Howdy, everyone!
Have you recovered from last week’s episode, “This Place is Death”? If you are like Charlie and I (…but who are we kidding? We know we are beyond strange…), you’ve been thinking a lot about last week’s episode and trying to come to terms with some of the big ideas. Now, I’m not any closer to understanding what is going on than I was at 2:30 AM on Thursday morning when my review went up. However, I am charged today with getting you ready for what is sure to be a super sci-fi episode tonight, providing some much-needed answers to the big questions posed by this season’s time skipping. So….
Bring. It. On.
(Small aside: I am a right-brained person. This show is becoming WAY left-brained. I’m trying really really hard to make sense of it, so forgive me AND correct me if this completely wrong.)
Science Fun with Ms. Hawking
Tonight’s episode, “316”, is setting us up for some trippy science experiments in the basement of a church with (Professor) Ms. Hawking. The previews for tonight’s episode show a large swinging pendulum suspended over a map of the Pacific Ocean.
What the heck, right?
Well, speculation in the Lost universe is already rampant over this short 2-second clip. Many believe that Ms. Hawking has constructed her own Foucault Pendulum to determine the location of the island.
Before I continue, a quick pronunciation guide so you Dharma Blog Readers will both look and sound cool by the water cooler: Foucault is pronounced [foo (as in Foo Fighters) KOH (as in COpa Cabana)]. Pendulum is pronounced [PEN (like you write with) juh (like 'just' without the –st) lem (like 'lemon' without the –on)]. Spelled phonetically: fooKOH PENjuhlem. I know, I know. It looks like it should be foe-kalt. It isn’t. It is fooKOH. Trust me on this, guys. Trust me.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.
So Ms. Hawking has a Foucault Pendulum. What gives?
The Foucault Pendulum was conceived as an experiment to prove the rotation of the Earth on an axis. Simple enough, right? In 1851, the French (here we go again…) physicist Léon Foucault made his most famous pendulum when he suspended a 28 kilogram ball with a 67-meter wire from the dome of the Panthéon in Paris. (It is semi-interesting to note that the Panthéon was originally built as a church...and Ms. Hawking's Pendulum is in a church...) The apparatus consists of a tall pendulum free to oscillate in any vertical plane. The direction along which the pendulum swings rotates with time because of Earth’s daily rotation.
Small aside: You should all check out this animation.... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Foucault-rotz.gif
My Simple Theory about why a Foucault Pendulum would be of use to Ms. Hawking:
Moving that much mass (the island) from one point to another on the surface of the Earth changes the Earth's rotation (i.e. it would cause a bit of a wobble). A Foucault Pendulum could be used to calculate this change and determine the location of the island in the present. (Sidenote: Charlie and I think that the episode title, ‘316’, represents the bearing by which the Oceanic 6 must reenter the island’s...uh...bubble.)
My Complicated Theory about why a Foucault Pendulum would be of use to Ms. Hawking:
Okay. When the island is stationary, it would appear to be in the same place (my duh statement of the day). But, the island is technically moving as the earth moves as it rotates.
My Complicated Theory about why a Foucault Pendulum would be of use to Ms. Hawking:
Okay. When the island is stationary, it would appear to be in the same place (my duh statement of the day). But, the island is technically moving as the earth moves as it rotates.
(Charlie, are you confused? Okay. Give this a shot: Imagine that in the middle of your office at Swanson Russell, there is a Foucault Pendulum (Just tell Dave I suggested he get one…it will be fine). Okay. So, every day, Lincoln, NE, revolves around the Earth at 790 mph (give or take). As the Earth moves, it carries Swanson Russell with it, and Swanson Russell carries the pendulum. As you watch the swinging pendulum over time, it will appear to travel around the base in a circle. However, in reality, the pendulum is always swinging in the same plane. It is the Earth’s rotation under the pendulum that causes this illusion.)
So think about this: what if when the island was dislodged (by the Donkey Wheel turn), the island actually BECAME a Foucault Pendulum? The island is remaining in the same physical place while the earth continues to rotate.
