(1/24/08 & 1/25/08) THE 'MAGIC BOX' ISLAND: FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO CAUSAL DYNAMICS FROM A TYPOLOGY OF 'MAGICAL' EFFECTS ON THE ISLAND Piece by piece, the show's producers are gradually revealing additional parts of the intriguingly addicting puzzle that is Lost. Quite naturally, each new piece produces feverish activity among us Lost aficionados as we fervently strive to leverage the latest disclosure as a fulcrum to deeper, foundational insight. Despite the richly varied insights afforded by the 'Casimir Effect' disclosure in the Orchid hatch film, a number of crucial pieces in the Lost puzzle remain hidden from our view, waiting until the proper fulcrums of insight emerge over the course of the next three seasons, ultimately enabling us to 'flip' the remaining pieces over and revel in an island- and earth-moving gestaltic 'aha'! As any student of puzzles will admit, in the conceptual rush to figure out how the latest piece fits into the overall puzzle, there is a tendency to over-emphasize and over-attribute the importance of this piece in seeing the deeper, broader pattern comprising the puzzle as a whole. So while we may rightly find ourselves getting caught up in the fervor of the latest clues-- including the "Casimir-Effect-mania" spurred by the release of the Orchid hatch film on 7/27/07-- perhaps it is time to step back and take stock of the different types of 'magical' effects observed on the island so far, and consider the conditions under which these effects have been observed, all in the service of moving toward a more systematic understanding of causal dynamics and effects operating on the 'magic box' Lost island.... TOWARD A TYPOLOGY OF 'MAGICAL' EFFECTS ON THE ISLAND- Types of Healing Effects: Perhaps the most prominent example of one type of healing effect observed on the island is the apparently 'miraculous' and seemingly instantaneous healing of John Locke's paralyzed legs, fittingly symbolized through alchemical-gold-toe-socked Locke wiggling his little piggies and taking the first baby steps in his new, fresh start as an island inhabitant, all accompanied by the shrieking wail of the Flight 815 jet engine. Notice, however, the conditions accompanying this form of healing: A quick, strong, cataclysmic event, namely the crash of Flight 815. Yes, the isomorphism of : (1) the conditions under which the event occurred, and (2) the nature of the healing, are indeed important. This example reveals and illustrates a STRONG form of island 'magic', associated with and produced by a strong, focused, and concentrated matter/energy event, namely the Swan hatch electromagnetic pulse (EMP). More on this later, but for now it is sufficient to note that not all forms of healing on the island are the same. Locke's legs illustrate a strong form of healing, associated with and produced by a strong matter/energy event. In addition to a strong form of healing associated with a pronounced focal event (EMP), we have also witnessed weak forms of healing associated not with a strong, focused, concentrated, discrete matter/energy event (in this case, an EM pulse), but instead with the more diffuse nature of the ambient matter/energy field (EMF) operating on the 'black rock' island. One notable example of 'weak form' or EMF healing is Locke's more gradual recovery involves his leg wound, later in Season One. Note that this was NOT a strong/EMP form of healing, but rather was a weak/EMF form of healing. And note that although this healing was not instantaneous, it was significantly faster than 'mainland' healing processes, due to the island's higher-than-mainland ambient EMF levels. From my first HEMA Theory article (2/8/07) onward, I have proposed a third condition under which effects such as healing arise on the island, namely 'hot' and 'cold' spots, characterized by stronger regions of positive/healing EM force ('hot', or EMH) and stronger regions of negative/weakening EM force ('cold', or EMC). A notable example of a 'hot' EMH spot with a stronger-than-ambient (yet less-than-pulse) energy field is Rose's 'beach spot' at which she spent hours in quiet meditation, bathed in the invisible, healing glow of a medium- or moderate-level electromagnetic field. In short, these EM 'hot' spots, or EMH are not as strong as an EMP, but are stronger than the more diffused/ambient EMF found on the island. In summary, it appears that we have witnessed three forms of healing on the island, to date: 1. STRONG (EMP) healing characterized by seemingly instantaneous healing, associated with a strong, focused matter/energy event (not an ambient field/EMF or 'hot' spot/EMH.) How interesting to see that strong healing may also arise in the absence of an EMP, when strong/fervent thought and emotion is sufficiently focused to produce a burst of MIND, as in the case of Jack bringing Charlie back to life in a relatively strong/focused/ instantaneous manner. The nontrivial implication of this for DHARMA and the rest of us is that it appears to be possible on the island to achieve quick/instantaneous beneficial healing effects not only through a strong matter/energy event like an EMP burst, but also through a strong MIND/matter/energy event like Jack bringing Charlie back to life. This goes to the heart of HEMA Theory, which focuses on the relationships among Heuristics (thought, emotion, MIND), Energy, and Material Applications (matter). 