The origin of the smoke monster.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
ONE FRAME
The idea is that one could condense the drama of an entire film into one frame. It is not a new idea; movie posters attempt to capture the essence of the film.
Is there one frame, one image, one picture, that sums up everything LOST?
Is it:
1. The graveyard next to the beach where many characters were buried?
2. Desmond turning the fail safe key?
3. Jack dying in the bamboo grove with Vincent at his side?
4. The smoke monster billowing above the tropical canopy?
5. The wreckage of Flight 815 on the beach?
6. John Locke in the coffin?
7. The imagine of the island deep under water?
8. The large pendulum device in the basement of Eloise's church?
9. Jack identifying his father's body in the Sydney morgue?
10. Flight 815 breaking up in the sky over the Dharma barracks?
In all the advertising posters for the show, the main element had always been The Island.
Is there one frame, one image, one picture, that sums up everything LOST?
Is it:
1. The graveyard next to the beach where many characters were buried?
2. Desmond turning the fail safe key?
3. Jack dying in the bamboo grove with Vincent at his side?
4. The smoke monster billowing above the tropical canopy?
5. The wreckage of Flight 815 on the beach?
6. John Locke in the coffin?
7. The imagine of the island deep under water?
8. The large pendulum device in the basement of Eloise's church?
9. Jack identifying his father's body in the Sydney morgue?
10. Flight 815 breaking up in the sky over the Dharma barracks?
In all the advertising posters for the show, the main element had always been The Island.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
NONSENSE
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary
ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong
end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at
life’s realities." - - Dr. Seuss
Let's break this statement down.
Nonsense = Good.
Fantasy = Necessary
Good Fantasy = Necessary Nonsense.
That works well in the crazy Dr. Seuss children's stories.
But on the other hand, Bad Fantasy equals Unnecessary Nonsense.
If one pulled Across the Sea out of Season 6 and made that the pilot episode, then the premise that LOST was an elaborate fantasy world could have made viewing Season 6 more palatable. But it still would not have fully explained The End or the sideways story construction. The more we look at the sideways tangent, the more nonsensical it becomes in the overall picture.
If the real premise of the show was that "someone" had to protect "something" that in itself creates "life, death and rebirth" (which probably needs no protection per se), the main characters being tossed into the struggle for control of the light cave would equate to a simple classic western tale of sheepherders and ranchers fighting over "water rights" in the valley. So there is no reason that the main characters had to wind up in some sideways world (but not called heaven) after death in order to have a happy reunion. Further, despite all the events, deaths, missions, statements about the candidates and Jacob's non-ceremonial power transfer, nothing changed with the light cave itself.
The whole LOST series did spark heated debates in the fan communities on what things meant, and how things were related, to opinions on the grand purpose of the show. But at a certain point, nonsense does not make good drama.
Let's break this statement down.
Nonsense = Good.
Fantasy = Necessary
Good Fantasy = Necessary Nonsense.
That works well in the crazy Dr. Seuss children's stories.
But on the other hand, Bad Fantasy equals Unnecessary Nonsense.
If one pulled Across the Sea out of Season 6 and made that the pilot episode, then the premise that LOST was an elaborate fantasy world could have made viewing Season 6 more palatable. But it still would not have fully explained The End or the sideways story construction. The more we look at the sideways tangent, the more nonsensical it becomes in the overall picture.
If the real premise of the show was that "someone" had to protect "something" that in itself creates "life, death and rebirth" (which probably needs no protection per se), the main characters being tossed into the struggle for control of the light cave would equate to a simple classic western tale of sheepherders and ranchers fighting over "water rights" in the valley. So there is no reason that the main characters had to wind up in some sideways world (but not called heaven) after death in order to have a happy reunion. Further, despite all the events, deaths, missions, statements about the candidates and Jacob's non-ceremonial power transfer, nothing changed with the light cave itself.
The whole LOST series did spark heated debates in the fan communities on what things meant, and how things were related, to opinions on the grand purpose of the show. But at a certain point, nonsense does not make good drama.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
SCIENCE OF MAGIC?
The initial proposition was that Jack was a man of "science," being a medical doctor and all, would struggle against Locke, a man of "faith." But Locke never had a background story in either religion or spiritual belief. He took many people's word as gospel, but he constantly got burned as a result. It is hard to tell whether Locke's "new island vision" was a lightning bolt of religious faith or an obsessive need for purpose - - - a second chance to live his dream.
