No one knows why (except for the writer's attempt to jack up the drama of Sun still being cut off from Jin.) The rest of the Ajira passengers would find their own demise as red shirts.
Besides returning the O6 to the island, what was the purpose of the plane? It was the last means of escape for a few lucky people. It some ways it was a dream vindication for Frank (and his pilot skills). And a vessel for Flocke to round up the remaining candidates so he could blow them up (the submarine became the best means of accomplishing that task).
There is still no clear explanation of why there was a time duality on the island when Ajira passed through one spacial location. Unless the island itself was not real in the conventional planetary sense of being a Pacific island mass. A distortion in the time axis would also suggest a distortion in the spacial axis in the space time continuum. The island was in another dimension. How it intersects with the Earth is still unclear, but if it was a spiritual world (as the whispers claimed), then it is like an onion skin that surrounds the planet with limited jumps between the worlds of the living and the worlds of the dead.
So what did this flight represent? It was symbolic of the grief that the O6 had from leaving their fellow passengers behind on the island. It was the means to return. It was also a carrier of death, as the other passengers were killed on the Hydra island. It also was the means of escape, as it took off from the Hydra Island with several people on board. Was their fate merely delayed? Or did they actually cheat death?
Many may believe that Ajira 316 was just another prop to build tension and drama in the last desperate hours of the show. That may be its only purpose. But one would hope for more.
Flight 316 was piloted by Frank Lapidus, who based upon his background and mental state after Flight 815 crashed, would not have resumed being a commercial pilot. He was one of the few people to escape the island after being rescued by Penny's boat.
Flight 316 was a Boeing 737 from LA to Guam. Eloise Hawking told the O6 that this flight was their only way to return to the island. The plane crash landed on the Hydra Island in 2007, but not before Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid were teleported by a white light to the Island in 1977. Now, the four that went to 1977 were all contacted by Locke off-island in his quest to get everyone to go back to the island. The other person on board who had contact with Locke off-island was Ben, who did not time flash to 1977 (possibly because his child self was on the island at that time). Ben wound up facing the ghost of Locke (MIB as Flocke) with the survivors of the Ajira flight.
Fourteen days after this crash, Frank miraculously pilots the damaged plane off the island. Kate, Claire, Alpert, Sawyer and Miles were on board. We do not know what happened to them after take off, or whether they actually made it to land.
The significance of the number, 316, was not lost on fans.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16, which some scholars call "the Bible in a nutshell."
The theme of eternal life is central to many unified theories of LOST.
Who was the son?
Who were the believers?
How were the 815ers granted eternal life?
None of the characters expressed any devotion to Christianity. Clearly, none of them practiced devout religious beliefs while on the island.
The fact that the Ajira plane went through some sort of island barrier is a key. This barrier had to have some intelligence as it separated four passengers from the rest of the people on board. However, three people previously on the island, Sun, Frank and Ben were not transported to 1977. No one knows why (except for the writer's attempt to jack up the drama of Sun still being cut off from Jin.) The rest of the Ajira passengers would find their own demise as red shirts.
Besides returning the O6 to the island, what was the purpose of the plane? It was the last means of escape for a few lucky people. It some ways it was a dream vindication for Frank (and his pilot skills). And a vessel for Flocke to round up the remaining candidates so he could blow them up (the submarine became the best means of accomplishing that task).
There is still no clear explanation of why there was a time duality on the island when Ajira passed through one spacial location. Unless the island itself was not real in the conventional planetary sense of being a Pacific island mass. A distortion in the time axis would also suggest a distortion in the spacial axis in the space time continuum. The island was in another dimension. How it intersects with the Earth is still unclear, but if it was a spiritual world (as the whispers claimed), then it is like an onion skin that surrounds the planet with limited jumps between the worlds of the living and the worlds of the dead.
So what did this flight represent? It was symbolic of the grief that the O6 had from leaving their fellow passengers behind on the island. It was the means to return. It was also a carrier of death, as the other passengers were killed on the Hydra island. It also was the means of escape, as it took off from the Hydra Island with several people on board. Was their fate merely delayed? Or did they actually cheat death?
Many may believe that Ajira 316 was just another prop to build tension and drama in the last desperate hours of the show. That may be its only purpose. But one would hope for more.
Friday, November 15, 2013
COMPASS BEARING
The fixation with The Numbers came down to names attached to bearing points on Jacob's light house compass. It was within the light house where Jacob used the looking glass to spy upon his candidates throughout their lives, especially their childhoods.
One could imagine that Jacob as a magician would give sad children one last adventure before going on to the after life; a Willy Wonka of the Spiritual World.
But we never got a charitable sense from Jacob or how he operated. He seemed very detached and solemn.
A compass is an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it. The use of the compass for navigation at sea was reported from China c. 1100, western Europe 1187, Arabia c. 1220, and Scandinavia c. 1300, although it probably dates from much earlier. Since the early 20th century the magnetic compass has been superseded by the gyrocompass as primary equipment for ships and aircraft.
A bearing has several different meanings:
1 [ in sing. ] a person's way of standing or moving or the way one behaves or conducts oneself;
2 relation or relevance;
3 the level to which something bad can be tolerated;
4 a part of a machine that bears friction, esp. between a rotating part and its housing;
5 Architecture a structural part that supports weight, such as a wall that supports a beam;
6 the direction or position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point. It is typically measured in degrees, usually with magnetic north as zero: the Point is on a bearing of 015°.
