The causality of all events in Desmond's life revolves around the turning of the key.

Whereas most of us live our lives in a linear fashion-- a progression of events from one to the next from the moment we are born until the day we die-- Desmond's life is a collection of events centered around the "middle" of his life, the day he turned the failsafe key.

As humans, we have only one way to perceive time-- the progression from beginning to end. We can't imagine that something exists before it exists in time. For example, if I were to say, "imagine the day a human first lands on Saturn," you can picture it in your head. But that's different from me saying that the first human landing on Saturn is already a fixed moment in time that we are simply unable to perceive because of our linear existence. We don't even have the proper words to describe it in our language-- to us, everything must be either past, present, or future.

Another demonstration: Lincoln is assassinated. To us, it is something that happened at a fixed point in time in the past, and cannot be changed. However, this is just as true for people who exist when the Declaration of Independence was signed. For them, it is also a fixed point in time, but they are simply not aware of its existence. They are just as incapable of changing causality.

If we imagine all events in human history on an equal plane-- no past, present, or future, no devaluing certain events because they haven't happened yet from our perspective-- then we can begin to understand Desmond's situation. Most people start life with a big "YOU ARE HERE" sign over their heads at birth, then proceed from one event to the next until they die. But Desmond's life-- all of it, including his birth-- exists with the "YOU ARE HERE" sign over the instant he turned the key. All other events in his life, including those that we label as "past" and "future" with our limited vernacular, branch out forwards and backwards from that point.

Desmond's life revolves around turning the key because Desmond has always turned the key. It is a set moment in time in his life and remains so no matter the chronological frame of reference from which one speaks. It didn't even "change" to that on the day he turned the key-- it always was, because the temporal laws of the universe have always been aware that he in fact turns the key.

What Desmond experienced in last night's flashback was just that-- a flashback. We, as the audience, were privy to moments from his past just as we were in any other Lost episode. The difference is that Desmond lived through this period of time after having already collected memories from another point in his life-- his time on the island. He didn't go "back in time" for this episode. He simply lived part of his life aware of his future.

Most of us are aware of our pasts when we want to be, but sometimes we will have "flashes" of sudden memories, usually brought on by something specific-- a relative visits and you think of the last time you've seen her, instinctually. Desmond's mind is the same as ours, except his "flashes" work in all directions, because where most of our perceptions begin with birth and proceed in one direction, his linear perception begins with turning the key and branches out in all directions.

There is no "other" version of events in Desmond's past than the one we saw last night. There is a fixed moment in time when Desmond tries to buy a ring from an old lady that tells him he is not supposed to have it. The only difference between our lives and Desmond's is that he experiences things without the same linear limitations that the rest of us have. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand this; he cannot grasp what is happening to him with his three-dimensional brain. This results in his confusion at being catapulted to what he perceives as the past, and receiving flashes of the "future."

Last night's episode is what happens when someone living a non-linear existence is given a flashback that follows his own stream of perception. We ride along as he struggles to grasp what is happening to him, ultimately realizing that he is experiencing a point in time which he has no power to change.

Brilliant post! This is really fascinating and I hope you're right!

Brilliant post-- finally, an explanation that doesn't make me want to bang my head against the wall. I'm not sure I agree with the centrality and defining moment of his life as the act of turning the failsafe key, however. I like the idea that he does have the power of alternate choices, although that would mean the spontaneous revision and instant rewriting of the entire collection of moments and events (sound of swan timer numbers flipping back to 108 over and over...). I think. (Bangs head aginst wall.)

Wow, fantastic post! The episode left me so confused - but that was a good thing ;). Your explination was brilliant, thanks :biggrin:

Rodimus,

Amazin' post! It makes perfect sense to me. Good work :).

This is a great explanation, and it totally brings down my confusion level! thanks!

Do you think everyone on the island will have their own "turning of the key" moment or is it just Desmond? Was Benry's surgery the "key turning moment" for Jack?

Does this mean that Charlie is going to die?