Ben called the island a "Magic Box." Afterward, Locke's reward for protecting the island was what he desperately wanted: to confront his father, Cooper. The island brought Cooper, who claimed he was in a serious automobile accident but was swept away to the island, to Locke. Then Ben told Locke that in order to be an island leader, he'd have to kill his father (just as Ben himself had done). One could consider the latter ritual as pagan, a form a sadistic worship. But it could be just as well as manipulative fear of the general population of the Others.
After Desmond's fail safe key "save," the series may have jumped the Dharma shark to dismiss both science and faith toward the vague realm of pure magic. Desmond, Charlie and Eko really should not have survived the explosion/implosion of the Hatch. The island should not have been bouncing around in both time and space, let alone controlled by a wooden donkey wheel.
For the writers, magic had one great tool. Magic has no explanation. It is just magic. No science. No faith. No belief system. No connecting the dots to get a result. No, magic is abracadabra; it is what it is and does what it does because it is magic.
Supernatural is not a explanation because one cannot dissect it in order to see how it works. Even a trained magician at a kid's party can teach someone the hidden dove trick. But in a scripted series where the viewer is led down various twisting paths with scientific and religious terminology, one would hope the writers would have taught us their own hidden dove tricks.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
A NEW SCIENCE THEORY
One of the things that kept us commentators up all night during the original series run was trying to find an explanation for the island time travel.
It still remains elusive.
The Alcubierre drive or Alcubierre metric is a speculative idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve faster than light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (example, negative mass) could be created. Rather than exceeding the speed of light within its local frame of reference, a spacecraft would traverse distances by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, resulting in effective faster-than-light travel. This is the theory behind Star Trek warp drive.
Objects cannot accelerate to the speed of light within normal space time; instead, the Alcubierre drive shifts space around an object so that the object would arrive at its destination faster than light would in normal space. Although the metric proposed by Alcubierre is mathematically valid in that it is consistent with the Einstein field equations, it may not be physically meaningful or indicate that such a drive could be constructed. The proposed mechanism of the Alcubierre drive implies a negative energy density and therefore requires exotic matter, so if exotic matter with the correct properties does not exist then it could not be constructed. However, at the close of his original paper.
Alcubierre based some of his ideas on analyzing traversable wormholes that the Casimir vacuum between parallel plates could fulfill the negative-energy requirement for the Alcubierre drive. Another possible issue is that although the Alcubierre metric is consistent with general relativity, general relativity does not incorporate quantum mechanics, and some physicists have presented arguments to suggest that a theory of quantum gravity which merged the two theories would eliminate those solutions in general relativity which allow for backwards time travel of which the Alcubierre drive is one.
If one goes back to look at the numerous community posts on the subject, you would find references to the Casimir Effect, wormholes, warp drive spacecraft, as possible elements to the LOST time travel puzzle.
Dark energy appears to be the unknown substance that is a part of space itself; it is thought to explain why space is always expanding outward. To harness an energy like this is one of the theoretical basis for time travel since the expansion (or contraction) of space is the fundamental element of warp space drive.
The Fermi Lab has been colliding matter for years to create very small exotic matter through the burst of gamma rays. Gamma Rays are the greatest energy concentration force. However, capture, storage and application of gamma rays as an energy source is unproven. However, contact with other matter can generate electromagnetic fields. The faster than light speed could be accomplished when the dark energy or gamma rays come into contact with any other matter; the reaction between the two phases could generate more energy because it would come all the mass of the elements into pure energy.
Black holes have such intense gravity that, once inside their event horizons, not even light can escape. Outside of the event horizon, the hole's intense gravity draws matter into a disk and raises it to very high energies. The disk emits lots of light on its own and sends out jets of high energy particles that emit even more as they interact with the surrounding interstellar material.
It was thought that the radiation emitted by the black hole starts driving off the surrounding matter, effectively cutting off its own food supply, called the Eddington limit. But now, researchers have found that the Eddington limit isn't an absolute cap on the amount of energy a black hole can emit out into its surroundings. Their observations suggest that this particular black hole sends out almost as much energy in the form of accelerated particles.
In theory, the use of pull of a wormhole or black hole with associated intense energy could create the warp bubble around a spacecraft. However, the math states that the encapsulated craft would need to be shielded from intense heat greater than that our the center of our sun.