2. MODERATE (EMH) healing involving relatively quick recovery from cancer and other debilitations, through exposure in proximity with an EM 'hot' spot (EMH), comprised of higher than ambient levels of EM radiation (not an ambient field/EMF or a strong EM event/EMP.) Rose's meditation induced a positive MIND-state which, when combined with her sitting on an EM 'hot' spot, promoted a remission (cure?) of her cancer (HEMA, again... illustrating fundamentally entangled connections among mind, energy, and matter.) 3. WEAK (EMF) healing involves a more gradual recovery through exposure to the island's ambient EMF, which is noticeably higher than what we are exposed to on the mainland and, accordingly, enables faster-than-normal healing (compared with our mainland 'healing process benchmarks.') As we know from 'mainland' studies of Mind-Body effects in healing, traumatic injuries such as those sustained by Boone in the fall of the Nigerian drug-running plane, show there are real limits to these effects; at some point, the profound nature of the physical trauma/disruption is so great as to mitigate against successfully leveraging Mind-Body effects. Will we find, in some future episode, that a device exists on the island that can, indeed, leverage the EM to overcome traumatic injuries? And why did Ben's cancer appear and grow, when Rose's cancer has gone into remission and perhaps even has been 'cured'? Because the island's unique electromagnetic properties are NOT sufficient to explain the 'magical' effects we've observed on the island. Consider the fundamental differences in the nature, contents, and disposition of Ben's MIND versus Rose's MIND, and you can begin to see how the Mind-->Energy-->Body(Matter) connections fall into place. Ben is getting what he deserves and reverbs. The 'toxic' nature of Ben's Mind interacts with the EM to produce a cancer, while the 'healthy' nature of Rose's Mind interacts with the EM to produce a remission. Heuristics/Mind ----> Energy ----> Body/Matter/Material Applications (HEMA) **** Of course, what Locke and Rose already suspect is the non-trivial CATCH 22 of the island's healing effects, including anti-aging (Alpert): To sustain the healing effects that are imparted/granted to you by the island, you must remain on the island. No doubt this will play a significant role when Jack, Kate, etc. get off the island and begin to realize what they have given up by returning to the mainland. Maybe you really don't know what you got 'til it's gone.... At a minimum, it appears that the island's ambient EMF may be necessary to maintain any health benefits bestowed by the island. That's why Rose does not want to leave the island, and why Locke is such a 'natural' candidate for the leader of those who wish to stay on the island.... **** Anti-Aging Qua Healing- One particularly intriguing form of 'healing'/rejuvenation is the anti-aging effect observed in Richard Alpert (and quite possibly in Amelia, if she does in fact turn out to be Amelia Earhart). Since Ben and others on the island have aged, the anti-aging effect is likely NOT a result of Weak, ambient EMF, but instead is more likely to involve some combination of higher-level EMF/Casimer Effect, amplified through a device. Although we may discover that Desmond, and others who have experienced the 'direct hit' of being in the blast path of a pronounced EMP, experience slowed aging processes, I suspect that in a future episode we will see a device in operation at a particular 'hot' spot/EMH location on the island, a device that leverages and amplifies the EMH and unleashes beneficial Casimir Effect resonances which, in turn, produces the anti-aging effect. Whether the anti-aging effect involves a 'retuning' of the original person's waveform patterns, or the generation of a second, bilocated 'retuned' copy of the person, or yet another variation, remains to be seen. If, for instance, some ancient Lemurian and/or Atlantean device is operating on an island EMH to produce anti-aging effects for