There are 360 bearing points on the compass which means that there could be only 360 maximum candidates. From lostpedia's records, there appear to be 220 empty bearing points (with no names). 360 minus 220 equals 140 candidates on the island after Flight 815 crash landed.
Under what iteration were the 815 candidates?
We know that Jacob allegedly brought numerous candidates to the island. We assume centuries past based upon the relics and architectural features of a temple and hieroglyphs. Jacob himself was a shipwrecked Roman from at least 400 AD (based upon his travelers' dress). So, under Jacob's reign, he lasted approximately 1600 years as island guardian.
If the Numbers influence the way humans were captured for the island rituals of Jacob, let us suppose it followed the pattern:
1st group was 4
2nd group was 8
3rd group was 15
4th group was 16
5th group was 23
6th group 42.
At the end of the 6th group, a total of 108 candidates would have arrived on the island.
Which means the 815 manifest list came ashore in either the 9th (135 candidates) or 10th visitor group (151).
We can go back in time to try to figure out who the groups were:
Last group: 815ers
Next to last: Danielle's science boat
Prior to that: Dharma
Prior to that: U.S. Military
Prior to that: The Others
Prior to that: Jacob's boat
Prior to that: Crazy Mom's arrival (?)
So we have been shown at least 7 of the 9/10 groups who came to the island. One group that made an impression was the ancient Egyptians and another group could have been the ancient Greeks (based on Jacob's tapestry).
So throughout time, there were many candidates summoned to the island. Many more creative, scientifically inclined, stronger or spiritual than Jack. So why did Jack become the key to unlock the cycle of island visitors from the greatest civilizations known to mankind? Despite all the attention to detail, lists, candidate names, etc., was Jack's emergence just a random event that changed the course of island history?
In the story, there were three bearing references. Ben told Michael to use bearing 325 to leave the island waters to salvation. Daniel told Frank to use the bearing of 305 to find the island. And finally, Jacob told Hurley to move the lighthouse mirrors to 108 degrees (which was the sum of the 815 candidates). The rescue or salvation number would then appear to be the sum of the current candidate group. It would also imply that in order to reach salvation, the new leader must draw strength or the will from his other candidates in order to succeed.
If that is the formula Jack had to complete, then did it work? What strength did Jack gain from Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, or Jin? In his depressed mountain man state, Jack admitted to himself that Locke was right; he had to return to the island - - - but we don't know if it was the drugs or a true revelation inside Jack (since once Jack returned he turned into a complacent worker bee). Jack may have admired Sayid's cold blooded skills to make life and death decisions without hesitation. Jack may have admired how easily Hurley made friends with his fellow castaways. Jack had a true rival in Sawyer, but Jack never seemed to inherit any of Sawyer's good or bad traits. And Jack was never close to Jin to have a strong relationship. So the concept that all the candidates had to empower one candidate to victory seems to have slim to no evidence of support. By the time Jack took command of the island, Sayid and Jin were dead, Hurley was a scared wreck, and Sawyer was fleeing the island as fast as he could. The "live together or die alone" mantra seems to be a nullity.
Jack, as Number 23, would point almost due north. North is the direction where all bearings come from. It is the natural point in the sky for astronomy and observation of the heavens. The brightest star is called The North Star. Was Jack's death the focal point to show the other candidates and 815 passengers the way not off the island, but the way to the sideways after life world?
One could imagine that Jacob as a magician would give sad children one last adventure before going on to the after life; a Willy Wonka of the Spiritual World.
But we never got a charitable sense from Jacob or how he operated. He seemed very detached and solemn.
A bearing has several different meanings:
1 [ in sing. ] a person's way of standing or moving or the way one behaves or conducts oneself;
2 relation or relevance;
3 the level to which something bad can be tolerated;
4 a part of a machine that bears friction, esp. between a rotating part and its housing;
5 Architecture a structural part that supports weight, such as a wall that supports a beam;
6 the direction or position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point. It is typically measured in degrees, usually with magnetic north as zero: the Point is on a bearing of 015°.
There are 360 bearing points on the compass which means that there could be only 360 maximum candidates. From lostpedia's records, there appear to be 220 empty bearing points (with no names). 360 minus 220 equals 140 candidates on the island after Flight 815 crash landed.
Under what iteration were the 815 candidates?
We know that Jacob allegedly brought numerous candidates to the island. We assume centuries past based upon the relics and architectural features of a temple and hieroglyphs. Jacob himself was a shipwrecked Roman from at least 400 AD (based upon his travelers' dress). So, under Jacob's reign, he lasted approximately 1600 years as island guardian.
If the Numbers influence the way humans were captured for the island rituals of Jacob, let us suppose it followed the pattern:
1st group was 4
2nd group was 8
3rd group was 15
4th group was 16
5th group was 23
6th group 42.
At the end of the 6th group, a total of 108 candidates would have arrived on the island.
Which means the 815 manifest list came ashore in either the 9th (135 candidates) or 10th visitor group (151).
We can go back in time to try to figure out who the groups were:
Last group: 815ers
Next to last: Danielle's science boat
Prior to that: Dharma
Prior to that: U.S. Military
Prior to that: The Others
Prior to that: Jacob's boat
Prior to that: Crazy Mom's arrival (?)