This is a great explanation, and it totally brings down my confusion level! thanks!
I wouldn't say this is an explanation. It's more of an opinion/theiry. The problem with this opinion/theory is that it would suggest that everyone is just a prop in Desmond's life and that he ultimately decides the world's fate. I do think that the theory mentioned above is close those. The fail safe key turn is a key point in his life. I think it's his new beginning. A point in a loop. The starting line on his life's racetrack. Not a point from which he lives his life forwards AND backwards. Only forward.

Nice work...This is what seems to be the basis for 'causality' (ive never looked much into it, must do so!), a quick wikipedia of causality shows a prominent figure in this thinking -

" David Hume (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume) asserted that it was impossible to know that certain laws of cause and effect always apply - no matter how many times one observes them occurring. Just because the sun has risen every day since the beginning of the Earth does not mean that it will rise again tomorrow. However; it is impossible to go about one's life without assuming such connections, and the best that we can do is to maintain an open mind and never presume that we know any laws of causality for certain. This analysis was used as an argument against metaphysics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics), ideology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology) and attempts to find theories for everything. A.J. Ayer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.J._Ayer) and Karl Popper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper) both claimed that their respective principles of verification and falsifiability fitted Hume's ideas on causality."

David Hume...Desmond's name was also Hume, yes?
Both were Scottish...hmmm now to read and find any similarities with thinking!

This definately sounds a lot like the "Slaughter House Five" idea of getting "unstuck in time" (which is being discussed in another thread, I beleive). I had a similar read, but I'm also interested in the idea of Multiverses (started a thread to discuss (http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=69422)).

This concept does give Desmond a huge power, though, doesn't it? If he can see the future, and change it, the world is his to play with. Except for this idea of "course-correction." It seems that he may be fighting agianst some unseen force (fate? God? Jacob?) that chooses everyone's destiny. Even if he alters it, it ends up the way the force wants it, no?

Oh... and didn't I hear that Desmond's full name is "Desmond David Hume"?

Full marks for effort at least. This is quite possibly the most brain boggling episode so far.

I'm not in total agreement with this however. If I've understood this correctly, you're suggesting that ALL moments in time are already in existence and that what seemed to be new events are just memories of what happened. That partially makes sense, Desmond ended up following the same path regardless of him thinking that he'd be able to change it.

The problem I find with it though, is Desmond himself. The events that happened, had to have happened in a different way to how he was experiencing them in Flashes Before Your Eyes. Otherwise the Desmond pre-implosion would've had memories of precognitive abilities.

I hope I've made sense :)

The events that happened, had to have happened in a different way to how he was experiencing them in Flashes Before Your Eyes. Otherwise the Desmond pre-implosion would've had memories of precognitive abilities.
yes... which is why I have a hard time buying the "unstuck in time" theory. If he's just experiencing time non-linearly, he can do nothing to change it. It may change the way he reacts to the world, but he won't have any "false memories." He'll remember things the way they will (have) happen(ed). He won't remember Charlie drowning, just rescuing him. He won't be able to see future(s) that don't necessarily occur... back to that David Hume thing, huh?

Instead, he's somehow able to manupilate futures... at least until the next "course correction."

wow, this is the best speculation fodder since season 1!

Great post, RodimusBen. Very engaging, and a unique perspective on what transpired in last night's episode. I like the idea that FBYE may involve re-examining our preconceived notions regarding temporality, as opposed to involving some kind of time-travel or loop theory.

Some further explanation in response to some comments.

To understand this concept more fully, imagine a hoizontal line that represents Desmond's life: his birth at the beginning, his death at the end, and somewhere in the middle, the turning of the hatch key:

---------------------------------------------------[]---------------------------------------------------
Life-------------------------------------------Hatch-------------------------------------------Death

Now, for anyone NOT affected by the hatch, their lives simply go from left to right, birth to death. As Desmond would say, "The End." Demonstrated here by the arrow:

---------------------------------------------------[]---------------------------------------------------
Life------------------------------->Finding out life sucks----------------------------->Death

The easiest way to describe Desmond's life would be to say that it begins at the moment he turns the hatch key, although this would be inaccurate since we are trying to think outside of the linearity of time (with all its beginnings and endings). So let's say instead that the "point of origin" for Desmond's life is at the turning of the key. For most of us, our point of origin is birth (or maybe conception, but I won't be touching THAT with a ten-foot Jesus stick). But not our Des.