those who are exposed in close proximity to the device, this might explain Richard Alpert's youthful resilience and, intriguingly enough, might explain how Amelia really might be Amelia Earhart. Hmmm.... If the anti-aging effect does involve the production of a bilocated, retuned copy, perhaps it is the now-decrepit 'original' Amelia Earhart and her navigator who were found resting in peace in the cave....! (Please see my 1/21/08 "Casimir" piece in this regard, near the end of that posting.) Types of Weakening Effects: Season One also revealed that in addition to different forms of healing, the island can also produce effects that weaken or debilitate. One notable example of this effect is when Locke begins to lose the ability to walk, and loses the feeling in his legs, as he and Boone approach the area with the downed Nigerian plane. We later learn more interesting things about this site, and from the standpoint of matter/energy effects on people, this site may be a 'cold' spot (EMC), i.e,. a form of negative energy sink, in which the particular nature of the energy field is such that it can weaken or diminish our abilities. Another distinct possibility is that Locke's faith/belief in the island (Heuristics/Mind) interacted with the 'cold' spot to produce a downward, recursive, self-reinforcing spiral of diminishing faith and physical weakening, initiated in part through Locke's vivid dream. Notice how the cycle of weakening increases as his doubts escalate (Heuristics/Mind interacting with Energy and Matter). And notice how he regains power when the plane falls to the ground with Boone inside it, and he experiences increased/renewed strength of purpose (H-->E-->MA). Perhaps there are no 'cold' spots on the island, but rather the 'hot' spots (EMHs) may be leveraged to produce healing or weakening effects, depending in no small part on the nature of one's MIND (thoughts and/or emotions) as this intersects and entangles with the island's energy. And perhaps there are occasions in which sufficient a sufficiently high level of MIND-burst/pulse is capable of leveraging even ambient EMF to achieve 'magic,' as in the case of Jack's heartfelt, emotional CPR out-burst helping bring Charlie back from Ethan-playing-hangman, and Charlie's fervent, emotional out-burst proclaiming he is a "Rock God", unleashing an unfortunate but literal exclamation point. Materialized Mind (Thoughts & Emotions)- MIND-bursts such as Jack saving Charlie, and Charlie causing the 'Rock God' cave-in show how Mind can indeed Matter, when channeled through the island's EM. Additional examples of 'materialized mind' on the show include tangible, physical appearances by Kate's horse and Sayid's cat. (Hurley's 'Dave' is not quite so clear-cut, however!) Although some have speculated that the horse and the cat were 'materialized' directly from Kate's and Sayid's Mind, respectively, another possibility is that these animals were 'quantumly teleported' or bilocated, physically, to the island, and that the animals still exist on the mainland, as well. And we certainly could do worse for a segue to.... Types of SPATIAL Bilocation Effects- In my 5/17/07 article "Lost Doppelganger", I identified and defined several forms of bilocation which may be operating on the island. Here I wish to build on that piece by broadening the discussion to consider the different forms of bilocation we have observed on the island to date, with particular emphasis on the conditions surrounding the expression or manifestation of these diverse forms of bilocation. 1. SPATIAL BILOCATION- MENTAL FORM involves the appearance of a Mind in more than one place, at the same time. In addition to physical bilocation, we have seen evidence that mental bilocation is possible on the island. Even on the mainland we observe this in the case of psychics who are able to connect to other persons and/or places at the present time, i.e., IN time (more on the past and future, below.) This shows how it is possible for Rose, and other psychics, to somehow 'know' things that are happening at a distance, in the present, IN time. In Rose's case, this effect enables her to know that Bernard is alive and ok, even when he is some distance away (non-local). Of course, a more famous and intriguing form of mental bilocation is REMOTE VIEWING, a phenomenon explicitly implicated by the map on the Swan hatch blast door. Please see my 3/12/07 piece "Soviet/DHARMA Psi Wars" regarding historical events lending insight into how mental bilocation qua Remote Viewing may show up in future episodes. 