So we have been shown at least 7 of the 9/10 groups who came to the island. One group that made an impression was the ancient Egyptians and another group could have been the ancient Greeks (based on Jacob's tapestry).
So throughout time, there were many candidates summoned to the island. Many more creative, scientifically inclined, stronger or spiritual than Jack. So why did Jack become the key to unlock the cycle of island visitors from the greatest civilizations known to mankind? Despite all the attention to detail, lists, candidate names, etc., was Jack's emergence just a random event that changed the course of island history?
In the story, there were three bearing references. Ben told Michael to use bearing 325 to leave the island waters to salvation. Daniel told Frank to use the bearing of 305 to find the island. And finally, Jacob told Hurley to move the lighthouse mirrors to 108 degrees (which was the sum of the 815 candidates). The rescue or salvation number would then appear to be the sum of the current candidate group. It would also imply that in order to reach salvation, the new leader must draw strength or the will from his other candidates in order to succeed.
If that is the formula Jack had to complete, then did it work? What strength did Jack gain from Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, or Jin? In his depressed mountain man state, Jack admitted to himself that Locke was right; he had to return to the island - - - but we don't know if it was the drugs or a true revelation inside Jack (since once Jack returned he turned into a complacent worker bee). Jack may have admired Sayid's cold blooded skills to make life and death decisions without hesitation. Jack may have admired how easily Hurley made friends with his fellow castaways. Jack had a true rival in Sawyer, but Jack never seemed to inherit any of Sawyer's good or bad traits. And Jack was never close to Jin to have a strong relationship. So the concept that all the candidates had to empower one candidate to victory seems to have slim to no evidence of support. By the time Jack took command of the island, Sayid and Jin were dead, Hurley was a scared wreck, and Sawyer was fleeing the island as fast as he could. The "live together or die alone" mantra seems to be a nullity.
Jack, as Number 23, would point almost due north. North is the direction where all bearings come from. It is the natural point in the sky for astronomy and observation of the heavens. The brightest star is called The North Star. Was Jack's death the focal point to show the other candidates and 815 passengers the way not off the island, but the way to the sideways after life world?
Monday, October 14, 2013
ONE EQUALS THREE
In mathematics, it makes no sense. In religions and mystic studies, it makes all the sense.
1 = 3
The Number 3 is an ancient and powerful number.
Three represents the trinity, a perfect number. The triad or trinity is a symbol of the unity of body, mind and spirit. The symbol is of universal significance - it is found throughout history and all over the world.
In science, Atomic Number Three - Lithium deuteride is the explosive material of the hydrogen bomb and may eventually be the fuel of controlled fusion reactors. Three symbolizes great power.
Three is important in geometry, which is the basic understanding of nature and engineering. Two straight lines cannot possibly enclose any space, or form a plane figure; neither can two plan surfaces form a solid. Three lines are necessary to form a plan figure; and three dimensions of length, breadth, and height, are necessary to form a solid. Hence three is the symbol of the cube--the simplest form of solid figure. As two is the symbol of the square, or plane contents (x2), so three is the symbol of the cube, or solid contents (x3).
The ancient Egyptians used the power of the pyramid, which is a triangle, to build great structures. It was believed that the Pythagorean theory was first used here.
Three, therefore, stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.
There are three great divisions completing time--past, present, and future.
Thought, word, and deed, complete the sum of human capability.
Three degrees of comparison complete our knowledge of qualities.
The simplest proposition requires three things to complete it; viz., the subject, the predicate, and the copula.
Three propositions are necessary to complete the simplest form of argument--the major premise, the minor, and the conclusion.
In nature, three kingdoms embrace our ideas of matter--mineral, vegetable, and animal.
In all cultures and societies, the number three represents the basic unit of family: father, mother, child.
When we turn to the Scriptures, this completion becomes Divine, and marks Divine completeness or perfection.
The Divine completeness of the Shepherd's care (John 6:39), is seen in His revelations as--
Many people believe that man embodies three principles of life: intellectual, moral, and spiritual.
Many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including:
In Christianity, the Trinity defines God as three Divine persons: the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". A nature is what one is, while a person is who one is.
In Hinduism, the Trimurti is the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.
In Hindu Tridevi, the three consorts of the Trimurti (Great Trinity), that are personified by the forms of three Goddesses. Saraswati is the goddess of learning and arts, cultural fulfillment (consort to the creator). She is the cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness, cosmic knowledge. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and fertility, material fulfillment (consort of the maintainer or preserver). However, she does not mean mere material wealth like gold, cattle, etc. All kinds of prosperity, glory, magnificence, joy, exaltation, or greatness come under Lakshmi. Parvati is the goddess of power and love, spiritual fulfillment (consort of the destroyer or transformer). She also depicts transformative power of Divinity, the power that dissolves multiplicity in unity.
The Three Jewels of Buddhism, refer to the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance. The Three Jewels are:
Buddha: the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings;
Dharma: the teachings of the Buddha, the path to Enlightenment; and
Sangha: the community of those who have attained enlightenment, who may help a practicing Buddhist to do the same. Also used more broadly to refer to the community of practicing Buddhists, or the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
In the pagan world, the Wiccan Rule of Three (also Three-fold Law or Law of Return) is a religious tenet held by some Pagans that states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times
It is clear that he number Three is intertwined in both science and faith.
