My Lost "Heart Of Gold" Theory
The Short version. Well, mid sized version...
Lost “Heart of Gold” Theory
Ok, so this is my theory…
The Island is a “special place” like a few others around the globe (Aires Rock in Australia, for example). Certain geological phenomena at these locations give off energy that can aid (and possibly hinder) life around them. This could have been caused by ancient volcanic activity bring rare or unusual concentrations of metals to the surface or perhaps by something like a meteorite landing at the location ages ago bringing unusual metals/radiation to the sites. Whatever the cause, these places are special, but what makes the Island extra special is the fact that it is a remote island in the South Pacific, cut-off from prying eyes and easy access.
What also makes the Island special is that this “radiation” also creates a “barrier” around the Island, which I call the “Event Horizon”. This Event Horizon is an area where the unusual energy from the Island finally weakens to a level where it “meets its match” with the standard energy of the Earth. This creates a non-solid “barrier” where the clashing of electromagnetic energies in the Earth’s atmosphere cause’s constant storms and cloud coverage (much like when Hot and Cold air fronts meet), effectively shielding the island from eyesight and even satellite viewing. This effect is much less server underwater where the clashing of energy can cause turbulence, but not the crazy weather effects seen in the atmosphere.
This energy which has been shown to cure people (Locke & Rose) and aid in their recovery from injuries (Almost everyone on the show at some point) actually works by altering the laws of physics on a small scale inside its area of effect (inside the barrier). This breakdown of the laws of physics happens at the quantum level, much like what happens when matter reaches almost absolute zero temperature or in very high gravity fields or at extreme temperatures. It is this breakdown of the laws of physics that eventually became the main interest and leading area of research for the Dharma project.
The Island had been a Hanso family secret for many generations, ever since the Black Rock shipwrecked on the island back in the late 1870’s. When Alvar Hanso decided to try and help the world by altering the Vallicenti equation he started the Dharma Initiative and gave them the Island to use for conducting their dangerous and quasi-legal research. The island was perfect for this because it was hidden from easy discovery and some of the unusual aspects of it were already known to Hanso which could only assist in Dhrama’s attempt to alter the equation.
This brings us to the heart of my theory… The Equation.
You all know the numbers and the equation, I won’t bother going into details of that. Simply said the numbers are an equation that that predicts the end of humanity with 100% certainty. It is a fate we can not escape unless we somehow manage to alter the equation and get different numbers. But this has so far proven impossible because “the universe has a way of course correcting” that means whatever changes you try and make the universe corrects for and the event happens anyways so the numbers always remain the same.
But Dharma had the island and its special “energy” that altered the laws of physics allowing them the chance to try and alter the equation. So they began studying and messing with quantum physics, Chaos Theory and Probability manipulation. It was this research that led to amazing breakthroughs and a string of unlikely (improbable) events. Probability equations have to work out somehow, so if you make something incredibly improbable happen, then other coincidental stuff has to happen to balance everything out. The universe has to “course correct”. If Desmond saves Charlie’s life (say from Drowning), then something improbable has to happen to balance the sheets (a lighting strike kills him.) the more times “reality is altered” for lack of a better description, the more improbable events have to happen to balance things out.
I call this my “Heart of Gold” Theory or my “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Theory” because this is what happens when the spaceship in the novel (The Heart of Gold) is used. Here are some quotes from the book:
“The Heart of Gold was the prototype ship for infinitely improbable travel. The principle is that as its drive reaches infinite improbability, the ship passes simultaneously through every conceivable and non-conceivable point in every conceivable and non-conceivable universe (in other words, when one activates the Infinite Improbability Drive, the ship is literally everywhere at once). It is then possible to decide at which point you actually want to be when improbability levels decrease.”