This is hard to do with ASCII art, so try to picture Desmond's line in your head as above. Then imagine that a spiral begins coming out of the "hatch key" marker-- a fixed moment in time-- going counter-clockwise. It will curve up and left, then hit the line again at some point in Desmond's past. Then it will curve around again and hit another time that takes place chronologically after he hatch incident. As the spiral gets bigger it will keep hitting events closer to the beginning and end of Desmond's life.

Now, the Spiral is how Desmond will experience time, as depicted on last night's episode. It is in these time periods-- when the spiral of Desmond's temporal experience intersects with the chornological progression of causality-- when he has the chance to "change things" as we understand it. However, he is not really "changing" anything, as will become evident.

Because he is a human, inherently three-dimensional and unable to perceive non-linear time, he has an imprint of "universal causality" in his head from which he forms his perceptions. This imprint leads him to expect a certain pattern of events as he visits different time periods. In the past, he expected a certain outcome of a soccer game. In the future, he expects to find Claire drowning. The source of the "universal causality" that gives Desmond these impressions of what has already happened and will happen comes from the notion that the old woman was trying to impress upon Desmond-- that the universe is constantly trying to "stay on course" or right itself.

There is a set course for the linear sequence of events in the universe. Normally, we all experience it in linear fashion where A results in B. However, Desmond is experiencing events out of sequence, but with the imprint of the "correct" universal sequence in his mind. This is why he has an idea of how events should happen at any time period-- not because they've happened once before and he is now changing them, but because he is tapped into the universal sequence of what "should" be.

Most of us cannot deviate from that course. We have free will, but we make decisions in a linear fashion with no definitive knowledge of the future, so we can't see that an outcome already exists for our actions (even if it is one of our choosing, it still exists outside of temporal constraints). However, Desmond has the ability to deviate from the universal course, because his existence is non-linear. He is finding out, however, that when he attempts to deviate, such as in being determined to propose to Penny, or trying to save Charlie multiple times, the universe vehemently protests and tries to stay on course.

The question now is, does Desmond-- does a man-- have the willpower to defy the intended course of the universe? Can he, by force of will, prevent Charlie's death?

Well, that's why we keep watching, isn't it?

And by the way, yes, this is entirely just a theory. And on Lost, one decent theory can be blown away in just a week's time. :)

great explination!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

RodimusBen, I find your theory a lot more compelling than other ones being bandied about today (time loop? really?). But there are a couple things from the episode that I'm trying to line up correctly with your theory.

You say that there is no "other version" of the events in Desmond's past. If that is the case, then why does he have "memories" of events happening differently than they "actually" turn out? He remembers Charlie drowning, and it doesn't happen. He remembers the roof falling on Charlie, and it doesn't happen. And in his past, he remembers the bartender getting smacked with the cricket bat, but that also doesn't happen.

I'm open to the idea that Desmond is experiencing his memories in a non-linear sort of way, and that past, present, and future are becoming inseparable for him. But how is it possible for him to remember things that do not happen?

Nicely explained, so not really like Slaughterhouse Five. More like the Multiverse idea I'm playing around with in the other thread. Also fits really nicely with David Hume's concept of Compatibilism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compatibilism). Seems to me that this is what Dharma might be trying to do all along. Valenzetti Equation?

In Hume's theory, everyone has free will. However, everyone's free will is bound to their experience, environment, etc. It's pre-determined. For example, I'm walking down the street and want to cross to the other side. I cross at 2nd street because there are flowers planted there that i really like. I get hit by a bus. I have free will to cross anywhere I want, however I'm bound by my pre-disposition to like certian flowers to cross at 2nd street. I will always make that choice because my life has occurred a certian way.