2. SPATIAL BILOCATION- PHYSICAL FORM involves the physical/material appearance of an organism or object in more than one place, at the same time. One notable example of this is when Walt appeared to Sayid and Shannon, in the jungle during a downpour of rain. Is it possible to appear in two places at once, on the island? It seems this is the case, after all. Unfortunately, we are not yet privy to the specifics regarding the conditions under which the 'original' Walt was able to project/bilocate an apparently tangible/material 'copy' of himself, across space, in time. In other words, this is an example of physical bilocation, i.e., spatial travel of a material form, IN time, not time travel. Please see my 2/20/07 piece on "Quantum Connections" for more information on how this effect may indeed be possible/plausible, especially through a demonstrated, proven effect known as Quantum Teleportation, involving non-local effects across SPACE, in TIME (instantaneously). This gets even more interesting when we add the Casimir Effect to the equation, which may open a window of insight into how quantumly teleported patterns may be able to become materialized/manifest/instantiated at another place, at the same time, through leveraging the Casimir Effect's weird yet relevant abilities to apparently enable something to arise from 'nothing.' (Please see my 1/21/08 "Casimir" posting.) EMF-enabled quantum teleportation + Casimir Effect may indeed = Physical Bilocation! **** Physical Bilocation of the Spatial variety is one possible explanation for how two #15 bunnies were able to coexist in near (but different) space, at the same time. **** Types of TEMPORAL Bilocation Effects- Bilocation as a concept is interesting enough when limited to its spatial forms, involving a physical presence in two places, at once, or even a mental presence in two places, at once, i.e., IN time. But things get even more interesting when we consider bilocation effects in the temporal realm. 1. TEMPORAL BILOCATION- MENTAL FORM involves the projection of a Mind to another time, either forward or backward in time. The distinguishing feature here is that the Mind is present in two different times. Perhaps the simplest case is a psychic whose Mind is operating in the present, but is able to project or extend their Mind through time, forward or backward. Whenever a psychic is Mindful in the present while, at the same time is Mindful in the past or in the future, a state of Temporal Bilocation- Mental Form is said to exist. For example, the shop-keeper wearing the ouroborous pendant, upon meeting and interacting with Desmond. (Please see my 2/7/07 "Desmond/HEMA (Flashes" piece, and my 3/16/07 "HEMA Science" piece, in these regards....) Although psychics on the mainland can achieve this form of temporal bilocation without the benefit of the island's enhanced EM, it will be interesting to see more of how Walt and other psychics on the island can leverage their psychic abilities and the island's unique electromagnetic properties, to produce effects not possible on the mainland. One intriguing proposal I'd like to make is that there may be something in the physical/material being of psychics that enables them to connect their Minds to the surrounding energy fields, opening their Minds to seeing things at a distance in time, and things across time, forward and backward. Is there a piece of their brain that is magnetized in particular ways, enabling them to pick up on energy field patterns hidden to us 'regular' folks, analogous in some ways to the way that birds are able to detect and use magnetic fields to navigate? And isn't it interesting to consider how the mere presence on the 'black rock' island may, over time, imbue us 'regular' folks with psychic abilities while, at the same time, taking pre-existing psychics, like Walt, to even greater heights of mental and material achievements? And in addition to the possible effects of low-level ambient EMF or moderate-level 'hot' spot EMH on psychic ability, what about the potentially huge impacts of a strong, concentrated EMP blast on psychic abilities? Hmmm.... Sounds a lot like what happened to Desmond (more on this, below.) 