“Unfortunately, human beings are accustomed to travelling at normality (probability 1:1), and can be fairly distressed by events around them whilst the improbability drive is working: losing limbs, turning into sofas, planets spontaneously becoming fruitcakes, nuclear missiles metamorphosing into sperm whales and bowls of petunias. The starship Heart of Gold was somewhat insulated against this by having an improbability-proof drive room, allowing the pilots to remain more or less normal during the flight.”
"That's one big whack of Improbability to be accounted for. Something pretty improbable has got to show up on the balance sheet if it's all going to add up into a pretty sum."
And this major passage:
“Its crew… were ill at ease knowing that they had been brought together not of their own volition or by simple coincidence, but by some curious principle of physics — as if relationships between people were susceptible to the same laws that governed the relationships between atoms and molecules.”
This is a great explanation of how everyone of the Losties is tied together before the plane crash. It is all probability mechanics and the universe balancing itself out after repeated attempts to alter it.
These types attempts for the universe to balance things out can be the explanation for such things as picture frames changing, eye color changing, people surviving plane crashes when they shouldn’t, etc… Almost everything unusual we have seen on the show could be explained away, using the probability theory shown in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Other tie-ins with the book: The number 42. In the book the number 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. On Lost is one of the numbers that shows the fate of the Life on Earth. And it acts in much the same way in the book (as an unchanging constant as it does in the series.
Also at one pointing the book series a character is told:
“[You] cannot escape his destiny now the improbability field "controls you"”
This is pretty much exactly what the old Lady tells Desmond when he flashes back.
So I think what’s going on is that Dharma was attempting to alter the laws of probability on the island and ended up messing up the universe so much that lots of very improbable stuff has to happen to balance everything out.
This also answers stuff like Ben’s metaphorical “box” where anything can be found. It’s just a way of altering probability to have it happen, and then paying the price after when other weird stuffs happens to balance things out.
Ben get’s a tumor, 2 days later a super surgeon crashes on the island (Survives a crash onto the island).
Anyways, that the short version of my theory.
The Short version. Well, mid sized version...
Lost “Heart of Gold” Theory
Ok, so this is my theory…
The Island is a “special place” like a few others around the globe (Aires Rock in Australia, for example). Certain geological phenomena at these locations give off energy that can aid (and possibly hinder) life around them. This could have been caused by ancient volcanic activity bring rare or unusual concentrations of metals to the surface or perhaps by something like a meteorite landing at the location ages ago bringing unusual metals/radiation to the sites. Whatever the cause, these places are special, but what makes the Island extra special is the fact that it is a remote island in the South Pacific, cut-off from prying eyes and easy access.
What also makes the Island special is that this “radiation” also creates a “barrier” around the Island, which I call the “Event Horizon”. This Event Horizon is an area where the unusual energy from the Island finally weakens to a level where it “meets its match” with the standard energy of the Earth. This creates a non-solid “barrier” where the clashing of electromagnetic energies in the Earth’s atmosphere cause’s constant storms and cloud coverage (much like when Hot and Cold air fronts meet), effectively shielding the island from eyesight and even satellite viewing. This effect is much less server underwater where the clashing of energy can cause turbulence, but not the crazy weather effects seen in the atmosphere.
This energy which has been shown to cure people (Locke & Rose) and aid in their recovery from injuries (Almost everyone on the show at some point) actually works by altering the laws of physics on a small scale inside its area of effect (inside the barrier). This breakdown of the laws of physics happens at the quantum level, much like what happens when matter reaches almost absolute zero temperature or in very high gravity fields or at extreme temperatures. It is this breakdown of the laws of physics that eventually became the main interest and leading area of research for the Dharma project.
The Island had been a Hanso family secret for many generations, ever since the Black Rock shipwrecked on the island back in the late 1870’s. When Alvar Hanso decided to try and help the world by altering the Vallicenti equation he started the Dharma Initiative and gave them the Island to use for conducting their dangerous and quasi-legal research. The island was perfect for this because it was hidden from easy discovery and some of the unusual aspects of it were already known to Hanso which could only assist in Dhrama’s attempt to alter the equation.
