The compass (Season 5 and I guess entire show spoilers)
This post contains HEAVY spoilers for season 5 and even its ending, and I guess even the entire show.
You can skip the first 2 paragraphs if you don't need a re-analysis of this show's version of time travel.
The one thing Lost tells us is that whatever happened, happened. And that every bit of time travel in the past, future, and whenever has always happened and will always happen. And up until today I always thought that there were no logical gaps in this model of timetravel (relativity and thermodynamics aside). There's 1 timeline you jump back and forth in. This theoretically gets rid of true free will, as the future has to be set in stone for past time travel to work, but that's for another time. Overall, this interpretation of time travel always made the most sense to me.
There is however one thing I'm now starting to wonder about. We know that bootstrap paradoxes are part of this equation. If someone from 2000 travels back to 1970, then that has always happened already, meaning that if you were there in 1970, you'd see the person from 2000 arrive, even though they theoretically never did it yet. There's no true beginning or end to time travel, and also not time as a whole. It's all pre-written in a sense. Again this has made sense to me always.
HOWEVER I have noticed one paradox in this that I can't explain away. The idea of the compass, or any other item for that matter that is trapped in a loop.
In ~1950, Richard receives a compass from John Locke who just came from the future, and is told to give it to Locke next time he sees him. This ends up happening, and Richard gives it to John Locke in 2007, who then travels back to 1950 to give it to Richard again, which completes the loop. The compass is forever stuck in this 57 year time traveling loop, it was never created, it will never end, and it will always exist in this 57 year period of time getting handed back and forth between Richard and John Locke. I thought this made sense until I thought about deteriatioon.
Wouldn't the compass need to deteriate over time? If Richard is to put as much as a singular scratch on it during the 57 years, or even a smudge, it would then not be the same compass anymore that goes back in time to be given to him again, since for that to work it would always had to have had those smudges/scratches. For this loop to work, we have to assume the compass doesn't change a singular bit, otherwise it wouldn't make sense anymore. But then again, outside of human interference, wouldn't it start to simply decompose after enough loops? Since the loop happens an infinite amount of times in theory, after as much as 10 loops a total of 570 years would have gone by, more than enough for it to fall apart, for the sun to bleach even the last bit of color on it. But this doesn't happen.
The only possible explanation I can offer is that the island "heals" the compass in some way, keeps it in tact, just to avoid this paradox happening, but really I'm not all that sure.
Another more fun theory could be that Richard lost the compass sometime between, but quickly replaced it because he wanted to have it when he meets Locke again. This would makes things a lot easier lol
Perhaps there's something I'm missing. If someone has another theory, please let me know!
https://redd.it/1mrsvm8
@lostbackup
This post contains HEAVY spoilers for season 5 and even its ending, and I guess even the entire show.
You can skip the first 2 paragraphs if you don't need a re-analysis of this show's version of time travel.
The one thing Lost tells us is that whatever happened, happened. And that every bit of time travel in the past, future, and whenever has always happened and will always happen. And up until today I always thought that there were no logical gaps in this model of timetravel (relativity and thermodynamics aside). There's 1 timeline you jump back and forth in. This theoretically gets rid of true free will, as the future has to be set in stone for past time travel to work, but that's for another time. Overall, this interpretation of time travel always made the most sense to me.
There is however one thing I'm now starting to wonder about. We know that bootstrap paradoxes are part of this equation. If someone from 2000 travels back to 1970, then that has always happened already, meaning that if you were there in 1970, you'd see the person from 2000 arrive, even though they theoretically never did it yet. There's no true beginning or end to time travel, and also not time as a whole. It's all pre-written in a sense. Again this has made sense to me always.
HOWEVER I have noticed one paradox in this that I can't explain away. The idea of the compass, or any other item for that matter that is trapped in a loop.
In ~1950, Richard receives a compass from John Locke who just came from the future, and is told to give it to Locke next time he sees him. This ends up happening, and Richard gives it to John Locke in 2007, who then travels back to 1950 to give it to Richard again, which completes the loop. The compass is forever stuck in this 57 year time traveling loop, it was never created, it will never end, and it will always exist in this 57 year period of time getting handed back and forth between Richard and John Locke. I thought this made sense until I thought about deteriatioon.