2. TEMPORAL BILOCATION- PHYSICAL FORM involves the projection of a physical organism or object to another time, either forward or backward in time. **** Physical Bilocation of the Temporal variety is a second plausible hypothesis for explaining how two #15 rabbits might coexist in near spatial proximity, at the same time. **** It is important to note that this is Temporal Bilocation, involving the projection of a 'copy' or duplicate of an organism or object, forward or backward across time, and NOT time travel in the most commonly construed form, when the 'original' organism or object is sent through time, NOT a bilocated copy (as in the case of Temporal Bilocation.) In the case of time travel, there are no copies, as it is simply you (or some other organism or object) sent forward or backward in time; in time travel, you disappear in front of observers as you are moved forward or backward in time. In Temporal Bilocation, you still are there in front of observers, and a 'quantum copy' of yourself is teleported (i.e., is 'temporally bilocated') forward or backward across time, leveraging the Casimir Effect as a means of 'materializing something out of nothing' (see Wikipedia and other sources for more on this matter.) In summary, the Casimir Effect could be applied in two distinct ways, to yield the same result (two #15 rabbits): A. Physical Temporal Bilocation= Dr. Halowax is holding a #15 rabbit that served as the 'original' which was 'copied' through quantum teleportation combined with the Casimir Effect, with the 'copy' #15 rabbit sent through time and appearing on the shelf behind Dr. Halowax. B. Time Travel (standard version, sans bilocation)= Dr. Halowax is holding a #15 rabbit that exists in our present time, and the second #15 rabbit on the shelf is a 'guest' from the past or from the future. (Think Marty McFly, in 'Back To The Future', traveling back to the time when Doc was 'apparently' killed by the terrorist, who gave Doc the plutonium.) In this form of moving through time, NO 'quantum copy' is made, and no bilocation is involved, as the Casimir Effect merely serves a second, different function through containing a wormhole that allows the original organism or object to travel through time, without the necessity of creating/teleporting a 'copy'. Regardless of the means employed by DHARMA-- Physical Temporal Bilocation or Time Travel-- the effect appears to require high levels of energy. Unlike sending a Mind across time (Mental Temporal Bilocation), sending a physical/material organism or object across time (Physical Temporal Bilocation) requires more than accessing and leveraging ambient EMF. I would not be surprised to learn that DHARMA invested a lot of time, effort, and resources into equipping the Orchid hatch with devices to significantly amplify the area's EMF; indeed, they likely helped their own cause by intentionally locating the hatch on a known EMH/'hot' spot. Moreover, I would not be surprised to learn that prior expeditions to the island, perhaps even those conducted by ancient civilizations (Lemurians, Atlanteans, Egyptians, etc.), involved the transporting, installation, and deployment of various devices and technologies aimed at expoiting the island's unique electromagnetic properties. Per my 6/11/07 piece "Lost Predictions", we may indeed witness the use of 'Deep Flashbacks' as a means of showing the arrival and activities of different expeditionary forces, on the island, throughout the ages.... Types of Relocation- 1. Thus we can see that Time Travel is not the same as Physical Temporal Bilocation but instead is a form of TEMPORAL RELOCATION, involving the removal, transport, and relocation of an organism or object, forward or backward across time. 2. SPATIAL RELOCATION is simply the relatively instantaneous movement, transport, and relocation of an organism or object, across space, in time. (The transporter on the starship Enterprise is an example of technology enabling Spatial Dislocation.) **** Note that this is NOT the same as the quantum teleportation phenomenon involved in Spatial Bilocation, which produces a copy of the original pattern, at a distance, through leveraging non-local quantum dynamics. So unlike the transporter in Star Trek, in Spatial Bilocation, two copies of the organism or object exist in and across time. **** Spatiotemporal Dislocation- Fans of the 'Babylon 5' television series will fondly recall the classic two-part "War Without End" episodes, especially the endearing character of Zathras. One of the more intriguing time travel themes explored in those episodes was the notion of becoming "Unstuck in Time". Crew members aboard the White Star had to wear a device on their belts/garments to provide them with a temporal 'anchor' of sorts, as they traveled through time. At one point, the device on John Sheridan's (Bruce Boxleitner's) belt is hit with an energy wave, rendering it useless. As a result, Sheridan becomes "unstuck in time". This has some eerie parallels to what Desmond has been experiencing, as he flashes forward and backward through time. My proposal is that the Swan hatch blast altered his brain in such a way that he is able to psychically/mentally experience the past and the future. Unlike our 'mainland' psychics, however, Desmond was imbued with such power that he experiences involuntary episodes ('flashes') of Mind, forward and backward in time. Desmond periodically becomes 'unstuck in time', i.e., he becomes Spatiotemporally Dislocated. Disembodied Sentience- Whispering 'voices in the wilderness' qua jungle, confounding Sayid, Shannon, Sawyer, etc.... Fleeting glimpses of 'cabin-fever' Jacob.... What may be going on, with these effects? And what implications might these effects raise, for answering the deeper question on our minds: What is the island? 