If we start to piece together some of these elements, we can possibly see the light (literally and figuratively). The light cave may be in reality a gamma ray generator (natural or alien). The disruptive electromagnetic release (which destroyed the Hatch) is caused by the gamma rays to interact with other matter. The safeguard to keep the gamma ray generator and other matter from coming together could be the efficient placement of a tiny worm hole. A tiny wormhole in front of a spacecraft (or in this case, the island is the craft), could bend space time around these opposing fields to create time travel jumps.
I can guarantee that none of the LOST writers ever thought of this. The series did not dwell on scientific explanations. It relied on vague illusions. Their time skips were thrown out to create "separation" anxieties among the various surviving 815ers.
It still remains elusive.
The Alcubierre drive or Alcubierre metric is a speculative idea based on a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity as proposed by theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre, by which a spacecraft could achieve faster than light travel if a configurable energy-density field lower than that of vacuum (example, negative mass) could be created. Rather than exceeding the speed of light within its local frame of reference, a spacecraft would traverse distances by contracting space in front of it and expanding space behind it, resulting in effective faster-than-light travel. This is the theory behind Star Trek warp drive.
Objects cannot accelerate to the speed of light within normal space time; instead, the Alcubierre drive shifts space around an object so that the object would arrive at its destination faster than light would in normal space. Although the metric proposed by Alcubierre is mathematically valid in that it is consistent with the Einstein field equations, it may not be physically meaningful or indicate that such a drive could be constructed. The proposed mechanism of the Alcubierre drive implies a negative energy density and therefore requires exotic matter, so if exotic matter with the correct properties does not exist then it could not be constructed. However, at the close of his original paper.
Alcubierre based some of his ideas on analyzing traversable wormholes that the Casimir vacuum between parallel plates could fulfill the negative-energy requirement for the Alcubierre drive. Another possible issue is that although the Alcubierre metric is consistent with general relativity, general relativity does not incorporate quantum mechanics, and some physicists have presented arguments to suggest that a theory of quantum gravity which merged the two theories would eliminate those solutions in general relativity which allow for backwards time travel of which the Alcubierre drive is one.
If one goes back to look at the numerous community posts on the subject, you would find references to the Casimir Effect, wormholes, warp drive spacecraft, as possible elements to the LOST time travel puzzle.
Dark energy appears to be the unknown substance that is a part of space itself; it is thought to explain why space is always expanding outward. To harness an energy like this is one of the theoretical basis for time travel since the expansion (or contraction) of space is the fundamental element of warp space drive.
The Fermi Lab has been colliding matter for years to create very small exotic matter through the burst of gamma rays. Gamma Rays are the greatest energy concentration force. However, capture, storage and application of gamma rays as an energy source is unproven. However, contact with other matter can generate electromagnetic fields. The faster than light speed could be accomplished when the dark energy or gamma rays come into contact with any other matter; the reaction between the two phases could generate more energy because it would come all the mass of the elements into pure energy.
Black holes have such intense gravity that, once inside their event horizons, not even light can escape. Outside of the event horizon, the hole's intense gravity draws matter into a disk and raises it to very high energies. The disk emits lots of light on its own and sends out jets of high energy particles that emit even more as they interact with the surrounding interstellar material.
It was thought that the radiation emitted by the black hole starts driving off the surrounding matter, effectively cutting off its own food supply, called the Eddington limit. But now, researchers have found that the Eddington limit isn't an absolute cap on the amount of energy a black hole can emit out into its surroundings. Their observations suggest that this particular black hole sends out almost as much energy in the form of accelerated particles.
In theory, the use of pull of a wormhole or black hole with associated intense energy could create the warp bubble around a spacecraft. However, the math states that the encapsulated craft would need to be shielded from intense heat greater than that our the center of our sun.
If we start to piece together some of these elements, we can possibly see the light (literally and figuratively). The light cave may be in reality a gamma ray generator (natural or alien). The disruptive electromagnetic release (which destroyed the Hatch) is caused by the gamma rays to interact with other matter. The safeguard to keep the gamma ray generator and other matter from coming together could be the efficient placement of a tiny worm hole. A tiny wormhole in front of a spacecraft (or in this case, the island is the craft), could bend space time around these opposing fields to create time travel jumps.