Wouldn't the compass need to deteriate over time? If Richard is to put as much as a singular scratch on it during the 57 years, or even a smudge, it would then not be the same compass anymore that goes back in time to be given to him again, since for that to work it would always had to have had those smudges/scratches. For this loop to work, we have to assume the compass doesn't change a singular bit, otherwise it wouldn't make sense anymore. But then again, outside of human interference, wouldn't it start to simply decompose after enough loops? Since the loop happens an infinite amount of times in theory, after as much as 10 loops a total of 570 years would have gone by, more than enough for it to fall apart, for the sun to bleach even the last bit of color on it. But this doesn't happen.
The only possible explanation I can offer is that the island "heals" the compass in some way, keeps it in tact, just to avoid this paradox happening, but really I'm not all that sure.
Another more fun theory could be that Richard lost the compass sometime between, but quickly replaced it because he wanted to have it when he meets Locke again. This would makes things a lot easier lol
Perhaps there's something I'm missing. If someone has another theory, please let me know!
https://redd.it/1mrsvm8
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community
Just finished the show.
Something that made me laugh a lot-people getting blown up by the dynamite randomly.
Something I hated-the whiny way Kate would say “we have to go back” she also said it so often😂
A question I’m left with. If Jacob and Richard didn’t age but could die how did they never die from like a fall or an infected cut etc. I mean how are that lucky for that long
https://redd.it/1mrsncc
@lostbackup
Something that made me laugh a lot-people getting blown up by the dynamite randomly.
Something I hated-the whiny way Kate would say “we have to go back” she also said it so often😂
A question I’m left with. If Jacob and Richard didn’t age but could die how did they never die from like a fall or an infected cut etc. I mean how are that lucky for that long
https://redd.it/1mrsncc
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community
Heard Lost left Netflix. Guess I'll have to watch it the old fashioned way
https://redd.it/1ms2a9t
@lostbackup
https://redd.it/1ms2a9t
@lostbackup
What did you think the monster was going to be back when it was only mechanical sounds and trampling trees?
I was imagining some kind of cool “Wild Wild West” giant mechanical spider.
https://redd.it/1ms9rsv
@lostbackup
I was imagining some kind of cool “Wild Wild West” giant mechanical spider.
https://redd.it/1ms9rsv
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community
Why did the crew quote Captain Gault with fear in The Constant??
One thing I never understood was why most of the freighter's crew mentioned Captain Gault as someone to be feared. We expect him to be a character who has total control of the situation and is a scary psychopath, but he appears and is just a normal guy, even though he didn't make any extreme decisions at some point in the scenes in which he appears.
This makes me think that maybe the writers had something more for him, but they ended up changing the story because of the writers' strike, which even changed a lot of the story of the 4th season. But if, in the end, this was just to deflect the danger that Keamy presented, I would say that it was not a very wise decision.
https://redd.it/1ms5ifo
@lostbackup
One thing I never understood was why most of the freighter's crew mentioned Captain Gault as someone to be feared. We expect him to be a character who has total control of the situation and is a scary psychopath, but he appears and is just a normal guy, even though he didn't make any extreme decisions at some point in the scenes in which he appears.
This makes me think that maybe the writers had something more for him, but they ended up changing the story because of the writers' strike, which even changed a lot of the story of the 4th season. But if, in the end, this was just to deflect the danger that Keamy presented, I would say that it was not a very wise decision.
https://redd.it/1ms5ifo
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community
Apocalypse Now
Does anyone else notice a lot of Apocalypse Now imagery in Season 6 with the temple? I suppose there’s references all around the show, but mainly just the aesthetic and feel of the temple and the colour styling and stuff. Also Lennon feels like a bit of a knock-off of Dennis Hopper’s character. And Locke/MiB (and the real Locke) is very Kurtz. I’m sure there’s deeper analyses to be made but as Apocalypse Now is one of my favourite movies I think it’s cool that the show clearly nodded some nods to it
https://redd.it/1msd122
@lostbackup
Does anyone else notice a lot of Apocalypse Now imagery in Season 6 with the temple? I suppose there’s references all around the show, but mainly just the aesthetic and feel of the temple and the colour styling and stuff. Also Lennon feels like a bit of a knock-off of Dennis Hopper’s character. And Locke/MiB (and the real Locke) is very Kurtz. I’m sure there’s deeper analyses to be made but as Apocalypse Now is one of my favourite movies I think it’s cool that the show clearly nodded some nods to it
https://redd.it/1msd122
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community
Every time I hear someone say ‘brother’ I go straight back into this series. Desmond defo my fav character he’s stuck with me
https://redd.it/1mseuob
@lostbackup
https://redd.it/1mseuob
@lostbackup
Reddit
From the lost community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the lost community