I understand, in a narrative sense, how the constant works. Is there any science or pseudo-science for this? What are the writers trying to say here? Desmond has a constant, Penny, in both time periods. Thus, he is able to stop having these periods where his consciousness is traveling back and forth. If he would have hooked up with Penny in TTLG, would tonight's travels never occur? Does it have to be a person? If so, why? What if Desmond had worn the same ring over these years? Would he never have his consciousness travels?

What is the mechanism by which this constant works? I guess one would have to first know how the mechanism of traveling consciousness works.

I accepted the whole traveling consciousness thing of FBYE without blinking an eye. But the constant seems really out there.

For the record, I loved the episode. This isn't meant as a criticism. I'm just wanting to hear others' thoughts on the constant.

My first thought while watching the episode: The constant was a schmaltzy way to reintroduce Penny.

Second thought, nearly 42 minutes later: Maybe there is at least some pseudo-science behind the constant.

Inquiring minds want to know. I want to know.

I'd love to have a science or pseudo-science based explanation for this as well. It seemed that after Desmond was seeking out and found his constant he was less confused when he was jumping around in time as to where/when he was. Before he had something familiar in both of his times to relate to, he thought he was dreaming or going crazy. Once he was looking for Penny, he understood that he was doing something in one time to affect another. He was no longer being thrown back and forth, but had something to focus on. Faraday did say, when Desmond asked if it could be a person, "I guess," indicating that this wasn't the only option. It just had to be something that was firmly grounded in both times in order to distinguish between the two.

That's my 2 cents, and I can't wait for someone more wise than I to give some valuable insight.

It seems to be about having a common 'anchor' in each time, a constant. I doubt there's any plausible science behind it!

I don't think there is a "scientific" explanation for it because the writers have chosen a slightly different method for time travel. Instead of an actual being traveling through time, just their conscience goes. It's a clever way to have time travel and yet not have to worry too much about cause and effect.

Initially, Dan said that Eloise's brain short-circuited, describing everything as "variable" and changing, and that every equation needed a constant. Thus, the rat died quickly after the experiment as it couldn't comprehend or fix itself in either time.
Minkowski on the other hand, as a human and inept and handling more, was able to live longer - though when he died, he said something along the lines of "can't get back" - his brain couldn't affix itself to either time frame.

That's how I understood it anyways.

It could be a reference to a song in Back to the Future... You know, the "Power of Love." Desmond loves Penny, and his love for her may just be the stimulus needed for his future consciousness to detach itself from the time stream as well as from the past consciousness.

I think the affect of time travel makes one disorientated, like Desmond was in the beginning. The timelines are confused. Desmond thought it was 1996 on the boat etc.

So my take is that the Constant is the key to differentiating the timelines as to avoid confusion.

I'll give it a shot. You need to think of time as squish balls*, at any moment you can travel down one of the strands. Each strand would be made up of an infinite amount of other squish ball's. And where you go depends on the actions in your life.

With Desmonds conscious being able to jump from squish ball to squish ball without taking a direct path, the strands that were formed begin to unravel.

Having the constant through those strands stabilizes them. Therefore he doesn't end up like Minewick(sorry I've forgot how to spell his name).

*in case you don't know what squish balls are http://www.chanci.dk/billeder/KAT/Legetoej300/ter%205402%20squish%20ball3.jpg

I hope it's ok to post that link.

I thought about how The Constant provided Desmond an anchor that grounded him back into time.

I believe this is how it works:

Think of the time-line between 1996 and 2004 days as a straw...and think of Desmond holding a piece of string.

Now, think of Desmond literally having removed himself from the timeline between 1996 and 2004. He needs to get himself back on that time line permanently before his brain cant take it anymore.

At the beginning of the episode, hes bouncing back and forth from one side of the straw to the other...he's not going through the straw, just being whipped back and forth on the outside. While he's doing that, he's nowhere INSIDE the straw anymore....he's removed himself from the time line. This is what killed Minkowski.

Now, he talks to Penny in 1996 and tells her to listen out for a phone call he will make in 2004. When he did that, he gave penny one side of the string while holding onto the other side. When he bounces back to 2004, Penny is actually travelling through the straw(which represents time), pulling the string through to the other side. So when Desmond contacts her in 2004, its like he now has both sides of the string which he can hold onto and ground himself back into the time line. Both sides have reconnected and now everything goes back to normal again.