Throughout history, religion and pagan societies found great meaning and power in the number three. Why would so many diverse people on the planet gravitate toward this number? In 1966, scientists found that the Number 3 was a critical component of humans, as our DNA is sequenced in sets of three proteins. Many people believe that this represents a key to understanding the universe since we have been encoded with the number three.
In LOST, we fixated on The Numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42). We were told that the numbers only represented Jacob's final candidates, even though the Numbers had sew into the story at many times (lottery numbers, Hatch ID number, the Hatch alarm code, etc.).
But in the final candidates numbers, we can find an interesting solution to a math question. If the candidate's number represent the attributes of a person, can we distill a number from them.
If we take Jin minus Jack minus Sayid we can get a number.
42-23-16 = 3
If we take Sawyer minus Hurley minus Locke we can get the same number.
15-8-4 =3
When we take that to mean "33" as the solution to the Numbers Candidate equation, we look to the candidate's list to find that Candidate number 33 was "Novak."
Novak is the name is derived from the Slavic word for "new" meaning something similar to "new man", "newcomer" or "stranger" in English. The name was often given to someone who came to a new city, or a convert to Christianity.
In the church, Christian explains their situation in a triad expression for time in the sideways world that there is no past, present or future.
CHRISTIAN: Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some...long after you.
JACK: But why are they all here now?
CHRISTIAN: Well there is no "now" here.
JACK: Where are we, dad?
CHRISTIAN: This is the place that you...that you all made together, so that you could find one another. The most...important part of your life, was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
JACK: For what?
CHRISTIAN: To remember...and to...let go.
We could make an argument that the Number 3 is a meaningful solution to the series. The concept of the past, present and future tied into one being or place or enlightenment is equivalent to any form of the Trinity. Here, Jack was a stranger (man of science) in a strange land (the island, a place of spiritual faith). He had to release his intellectual self, control his emotional/moral feelings, in order to become aware of his spiritual existence in order to move on after his death.
1 = 3
The Number 3 is an ancient and powerful number.
Three represents the trinity, a perfect number. The triad or trinity is a symbol of the unity of body, mind and spirit. The symbol is of universal significance - it is found throughout history and all over the world.
In science, Atomic Number Three - Lithium deuteride is the explosive material of the hydrogen bomb and may eventually be the fuel of controlled fusion reactors. Three symbolizes great power.
Three is important in geometry, which is the basic understanding of nature and engineering. Two straight lines cannot possibly enclose any space, or form a plane figure; neither can two plan surfaces form a solid. Three lines are necessary to form a plan figure; and three dimensions of length, breadth, and height, are necessary to form a solid. Hence three is the symbol of the cube--the simplest form of solid figure. As two is the symbol of the square, or plane contents (x2), so three is the symbol of the cube, or solid contents (x3).
The ancient Egyptians used the power of the pyramid, which is a triangle, to build great structures. It was believed that the Pythagorean theory was first used here.
Three, therefore, stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.
There are three great divisions completing time--past, present, and future.
Thought, word, and deed, complete the sum of human capability.
Three degrees of comparison complete our knowledge of qualities.
The simplest proposition requires three things to complete it; viz., the subject, the predicate, and the copula.
Three propositions are necessary to complete the simplest form of argument--the major premise, the minor, and the conclusion.
In nature, three kingdoms embrace our ideas of matter--mineral, vegetable, and animal.
In all cultures and societies, the number three represents the basic unit of family: father, mother, child.
When we turn to the Scriptures, this completion becomes Divine, and marks Divine completeness or perfection.
The Divine completeness of the Shepherd's care (John 6:39), is seen in His revelations as--
- The "Good Shepherd" in death, John 10:14.
- The "Great Shepherd" in resurrection, Hebrews 13:20.
- The "Chief Shepherd" in glory, 1 Peter 4:5.
Many people believe that man embodies three principles of life: intellectual, moral, and spiritual.
Many world religions contain triple deities or concepts of trinity, including:
In Christianity, the Trinity defines God as three Divine persons: the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". A nature is what one is, while a person is who one is.
In Hinduism, the Trimurti is the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.
In Hindu Tridevi, the three consorts of the Trimurti (Great Trinity), that are personified by the forms of three Goddesses. Saraswati is the goddess of learning and arts, cultural fulfillment (consort to the creator). She is the cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness, cosmic knowledge. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and fertility, material fulfillment (consort of the maintainer or preserver). However, she does not mean mere material wealth like gold, cattle, etc. All kinds of prosperity, glory, magnificence, joy, exaltation, or greatness come under Lakshmi. Parvati is the goddess of power and love, spiritual fulfillment (consort of the destroyer or transformer). She also depicts transformative power of Divinity, the power that dissolves multiplicity in unity.
The Three Jewels of Buddhism, refer to the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance. The Three Jewels are:
Buddha: the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings;
Dharma: the teachings of the Buddha, the path to Enlightenment; and
Sangha: the community of those who have attained enlightenment, who may help a practicing Buddhist to do the same. Also used more broadly to refer to the community of practicing Buddhists, or the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
In the pagan world, the Wiccan Rule of Three (also Three-fold Law or Law of Return) is a religious tenet held by some Pagans that states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times
It is clear that he number Three is intertwined in both science and faith.
Throughout history, religion and pagan societies found great meaning and power in the number three. Why would so many diverse people on the planet gravitate toward this number? In 1966, scientists found that the Number 3 was a critical component of humans, as our DNA is sequenced in sets of three proteins. Many people believe that this represents a key to understanding the universe since we have been encoded with the number three.