I can guarantee that none of the LOST writers ever thought of this. The series did not dwell on scientific explanations. It relied on vague illusions. Their time skips were thrown out to create "separation" anxieties among the various surviving 815ers.
Monday, March 31, 2014
LOST ELEMENTS EXPLAINED
There were several major elements in the LOST saga which do not appear to be compatible.
The first, and most confusing aspect to LOST, was time travel. The idea of a human being going back and forth to the past or the future is physically impossible. It is pure science fiction. It is a device to throw a character into an unknown situation in order to elicit a reaction.
Second, there was concepts of the supernatural. The smoke monster does not exist in our current world. It has to be something supernatural, beyond nature, because we know that smoke cannot aggregate, travel with intelligence, steal the minds of individuals and transform into human beings. This is also science fiction.
But every person today time travels. People time travel every day of their lives, and not just in the linear clock from dawn to dusk. People who access their memories are effectively time traveling back to their past. Those memories can be good or bad. But they are strong enough emotionally to be stored in one's long term memory.
People also time travel to the future. It is called dreams. The element of subconscious interplay with memories, experience, emotions and events creates a fantasy scape similar to the manifestation of a smoke monster. Depending on whether a person can control their dreams, then act upon them during their waking lives, is transformational.
A child could dream to one day become a fire fighter. He can imagine himself as a grown man riding in a hook and ladder engine racing to a blazing fire. He takes those dreams and places them into his memory. He uses his subconscious to help him run scenarios on how to achieve his goal. As he grows up, he channels his time and resources into becoming a fireman. He goes to school. He stays physically fit. He enrolls in the academy. He works on his training. He reaches his goal and then assigned to a fire station.
It may take years in order to accomplish such dream. But that is why people need to sleep - - - to recharge their physical body, but also organize their mind to meet their dreams. A cluttered or disrupted mind will not help a person achieve their goals; it may create the situation where nightmares begin to control their thoughts - - - making them a mental wreck.
The time travel and supernatural elements to the series may be only metaphors for a series of character developments as individuals try to take control of their own fantasies without applying their dreams in their waking lives. It is only when a person has the courage to take action on their inner feelings in their waking life can there be true change and new beginnings. Instead of "what could be" a person who awakes with road map to a goal, can achieve that goal - - - whether it be a career, a project completion, or even relationships.
The first, and most confusing aspect to LOST, was time travel. The idea of a human being going back and forth to the past or the future is physically impossible. It is pure science fiction. It is a device to throw a character into an unknown situation in order to elicit a reaction.
Second, there was concepts of the supernatural. The smoke monster does not exist in our current world. It has to be something supernatural, beyond nature, because we know that smoke cannot aggregate, travel with intelligence, steal the minds of individuals and transform into human beings. This is also science fiction.
But every person today time travels. People time travel every day of their lives, and not just in the linear clock from dawn to dusk. People who access their memories are effectively time traveling back to their past. Those memories can be good or bad. But they are strong enough emotionally to be stored in one's long term memory.
People also time travel to the future. It is called dreams. The element of subconscious interplay with memories, experience, emotions and events creates a fantasy scape similar to the manifestation of a smoke monster. Depending on whether a person can control their dreams, then act upon them during their waking lives, is transformational.
A child could dream to one day become a fire fighter. He can imagine himself as a grown man riding in a hook and ladder engine racing to a blazing fire. He takes those dreams and places them into his memory. He uses his subconscious to help him run scenarios on how to achieve his goal. As he grows up, he channels his time and resources into becoming a fireman. He goes to school. He stays physically fit. He enrolls in the academy. He works on his training. He reaches his goal and then assigned to a fire station.
It may take years in order to accomplish such dream. But that is why people need to sleep - - - to recharge their physical body, but also organize their mind to meet their dreams. A cluttered or disrupted mind will not help a person achieve their goals; it may create the situation where nightmares begin to control their thoughts - - - making them a mental wreck.
The time travel and supernatural elements to the series may be only metaphors for a series of character developments as individuals try to take control of their own fantasies without applying their dreams in their waking lives. It is only when a person has the courage to take action on their inner feelings in their waking life can there be true change and new beginnings. Instead of "what could be" a person who awakes with road map to a goal, can achieve that goal - - - whether it be a career, a project completion, or even relationships.
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