1. DISEMBODIED VOICES. One possible explanation for this effect is that DHARMA and others (the CIA?), through their exploration of Remote Viewing (Spatial Mental Bilocation), stumbled upon a means of not only enabling people to SEE what is happening at a distance, but also to HEAR what is happening at a distance. What Sayid, Shannon, Sawyer, etc. heard may simply be a psychic echo of sorts, of ongoing activity at the Remote Viewing station. More specifically, the answer may simply be that the inhabitants are still being watched by persons located at the Remote Viewing station, and by channeling these viewer's natural psychic abilities through the island's EMF, DHARMA found it could achieve Remote Viewing AND Remote Listening. In short, what Sayid and others may be hearing is simply a psychic echo of the conversation among Remote Viewers who are watching and listening to Sayid (etc.), a periodic and unintended side-effect of the Remote Viewing experience as channeled through the EMF. Other explanations have been offered, of course, including observers of the island inhabitants who exist on a different/higher dimensional plane (pun, or not?) And last spring I even proposed that the island is a science project being conducted by some other-dimensional youth, for credit in their equivalent of a school.... (shades of the Twilight Zone!) The Casimer Effect disclosure last July fueled speculation that the effect might have been used by DHARMA to contain a wormhole, enabling time travel and perhaps even opening a portal to higher dimensions of reality, intersecting with the island's space-time region. 2. JACOB. While the disembodied voices may turn out to have an explanation not rooted in higher-dimensional reality, the phenomenon of Jacob remains an intriguing proposition for the dimensionally-inclined. Whatever the true nature and genesis of Jacob's existence turns out to be, I would be very surprised if it did not involve some combination of EMP/'hot' spot EMF/Casimir Effect, amplified by a device brought to the island by DHARMA or some prior expedition. Is there a 'Krell-like' ancient tech device still operating on the island, perhaps invented and installed by Lemurians or Atlanteans, powered by the island's EMF, still functioning to translate thoughts and emotions into tangible, material reality? If so, is Jacob merely an epiphenomenal entity projected from the consciousness of Ben, and now Locke, projected to a higher plane of dimensional existence? Or is Jacob a manifestation of the island's sentience? Is the island alive, itself? Is the mining operation the equivalent of surgery, cutting out parts of the island's 'brain'? Are the DHARMA hatches and installations the functional equivalant of 'brain implants'? Is the island alive and sentient, conscious of its inhabitants, reflecting its thoughts back to the inhabitants through whispering voices in the jungle, and communicating to the inhabitants through the oracular guise of Jacob? (See my 5/3/07 "DHARMA & GAIA" piece and my 5/10/07 "Ben Sybil GAIA" piece, in these regards....) Smokey and the Snap, Crackle, Popping Trees- PSSSST!.... Hey buddy, wanna buy a non-renewable security system, for cheap? I've always wondered what was going through the minds of those who came up with that scary tree-popping 'security system'; what happens once all of the trees are popped from those 'Jeffrey tubes'? One interpretation is that the security system is a human construction added to the island (shades of 'Rover' in 'The Prisoner'!) A more 'naturalistic' interpretation is harder to conceive and defend, given the apparently artificial nature, structure, and function of the system. That is, unless one admits the possibility that the island itself is a sentient entity, the Mind of GAIA, mother earth qua Lost island, and the security system is an approach this 'black rock' Mind/Brain/GAIA developed in response to recurrent 'viral infections' in the form of Homo sapiens. Hmmmm.... Smokey has been known to travel through the security 'tunnels'.... Guilt by association?! What we have been shown of Smokey to date carries the strong inference that one's experience with Smokey-- what one sees, feels, thinks, etc.