What's the only way to get unbound by this pre-dispostion? To see the future. Then I know that if I try to cross at 2nd street, I'll get hit by a bus. So I override my love of flowers and cross at 3rd street.

Problem Desmond seems to be finding is there's an open man-hole cover at 3rd street to fall into. So, even this free will decision is bound to so higher law that's "course-correcting."

Weird.

Nicely explained, so not really like Slaughterhouse Five. More like the Multiverse idea I'm playing around with in the other thread. Also fits really nicely with David Hume's concept of Compatibilism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compatibilism). Seems to me that this is what Dharma might be trying to do all along. Valenzetti Equation?

In Hume's theory, everyone has free will. However, everyone's free will is bound to their experience, environment, etc. It's pre-determined. For example, I'm walking down the street and want to cross to the other side. I cross at 2nd street because there are flowers planted there that i really like. I get hit by a bus. I have free will to cross anywhere I want, however I'm bound by my pre-disposition to like certian flowers to cross at 2nd street. I will always make that choice because my life has occurred a certian way.

What's the only way to get unbound by this pre-dispostion? To see the future. Then I know that if I try to cross at 2nd street, I'll get hit by a bus. So I override my love of flowers and cross at 3rd street.

Problem Desmond seems to be finding is there's an open man-hole cover at 3rd street to fall into. So, even this free will decision is bound to so higher law that's "course-correcting."

Weird.
Very nice explanation, lostmyshape.

Excellent post! This is very thought out and explained in a way in which I can easily get my mind around it. Some other theories that I've read are not so easily digestable.

It is in these time periods-- when the spiral of Desmond's temporal experience intersects with the chornological progression of causality-- when he has the chance to "change things" as we understand it.
<snip>
Because he is a human, inherently three-dimensional and unable to perceive non-linear time, he has an imprint of "universal causality" in his head from which he forms his perceptions.
<snip>
There is a set course for the linear sequence of events in the universe. Normally, we all experience it in linear fashion where A results in B. However, Desmond is experiencing events out of sequence, but with the imprint of the "correct" universal sequence in his mind. This is why he has an idea of how events should happen at any time period-- not because they've happened once before and he is now changing them, but because he is tapped into the universal sequence of what "should" be.
Your points about the disconnect between cause and effect are great food for thought. Another fine post, Rodimus.

The question now is, does Desmond-- does a man-- have the willpower to defy the intended course of the universe?
Ties it all up very nicely, and consistent with the primary theme of fate vs free will we've seen on Lost for three years now.

Fantastic post! Interesting read :)

(edited: sorry, the forum is going so slow for me that I post when other have already answered 100 times )

Does this mean that Charlie is going to die?

Charlie, as a human, was always going to die eventually...

Don

Also think those who wonder "Now that Desmond can 'see' the future, can't he rule the world?" missed my interpretation of Desmond last night.

Seemed like that at certain moments of his past (and future), Desmond required some sort of 'trigger' or reminder (sound, TV picture, etc.) to make him "remember" the future event, much like looking at a picture, hearing a song, smelling something specific makes us remember a past event.

It isn't like he has his entire future in his head like a story...it's like he's literally remembering - a future event.

Makes it much harder to predict - and fits with his explanation when someone asked him about it, and he said "It doesn't work like that (perfect prediction)".

Seems David Hume thought the same way I've always viewed things as far as free-will/fate is concerned. Good explanations in this thread about non-linear time, too.

The idea of free will works similarly in the Matrix if anyone is familiar. We can all choose, but the choice has already been made based on our predisposition.

This is all very interesting.

How do you explain the seeming fusion of parts of his future with parts of his past. The microwave goes off and sounds like the alarm for the button, there is a polar bear painting in Mr. Widemore's office, and the package number 815 (the numbers 8,15,... also flight number). Are his experiences becoming fused some how???

great post......it goes well with karl reading hawkings brief history of time in not in portland