In LOST, we fixated on The Numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42). We were told that the numbers only represented Jacob's final candidates, even though the Numbers had sew into the story at many times (lottery numbers, Hatch ID number, the Hatch alarm code, etc.).
But in the final candidates numbers, we can find an interesting solution to a math question. If the candidate's number represent the attributes of a person, can we distill a number from them.
If we take Jin minus Jack minus Sayid we can get a number.
42-23-16 = 3
If we take Sawyer minus Hurley minus Locke we can get the same number.
15-8-4 =3
When we take that to mean "33" as the solution to the Numbers Candidate equation, we look to the candidate's list to find that Candidate number 33 was "Novak."
Novak is the name is derived from the Slavic word for "new" meaning something similar to "new man", "newcomer" or "stranger" in English. The name was often given to someone who came to a new city, or a convert to Christianity.
In the church, Christian explains their situation in a triad expression for time in the sideways world that there is no past, present or future.
CHRISTIAN: Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some...long after you.
JACK: But why are they all here now?
CHRISTIAN: Well there is no "now" here.
JACK: Where are we, dad?
CHRISTIAN: This is the place that you...that you all made together, so that you could find one another. The most...important part of your life, was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
JACK: For what?
CHRISTIAN: To remember...and to...let go.
We could make an argument that the Number 3 is a meaningful solution to the series. The concept of the past, present and future tied into one being or place or enlightenment is equivalent to any form of the Trinity. Here, Jack was a stranger (man of science) in a strange land (the island, a place of spiritual faith). He had to release his intellectual self, control his emotional/moral feelings, in order to become aware of his spiritual existence in order to move on after his death.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
WINDFALL CURSE
Forbes magazine had a recent article that hit upon an old topic: the curse of lottery winnings.
Historically, the vast majority major lottery winners go bust within 7 years of their happy day. The reasons follow a typical pattern: joy of new found wealth; quitting work; spending on new houses, cars, etc; family members wanting a share; friends hanging about like a posse; bad business decisions; lawsuits and eventually losing it all - - - the money, relationships, family and friends.
The article went through several examples of winners feeling that they were cursed. They complained about intense media coverage, loss of privacy, family members they never heard of asking for money and favors, shady investments, bad advisors, to being robbed, having addictions, drug abuse, intense gambling issues and the pressure to be somebody you are not.
Sudden wealth to most naive people means Christmas every day. But that feeling is not sustainable. It blurred the reality of the situation. There is a dramatic honeymoon period when everything is great. Then the pressures of spending the windfall come to bear. It is a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other – from joy, excitement, and happiness to emptiness, resentment, and sometimes even despair. At a certain point the money begins to control the winners' lives. Things can get out of control quickly.
In LOST, likable Hugo Reyes was the big winner. He won the lottery jackpot. He immediately knew it would change his life, but not for the better. That is why he tried to keep his good fortune a secret. But that secret ruined his relationship with his best friend and his potential girlfriend. And once he claimed the prize and went into the public spotlight, tragedy after tragedy hit him.
One of the snake bites was his father returning just to get a piece of the lottery action.
Hurley never really felt the joy, excitement and happiness of being a winner. The lottery was so overwhelming to his simple way of life as to cause him to faint, then retreat into himself. He resented winning the lottery. He resented that people only looked at him one way: as a sucker money bag. He fell into despair because he was in deeper in an emotional hole than when he was simply poor. That depression caused him to search for an answer to his misery. And he then believed that the Numbers he used were cursed. Therefore, he was cursed. And everyone around him was cursed. And bad things happen to cursed people.
And that layer cake of being cursed followed Hurley throughout the seasons. He could never get away from it. He digested all of the events around him through the filter of his lottery curse. He kept his winnings a secret from the survivors, until he could finally trust. And even then, they did not believe him. In an odd way, that made Hurley feel better because his friends liked him not for his money, but for Hurley.
But in the end, Hurley never got free from his curse. He only found happiness in death - - - being reunited with Libby in the after life. Which meant that all the empty time between the island and the after life, Hurley found no one else to share his life with (otherwise that person would have been with him in the sideways church). One could conclude that even though Hurley left the island alive, he remained dead inside. He fostered his curse for the rest of his life. Which is a sad, sad commentary for one of the most liked characters on the show.
Historically, the vast majority major lottery winners go bust within 7 years of their happy day. The reasons follow a typical pattern: joy of new found wealth; quitting work; spending on new houses, cars, etc; family members wanting a share; friends hanging about like a posse; bad business decisions; lawsuits and eventually losing it all - - - the money, relationships, family and friends.
The article went through several examples of winners feeling that they were cursed. They complained about intense media coverage, loss of privacy, family members they never heard of asking for money and favors, shady investments, bad advisors, to being robbed, having addictions, drug abuse, intense gambling issues and the pressure to be somebody you are not.
Sudden wealth to most naive people means Christmas every day. But that feeling is not sustainable. It blurred the reality of the situation. There is a dramatic honeymoon period when everything is great. Then the pressures of spending the windfall come to bear. It is a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other – from joy, excitement, and happiness to emptiness, resentment, and sometimes even despair. At a certain point the money begins to control the winners' lives. Things can get out of control quickly.