HUH?
Okay. Simplify, Maggie. Simplify.
Imagine that before the Donkey Wheel turned, the island was floating down the river on a raft. After the Donkey Wheel turned, the island got on a bridge over the water. So, as the water (which represents the earth) continues to pour by, the island stops rotating/moving with the water. The island has stopped. The earth has not. This would explain picking up all these random ‘things’ on the island…the polar bears, the Black Rock, etc. Throughout it’s history, the island has popped up in different locations!
(cue: shaking your head in confusion)
If I’ve lost you, stop reading. If you’re kind of with me, take a deep breath…
The unknown variable in my mind at this point is time. It appears that while the island is remaining stationary to the earth (fixed to one place as the earth revolves around it), it is also then oscillating in time. So, now you have the island moving on multiple different axis. This is why Ms. Hawking says they only have a 70 hour window, because that is when they will take the O6 back to the same time and place as when they left, which should, in theory, correct the anomaly and reunite them with those still on the island. (Without this moment, the “God help us all” scenario apparently takes place.) I suppose it is also possible that at that time, they will be somewhere (another geographic location with a similar Casmir effect) that can get them back to the original time/place.
Random Theory on the Electromagnetic Anamoly
Maybe this whole pendulum theory also explains the huge magnet. The magnet kept the island in a certain place. When the timer would get down pass zero in the Hatch, the island would start shaking violently. Perhaps that was the island slowing becoming dislodged from its original/connected-to-the-Earth’s-rotation location.
(cue: shaking your head in confusion)
If I’ve lost you, stop reading. If you’re kind of with me, take a deep breath…
The unknown variable in my mind at this point is time. It appears that while the island is remaining stationary to the earth (fixed to one place as the earth revolves around it), it is also then oscillating in time. So, now you have the island moving on multiple different axis. This is why Ms. Hawking says they only have a 70 hour window, because that is when they will take the O6 back to the same time and place as when they left, which should, in theory, correct the anomaly and reunite them with those still on the island. (Without this moment, the “God help us all” scenario apparently takes place.) I suppose it is also possible that at that time, they will be somewhere (another geographic location with a similar Casmir effect) that can get them back to the original time/place.
Random Theory on the Electromagnetic Anamoly
Maybe this whole pendulum theory also explains the huge magnet. The magnet kept the island in a certain place. When the timer would get down pass zero in the Hatch, the island would start shaking violently. Perhaps that was the island slowing becoming dislodged from its original/connected-to-the-Earth’s-rotation location.
…meanwhile, back on the farm…
From the preview picture above, Jack is really confused about what is going on. So, I probably will be confused. And so will you. However, we're all going to have to focus tonight in order to get through this. What should we look for? Besides the Study Guide and/or Map that I hope Ms. Hawking has prepared so the O6 can return to the island, be on the look out for clues in her church basement laboratory and her story.
* What’s on the walls of the room? (Charlie and I saw some strange photographs.)
* What does the map on the floor depict?
* How does she know what she knows?
* Any indication that she is Ellie from the 1954 time skip?
* Why does she want to help the O6 return? What’s her motivation?
* What did she mean when she said “God help us all”?
* How much of this strategy does Ben know, or is he just as clueless as the O6?
* Any indication that Widmore knows what she is doing?
Come back! Please! Don’t give up on the Dharma Blog!
I know this preview wasn't great. I know it probably gave you headache and confused you even more. Well, don't give up on us. TRUST ME: you really want to come back tomorrow morning to hear Charlie’s take on this science lesson to end all science lessons. He has promised me that he will explain everything and answer any questions you may have.
From the preview picture above, Jack is really confused about what is going on. So, I probably will be confused. And so will you. However, we're all going to have to focus tonight in order to get through this. What should we look for? Besides the Study Guide and/or Map that I hope Ms. Hawking has prepared so the O6 can return to the island, be on the look out for clues in her church basement laboratory and her story.