This brings us to the heart of my theory… The Equation.
You all know the numbers and the equation, I won’t bother going into details of that. Simply said the numbers are an equation that that predicts the end of humanity with 100% certainty. It is a fate we can not escape unless we somehow manage to alter the equation and get different numbers. But this has so far proven impossible because “the universe has a way of course correcting” that means whatever changes you try and make the universe corrects for and the event happens anyways so the numbers always remain the same.
But Dharma had the island and its special “energy” that altered the laws of physics allowing them the chance to try and alter the equation. So they began studying and messing with quantum physics, Chaos Theory and Probability manipulation. It was this research that led to amazing breakthroughs and a string of unlikely (improbable) events. Probability equations have to work out somehow, so if you make something incredibly improbable happen, then other coincidental stuff has to happen to balance everything out. The universe has to “course correct”. If Desmond saves Charlie’s life (say from Drowning), then something improbable has to happen to balance the sheets (a lighting strike kills him.) the more times “reality is altered” for lack of a better description, the more improbable events have to happen to balance things out.
I call this my “Heart of Gold” Theory or my “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Theory” because this is what happens when the spaceship in the novel (The Heart of Gold) is used. Here are some quotes from the book:
“The Heart of Gold was the prototype ship for infinitely improbable travel. The principle is that as its drive reaches infinite improbability, the ship passes simultaneously through every conceivable and non-conceivable point in every conceivable and non-conceivable universe (in other words, when one activates the Infinite Improbability Drive, the ship is literally everywhere at once). It is then possible to decide at which point you actually want to be when improbability levels decrease.”
“Unfortunately, human beings are accustomed to travelling at normality (probability 1:1), and can be fairly distressed by events around them whilst the improbability drive is working: losing limbs, turning into sofas, planets spontaneously becoming fruitcakes, nuclear missiles metamorphosing into sperm whales and bowls of petunias. The starship Heart of Gold was somewhat insulated against this by having an improbability-proof drive room, allowing the pilots to remain more or less normal during the flight.”
"That's one big whack of Improbability to be accounted for. Something pretty improbable has got to show up on the balance sheet if it's all going to add up into a pretty sum."
And this major passage:
“Its crew… were ill at ease knowing that they had been brought together not of their own volition or by simple coincidence, but by some curious principle of physics — as if relationships between people were susceptible to the same laws that governed the relationships between atoms and molecules.”
This is a great explanation of how everyone of the Losties is tied together before the plane crash. It is all probability mechanics and the universe balancing itself out after repeated attempts to alter it.
These types attempts for the universe to balance things out can be the explanation for such things as picture frames changing, eye color changing, people surviving plane crashes when they shouldn’t, etc… Almost everything unusual we have seen on the show could be explained away, using the probability theory shown in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Other tie-ins with the book: The number 42. In the book the number 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. On Lost is one of the numbers that shows the fate of the Life on Earth. And it acts in much the same way in the book (as an unchanging constant as it does in the series.
Also at one pointing the book series a character is told:
“[You] cannot escape his destiny now the improbability field "controls you"”
This is pretty much exactly what the old Lady tells Desmond when he flashes back.
So I think what’s going on is that Dharma was attempting to alter the laws of probability on the island and ended up messing up the universe so much that lots of very improbable stuff has to happen to balance everything out.
This also answers stuff like Ben’s metaphorical “box” where anything can be found. It’s just a way of altering probability to have it happen, and then paying the price after when other weird stuffs happens to balance things out.
Ben get’s a tumor, 2 days later a super surgeon crashes on the island (Survives a crash onto the island).
Anyways, that the short version of my theory.
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Seriously, I like this. It avoids the use of alternate timelines completely. The show's creative forces have said no alt timelines were hurt in the making of Lost so Mallet's theory bears further scrutiny.