In LOST, likable Hugo Reyes was the big winner. He won the lottery jackpot. He immediately knew it would change his life, but not for the better. That is why he tried to keep his good fortune a secret. But that secret ruined his relationship with his best friend and his potential girlfriend. And once he claimed the prize and went into the public spotlight, tragedy after tragedy hit him.
One of the snake bites was his father returning just to get a piece of the lottery action.
Hurley never really felt the joy, excitement and happiness of being a winner. The lottery was so overwhelming to his simple way of life as to cause him to faint, then retreat into himself. He resented winning the lottery. He resented that people only looked at him one way: as a sucker money bag. He fell into despair because he was in deeper in an emotional hole than when he was simply poor. That depression caused him to search for an answer to his misery. And he then believed that the Numbers he used were cursed. Therefore, he was cursed. And everyone around him was cursed. And bad things happen to cursed people.
And that layer cake of being cursed followed Hurley throughout the seasons. He could never get away from it. He digested all of the events around him through the filter of his lottery curse. He kept his winnings a secret from the survivors, until he could finally trust. And even then, they did not believe him. In an odd way, that made Hurley feel better because his friends liked him not for his money, but for Hurley.
But in the end, Hurley never got free from his curse. He only found happiness in death - - - being reunited with Libby in the after life. Which meant that all the empty time between the island and the after life, Hurley found no one else to share his life with (otherwise that person would have been with him in the sideways church). One could conclude that even though Hurley left the island alive, he remained dead inside. He fostered his curse for the rest of his life. Which is a sad, sad commentary for one of the most liked characters on the show.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
THE CALL FOR HELP
We know the numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) were representations of Jacob's candidates who were to be the next island guardian. But as the series started to wind down, and the numbers were being clarified to the viewers, there was one strange twist that is often overlooked by us.
When Hurley and Jack were sent to the lighthouse, Jacob told Hurley to set the lighthouse dial to 108.
The dial read:
108 - Wallace
This person whose name was also written on the cave wall. But angry Jack smashed the mirrors before Hurley could set the dial to 108. Jack smashed the lighthouse mirrors because he saw that it was a machine that spied on him throughout his life. He was angry that he had been secretly chosen to crash land on this island. It was through the lighthouse that Jacob found his candidates and brought them to the island.
This scene opens the possibility that Jacob had "given up" on the current castaways as his successor. He may have needed the lighthouse mirrors to project his image or spirit into the real world to contact "or touch" Wallace and bring him/her back to the island.
But since Jack broke the lighthouse, Jacob could not call another wave a cavalry candidates to his aid. He was stuck with the 815ers. That is why later on Jacob told Hurley that moping Jack "had to figure things out himself." That thing was an acknowledgement that at some point Jack would have to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his friends. There was miracle fix for his situation.
Who could this Wallace be?
Philosopher Robert Wallace is well known for his fascination with numerology, and had a famous connection to Hume, another famous philosopher whose name Desmond shares. Wallace may not be a specific person but it is likely at least a reference to the philosopher, as the show does like to give its characters the same names as famous philosophers (Hume, Rousseau, Locke, etc.)
Wallace, named after a economist, could have been The Economist that Sayid assassinated on the golf course. Sayid was told that there were men who killed worked for Widmore and who were involved in Nadia's death. Then the name would have been scratched off before Hurley was to set the lighthouse (unless it was going to show Sayid's action to warn Jack that Sayid was now evil.)
It is more likely that it was a new candidate which never made it to the island. Someone that Jacob needed to call and bring to the island because he was running out of viable candidates to defeat MIB. It was possible that since Jacob's demise, he could no longer operate the lighthouse in the flesh, so he needed Jack or Hurley to call the new candidate to the island.
The call for reinforcements would show that whatever was happening on the island, Jacob feared that he was losing control of the situation. Though we are never told the actual outcome of MIB leaving the island, we are led to believe that the consequences would be dire to all mankind.
Or Wallace could have been a clue to premise of the series.
The novel, A Wrinkle in Time, was seen on the program. Charles Wallace was a character in that series of children's books. He was a psychic child in stories about time/space travel, changing the past, series of "might-have-been" events, turning point events battles between the powers of good and evil, a large evil cloud called The Black Thing (in the movie, The Darkness) and an evil intelligence called IT who controls people's minds.
These are the same themes running through the LOST saga. Walt was a psychic child who longed to change his past. The Black Thing is the smoke monster. An evil intelligence (Dharma, Ben, Jacob) controlled or manipulated characters' minds. The white and dark stones were supposed to symbolize some conflict between Jacob and MIB.
When Hurley and Jack were sent to the lighthouse, Jacob told Hurley to set the lighthouse dial to 108.
The dial read:
108 - Wallace
This person whose name was also written on the cave wall. But angry Jack smashed the mirrors before Hurley could set the dial to 108. Jack smashed the lighthouse mirrors because he saw that it was a machine that spied on him throughout his life. He was angry that he had been secretly chosen to crash land on this island. It was through the lighthouse that Jacob found his candidates and brought them to the island.
This scene opens the possibility that Jacob had "given up" on the current castaways as his successor. He may have needed the lighthouse mirrors to project his image or spirit into the real world to contact "or touch" Wallace and bring him/her back to the island.