-- varies as a function of the person and their Mind, when encountering Smokey. Although the precise physical/energetic nature of Smokey remains open to speculation, the HEMAtic function of Smokey in mirroring and directing the encountered person/Mind hits at a larger, hidden sentience at work on the island. Is the meta-sentience comprised of the heretofore disembodied souls of those who have perished on the island, souls whose existence on higher dimensional planes (Flight now boarding) is enabled and sustained by the island's unique electromagnetic properties? Is the meta-sentience simply an epiphenomenal product of the 'black rock' island's material/energetic profile? Is the meta-sentience the true manifestation of the earth mother's Mind, i.e., the precise location of GAIA's Brain? Or is it some combination of the above? TOWARD A TYPOLOGY OF CAUSES: WHAT IS THE ISLAND? 1. MATERIALISM: It's just a big black rock. Pure, unadulterated materialism. The island is simply a unique geomagnetic anomaly on the planet, comprised of distinct, concentrated masses of magnetite. Some parts of the island have higher concentrations of magnetite, and variations in these concentrations and the resulting EMF waveforms interact to produce strange effects-- physical and perceptual-- depending on where you are standing on the island. The whispering voices are simply reverberations of conversations among living, corporeal beings, resonating like a lost television broadcast of 'I Love Lucy', still traveling through space-time.... And occasionally, through naturally occurring dynamics on the island, a wormhole is opened.... 2. MATERIALISM & TECHNOLOGY: Materialism combined with devices brought to the island by human expeditionary forces, throughout history, from prehistory to present, including Lemurians (the true island natives?), Atlanteans (traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific via energy grid-enabled teleporation?), Egyptians, etc. We may indeed be shown these prior visits, witnessing the installation of devices ranging from ancient to modern tech, in a new structural format on the show, which I'm calling DEEP FLASHBACKS, per my 6/11/07 "Lost Predictions" posting. From the 'Materialism & Technology' view, in order to understand the island as a causal force, we must consider that it is a combination of: (1) material properties (black rock magnetite) producing weird yet powerful EM, which (2) subsequently have been amplified by and channeled through a range of different devices/technologies, spanning the Atlanteans to the DHARMAns. So now, through devices installed on the island, the wormholes can be contained (via the Casimir Effect). Shame on Dez for missing a countdown in the wormhole containment cycle! 3. MATERIALISM, TECHNOLOGY & MINKOWSKIAN MAGIC BOX: Materialism combined with technology... unleashed.... 'The Incident'.... creating a 'Minkowskian Magic Box.' The great leveler... now anyone, even a non-psychic, can experience a myriad of 'magical' effects, from various forms of spatial bilocation to time travel, from hearing disembodied voices to catching glimpses of that good 'ol interdimensionally-challenged pal of ours... Jacob! 4. MATERIALISM, TECHNOLOGY, MINKOWSKIAN MAGIC BOX & GAIA's BRAIN: All of the above, with the added bonus of an even more-inclusive explanatory framework. According to this view, the island is all of this and more, as in the broader historical scheme of things, it is the brain of GAIA, the Mind of Earth which has, throughout the ages, attracted: (1) expeditionary forces intentionally traveling to the island to explore its powers and examine how these powers might be leveraged through installing and operating a range of different devices, from ancient Lemurian tech to more modern DHARMAn tech; and (2) accidental 'tourists' like Amelia Earhart and our cherished Flight 815 passengers. Why has the island GAIA brain attracted us to it? To help stimulate our intellectual development as a species, to channel our inventive faculties toward ends that help insure the survival of the species and the planet, helping stave off the end of the Earth/GAIA Mind as predicted in the Valenzetti Equation. We are being used by GAIA's brain (the island) to help insure we do not destroy ourselves but, more importantly, so that we do not destroy the Earth/GAIA. 5. THE ISLAND IS A SCHOOL SCIENCE PROJECT CONDUCTED BY A HIGHER-DIMENSIONAL YOUTH: No, say it isn't so! I know I'm not alone in hoping that the series denouement does not evenly remotely echo the type of ending used in the 'St. Elsewhere' series. Although this interpretation of the island does have a strange 'Twilight Zone' attraction to it, I suspect the show's producers do not want to go out on that kind of note! So far, I like option #4 above, but we'll see where they take us in future episodes! |