* What’s on the walls of the room? (Charlie and I saw some strange photographs.)
* What does the map on the floor depict?
* How does she know what she knows?
* Any indication that she is Ellie from the 1954 time skip?
* Why does she want to help the O6 return? What’s her motivation?
* What did she mean when she said “God help us all”?
* How much of this strategy does Ben know, or is he just as clueless as the O6?
* Any indication that Widmore knows what she is doing?
Come back! Please! Don’t give up on the Dharma Blog!
I know this preview wasn't great. I know it probably gave you headache and confused you even more. Well, don't give up on us. TRUST ME: you really want to come back tomorrow morning to hear Charlie’s take on this science lesson to end all science lessons. He has promised me that he will explain everything and answer any questions you may have.
What a guy, what a guy.
...and.....DISCUSS!
...and.....DISCUSS!
Namaste,
Maggie
Maggie
6 Snarky Comments:
First off, my brain hurts. But EXCELLENT preview! I like the stationary Island theory a lot.
Second off, God help (me) all in writing a review of this episode. It's gonna be a doozy.
The use of a possible Foucault's Pendulum just reenforces the writers of Lost, and their ability to use literature to tell their story. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco is a great book. I haven't read it in years, but I remember that in the book they used the titular pendulum to find something called, telluric currents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluric_current
These currents, in the book, were being sought to harness their power. If the power was harnessed, it meant total world domination.
Similarities between the book and Lost are becoming eerie, and I can't wait to see where they go with this.
Joe Smith
The use of a possible Foucault's Pendulum just reenforces the writers of Lost, and their ability to use literature to tell their story. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco is a great book. I haven't read it in years, but I remember that in the book they used the titular pendulum to find something called, telluric currents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluric_current
These currents, in the book, were being sought to harness their power. If the power was harnessed, it meant total world domination.
Similarities between the book and Lost are becoming eerie, and I can't wait to see where they go with this.
Joe Smith
Woah Maggie, woah. This is taking me back to a class in advanced dynamics that I took last spring... From a physics perspective, you may be onto something with the movement of the island affecting the rotation of the earth, and thus affecting the motion of the pendulum. Rotaing objects in space conserve their angular momentum (unless energy related to motion is converted to another form, which may be happening as well with the island). To understand this, spin in your office chair with your legs and arms sticking out as far as possible. Then, while you're rotating,pull your legs and arms as close to your body. Do you notice the increase in rotation rate? These movements of the island through space (and time) could have similar effects on the motion of the earth. The huge mass of the earth compared to mass of the island means the the effects would be small, and thus the sensitivity of a Foucault pendulum-type device would be needed.
Off to an even nerdier conversation...
You guys are WAY OFF on the episode title. "316" obviously means we're going to meet another Other of the island, who uses his time and space traveling abilities to show up at every televised professional sporting event with the "John 3:16" sign held high.
Okay, maybe not.
However, the reference could hold some water. From the preview we've got a picture of Ben Linus in front of candles in the church, so we know that the faith v. science discussion could come into play once again. The verse John 3:16 mentions the giving of a son, which could reference sacrifice (of Locke, perhaps) or Aaron needing to return to the island. The verse also mentions eternal life: maybe the primary motivation behind possessing the island has to do with immortality. We know Alpert always looks young, for example.
Still, that's a sort of blah theory, and the writers of LOST are much more clever than I.
Or, it's a reference to the year 316 A.D. What happened that year, you ask? The Xiongnu sack Chang'an, which happens to be the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty, ruled by Jin Mindi, effectively ending the Western Jin Dynasty. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)
End of Jin Dynasty, end of Jin Soo-Kwon? It's a long shot, for sure.
Thanks for the awesome preview, Maggie! I'm now setting up my Foo Fighter Pendulum in my office. :-)
When I first saw the title I thought that 316 was maybe the flight number of the plane they would take to get back to the island, but it's probably too soon for that...
Good preview!
-Jeff
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