But since Jack broke the lighthouse, Jacob could not call another wave a cavalry candidates to his aid. He was stuck with the 815ers. That is why later on Jacob told Hurley that moping Jack "had to figure things out himself." That thing was an acknowledgement that at some point Jack would have to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his friends. There was miracle fix for his situation.
Who could this Wallace be?
Philosopher Robert Wallace is well known for his fascination with numerology, and had a famous connection to Hume, another famous philosopher whose name Desmond shares. Wallace may not be a specific person but it is likely at least a reference to the philosopher, as the show does like to give its characters the same names as famous philosophers (Hume, Rousseau, Locke, etc.)
Wallace, named after a economist, could have been The Economist that Sayid assassinated on the golf course. Sayid was told that there were men who killed worked for Widmore and who were involved in Nadia's death. Then the name would have been scratched off before Hurley was to set the lighthouse (unless it was going to show Sayid's action to warn Jack that Sayid was now evil.)
It is more likely that it was a new candidate which never made it to the island. Someone that Jacob needed to call and bring to the island because he was running out of viable candidates to defeat MIB. It was possible that since Jacob's demise, he could no longer operate the lighthouse in the flesh, so he needed Jack or Hurley to call the new candidate to the island.
The call for reinforcements would show that whatever was happening on the island, Jacob feared that he was losing control of the situation. Though we are never told the actual outcome of MIB leaving the island, we are led to believe that the consequences would be dire to all mankind.
Or Wallace could have been a clue to premise of the series.
The novel, A Wrinkle in Time, was seen on the program. Charles Wallace was a character in that series of children's books. He was a psychic child in stories about time/space travel, changing the past, series of "might-have-been" events, turning point events battles between the powers of good and evil, a large evil cloud called The Black Thing (in the movie, The Darkness) and an evil intelligence called IT who controls people's minds.
These are the same themes running through the LOST saga. Walt was a psychic child who longed to change his past. The Black Thing is the smoke monster. An evil intelligence (Dharma, Ben, Jacob) controlled or manipulated characters' minds. The white and dark stones were supposed to symbolize some conflict between Jacob and MIB.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
THE JOURNEY
Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you. — Heidi Johnson
There is saying that "the journey is more important than the end."
It depends on one's perspective and mission of the journey. For example, if a person's goal is to graduate from college in four years, the journey and its experiences would be important educational and social events in that person's life. But the goal was always getting the diploma, which in itself would open new doors, i.e. employment or career paths.
Life experiences can be broken down into segments and lessons learned for each individual. A young child who liked to play with tinker toys and build objects may take that interest and grow it into an engineering career. Even outside the academic arena, a kid who likes to play soccer may train hard and develop his skills to become a world class player. Both in both cases, the individual may nurture a skill or interest towards his final goal.
Goals are important. It is how we measure our expectations against our accomplishments.
In the arts, a good story should have a beginning, middle, climax and conclusion. And during the chapters, the storyteller needs to weave interesting events, trials, tribulations, character flaws and choices in which to make the main character(s) grow or change to meet their goals.
In the LOST series, it was never that clear road map to the end.
If we reverse engineer the standard storytelling method, does it give us any new insight?
The creators stressed that the LOST saga was more about the characters than the actual events. People related more to the characters than with the surroundings. It is said the characters made the show and not the character's activities within the show. In one respect, fans did gravitate towards certain characters. However, the rationale is like taking a hydrogen molecule out of H2O and still call it water.
So, if we fast forward to the series conclusion, what did our main characters "achieve" in the end?
They were reunited after they all died.
Then, all the series events ("the journey") were constructed so that the main characters could achieve their individual goal ("an after life") with the people who they met on their journey.
If this is true, then the majority of viewers would be disappointed in the show because the premise was truly about lost souls navigating through purgatory. (I was always in the minority in the community blogs in regard to the after life premise to the series.)
But even if one assumes that the main characters were "alive" during their island existence, it would still have been a pre-purgatory test if the final goal was to have peace of mind and go forward in the sideways church into the white light.
So how did the island adventures "help" the main characters in getting to achieve their goal of a happy, heavenly after life? There was lots of excitement, lots of missions, lots of lying, lots of killing, lots of dying, lots of puzzling inconsistencies, lots of unsolved mysteries - - - there was a lot of disjointed stuff going on. But in the context of the main character group, there were no harsh personal judgments of themselves or their fellow survivors as being good or evil. The characters did not redeem themselves from their personal demons. In fact, it is almost universal that none of the characters changed their personalities or overcame their fears. For example, Hurley was an overweight, shy, quiet and responsible person before Flight 815. At the island end, Hurley was an overweight, shy, quiet and responsible guardian. The only difference was that he had more people he could call "his friend."
It would seem that the whole journey was one of creating friendships. Some friendships were forged by similar interests (like music with Hurley and Charlie), some made through lust, some through fighting and mutual respect, and some just by the shared experience of survival.
When Christian told Jack that his friends were waiting for him, it meant that their collective journey was the most important thing in their lives. In turn, that meant that all of them had pretty crappy real lives. And it is still bothersome that the main reason Jack had a bad life was his father, but his father was the master of ceremonies in the sideways church. It was also bothersome that no one else in the church had a parent or sibling for the after life graduation except for Jack. Didn't Shannon have a very close relationship with her father? Sayid was close with his older brother, too. And the fact that Rose and Bernard left the group to be off on their own should have logically eliminated them from the final church scene. The same reasoning would apply to Desmond and Penny. It also meant that all the people who left the island on Ajira plane never found any close friends or family once they returned home.
