WARNING: "Lost" spoilers below
...that The Others are on the island to try to find ways to alter humanity's fundamental nature to stave off our eventual extinction.
This theory is based mainly on the Valenzetti Equation, which predicts when the human race will die out. The equation has 6 "core numerical values" (whatever those are), which are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42...IE: the code that has to be entered into the computer inside the Swan Hatch every 108 minutes (they add up to 108, too, by the way).
In something called the "Sri Lanka Video," which was part of "The Lost Experience" (one of those reality games running alongisde the show), Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation implies that the 6 numbers represent 6 ways in which humanity might extinguish itself (nuclear warfare, chemical warfare, over-population, etc). He also says that the purpose of the DHARMA Initiative is to change those numbers.
The idea, then, would be that people are running experiments on the island in the hope of changing human nature, either biologically or pyschologically, to alter one of these numbers and either eliminate or delay our impending doom. Each hatch, presumably, would correspond to a particular number and the research that might alter it.
I don't know if this fits perfectly, but at first glance, it appears to. Altering polar bears so that they can live in a tropical climate sure seems like something we could apply to ourselves to help survive, and they've repeatedly used mind games and ultimately empty threats to keep rowdy survivors like Sawyer in line. Might the pyschological games really be experiments to see if man's more destructive, aggressive tendencies can be curbed?
Anyway, I don't know how realistic this all is, but it's certainly interesting. And it does appear to fit with the general tone of "The Others." None of them appear to be horrible people, or stereotypical bad guys. The worst of them seem to operate under a "lesser of two evils" mentality. Ben isn't actively killing people, but he seems to think that whatever they're doing is obviously worth some casualties. If he thinks he might be saving the world, well, his behavior suddenly makes an awful lot of sense.
...that The Others are on the island to try to find ways to alter humanity's fundamental nature to stave off our eventual extinction.
This theory is based mainly on the Valenzetti Equation, which predicts when the human race will die out. The equation has 6 "core numerical values" (whatever those are), which are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42...IE: the code that has to be entered into the computer inside the Swan Hatch every 108 minutes (they add up to 108, too, by the way).
In something called the "Sri Lanka Video," which was part of "The Lost Experience" (one of those reality games running alongisde the show), Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation implies that the 6 numbers represent 6 ways in which humanity might extinguish itself (nuclear warfare, chemical warfare, over-population, etc). He also says that the purpose of the DHARMA Initiative is to change those numbers.
The idea, then, would be that people are running experiments on the island in the hope of changing human nature, either biologically or pyschologically, to alter one of these numbers and either eliminate or delay our impending doom. Each hatch, presumably, would correspond to a particular number and the research that might alter it.
I don't know if this fits perfectly, but at first glance, it appears to. Altering polar bears so that they can live in a tropical climate sure seems like something we could apply to ourselves to help survive, and they've repeatedly used mind games and ultimately empty threats to keep rowdy survivors like Sawyer in line. Might the pyschological games really be experiments to see if man's more destructive, aggressive tendencies can be curbed?
Anyway, I don't know how realistic this all is, but it's certainly interesting. And it does appear to fit with the general tone of "The Others." None of them appear to be horrible people, or stereotypical bad guys. The worst of them seem to operate under a "lesser of two evils" mentality. Ben isn't actively killing people, but he seems to think that whatever they're doing is obviously worth some casualties. If he thinks he might be saving the world, well, his behavior suddenly makes an awful lot of sense.
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