The conclusion in the sideways church did impart final closure to the series, but at a large cost to the overall story lines.
If the final scene was developed at the beginning of the series, it left gaping holes in many of the character's lives. Just as important as who was in the church, who was not present. Why was Locke's love of his life, Helen, not there for him? Why did Boone sit alone? Why was Aaron present as a baby (does that mean he never grew up?) And why was Ji Yeon not there for Jin and Sun (was she a prop like Jack's son David?) And why was Penny and Dez's son Charlie not in the church?
If one could only move on to heaven in a group, then why was it limited to just the 20 people in the church? Christian had no real connection to 17 of 20 people present.
Was 20 the final magic Number? Was that the amount of souls needed to complete the reservation to the next after life rebirth? Or, had Christian already "move on" (since he seemed to know what was coming next) so he was the other 19 souls' guardian angel?
If you look to see number connections, if 19 is the key number to move on, is it supported by the candidates strong bonds with other candidates to reach a critical spiritual mass to move on?
Hurley plus Sawyer gets us to 19. Jack minus Hurley equals 19. Jin minus Jack equals 19. None of these formulations leads to an answer.
This may be the greatest unanswered series questions: why were just these characters allowed to move on in the end? What did they do to deserve or qualify them to move on? And why did this group have to reconvene in order to move on?
The journey itself is not answer but the silent proposition left by the writers.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
SS6: Number 3: The Numbers
Oh, The Numbers. The six numbers that haunted LOST fans for Six Years. Those pesky numbers kept on showing up on props, signals, odometers, cave walls, lighthouse dials, lottery tickets, flight numbers, the hatch door, computer screens, computer read-outs, and numerous theories.
The Numbers. 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42
Was there any final conclusion to what the Numbers represented?
I guess it depends if you think the Numbers were important.
Hurley thought the Numbers were important: as bad luck, a curse or a bad omen, every time he encountered them. Danielle must have thought the same thing, as the signal repeating the numbers led to her coming to the Island.
Many fans speculated that the Numbers had to deal with Dharma or some unknown group trying to change the values of the Valenzetti Equation. That theorem is a 1970s equation that attempts to determine the end of humanity. Dharma was conducting various experiments to either create, change or modify life in an attempt to change the coefficients of the equation to save the world. But that does not explain why the numbers were broadcast as an island location beacon; why they were on the hatch serial number; or why those numbers had to be put into the Swan computer in order to avoid a release of electromagnetic energy.
The fans really, really, really wanted an answer to the Numbers. They wanted the Numbers to be foundational to the whole story line. They have to be disappointed.
We found in the lighthouse and in MIB's cave, the Numbers allegedly represented potential Candidates.T he Numbers represented the last six candidates to succeed Jacob as island protector:
4 was John Locke, who was killed off the island, and his body taken by MIB to create Flocke.
8 was Hugo Reyes, who feared the Numbers the most, and wound up the guardian after Jack.
15 was James Ford, Sawyer, who never wanted to take responsibility for anything until he time traveled with Juliet.
16 was Sayid Jarrah, who was taken over by "The Darkness" and MIB.
23 was Jack Shepard, who defeated MIB and became the island protector for just a few short hours, until Flight 316, piloted by Frank, allowed Sawyer, Kate, Miles, Claire and Richard to leave the island.
42 was for Jin Kwon, who never left the island, who killed himself to stay with Sun in the sinking submarine.
Were the Numbers critical to the final explanation of the show? Or were the Numbers merely a clever plot device, a red herring, to keep fans watching intently and discussing the meaning of them from week to week? (I really liked by Periodic Chart of the Elements Theory). The conclusion, as written, the Numbers were basically used as immaterial bait to keep fans interested in the show. The function of the numbers being so coincidental throughout the seasons is an easter egg not found and left to rot in the yard. The idea that the Numbers were merely symbolic placeholders in Jacob's still convoluted plan to maintain the Island special powers seems disappointing, especially to die hard sci-fi fans looking for a deeper explanation. There is little elegance in the Numbers being merely a scorecard.
Considering the lighthouse contained hundreds of names and numbers crossed off during the centuries, the LOST numbers appear just to be random footnotes. And in the vetting of these final Candidates, there are very little cohesion or moral values between the actual characters. In fact, three had violent or criminal pasts (Ford, Kwon, Jarrah). Two were real life losers (Locke and Reyes, until he won the lottery then began to lose his mind). So by default, Jack winds up as the least flawed person on this list, if you exclude his personal life and drug addiction. In fact, none of the final Candidates had high moral standards to protect something so important as the Light and Island, the source of life, death and rebirth. I guess it is true, when your number is up, your number is really up.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
S6E12 THE LOCKE COMBINATION
I was thinking when Flocke said that just as all the O6 had to be together to "return" to the island, they all had to be together to "leave" the island. That is the logic in Flocke's mind on how to escape.
In the past, there was one way I believe kept Smokey from escaping the island . . . it was the Numbers which contained the EM forces (so Smokey could not attain full power). The Numbers were the magic spell combination lock to keep Smokey in place. Now, I can see the possibility of Smokey getting all the Candidates (which represent The Numbers) to Hydra expecting that his invisible chain to the island be broken, but in a twist of fate, the Numbers activate and "seal" Smokey away forever.
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