In otherwords, he literally got "unstuck" in time and sort of "merged" back onto the "time freeway" back in 2004. But for awhile there, he was literally nowhere between 1996 and 2004. This is why he did not remember any of the Losties as the Crash and the boat race all happened between those years which didn't exist.

The question remains, does he remember Sayid now? Or did everything in his life get rearranged? Minkowski talked to Penny at the end of season 2....so maybe thats why that never seemed to happen now. :)

The funny thing is, I believe Lost time travel is more like the time travel in Somewhere in Time (starring Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymore)...where time travel is related to our consciousness.

Does this make sense?

I think it makes a lot of sense. I think you described it nicely.

The question is -- is this what is making Jack go a little loony in the future. Once he passes the barrier, is he becoming stuck? Maybe he doesn't have a constant? Maybe his constant is his father, but his father is dead.

I think it makes a lot of sense. I think you described it nicely.

The question is -- is this what is making Jack go a little loony in the future. Once he passes the barrier, is he becoming stuck? Maybe he doesn't have a constant? Maybe his constant is his father, but his father is dead.

Yes, it's quite confusing. I'm hoping for more answers in the future episodes.

I want to revise my theory...

The string represents Desmonds consciousness. When he talks to Penny in 1996 he's giving her a hold of his consciousness to pull through the straw so he can reconnect to it in 2004.

As I said, this is a bit like Somewhere in Time...Christopher Reeves travels through time using his mind and...dies at the end when he attempts to try to do it a second time because his brain cannot take it. Very similar to whats going on here.

It's a pretty fuzzy concept, no doubt introduced for dramatic effect (The Des/Penny 'love story').

Interesting to see everybody go crazy about the idea as if it's now tied to everything and everybody in the show eg. "Who is x's constant?" threads popping up all over the place.

Faraday did say that the 'Constant' could be anything that exists in both time frames. By 'connecting' with the same object the person's mind could somehow make sense of what was going on. To be honest, I find the idea a bit weak and badly thought out,

I think it makes a lot of sense. I think you described it nicely.

The question is -- is this what is making Jack go a little loony in the future. Once he passes the barrier, is he becoming stuck? Maybe he doesn't have a constant? Maybe his constant is his father, but his father is dead.

This is a great question, I dont think it is what makes Jack go crazy. I believe something happens as they leave the island and it fills Jack up with guilt and makes him want to go back and save all the other losties. But I am curious to see what others think.

It's a pretty fuzzy concept, no doubt introduced for dramatic effect (The Des/Penny 'love story').

Interesting to see everybody go crazy about the idea as if it's now tied to everything and everybody in the show eg. "Who is x's constant?" threads popping up all over the place.

Faraday did say that the 'Constant' could be anything that exists in both time frames. By 'connecting' with the same object the person's mind could somehow make sense of what was going on. To be honest, I find the idea a bit weak and badly thought out,

I TOTALLY AGREE!! I took it to be like a he/she is "my last call of the day thing". Sweet, romantic but not intended to be some big technical, scientific thing.

It was meant to highlight that for Desmond it always has been, and always will be, Penny who he wants in his life and has on his mind.

I think it makes a lot of sense. I think you described it nicely.

The question is -- is this what is making Jack go a little loony in the future. Once he passes the barrier, is he becoming stuck? Maybe he doesn't have a constant? Maybe his constant is his father, but his father is dead.

Maybe the coffin is Jack's constant?

Minkowski talked to Penny at the end of season 2....so maybe thats why that never seemed to happen now. :)


I don't remember Minkowski talking to Penny. When was that?

Interesting to see everybody go crazy about the idea as if it's now tied to everything and everybody in the show eg. "Who is x's constant?" threads popping up all over the place.

This has been driving me crazy! Just because a couple of people have been affected in this manner does not mean everyone will be. I chalk it up to the new 'pet theory' of the week. If there is one thing I have learned from watching Lost, it is that there will not be one all encompassing answer to explain everything. Becoming unstuck in time may affect some people, but I highly doubt it will affect everyone who leaves (or returns to) the island.

Hanover, I think your explanation of how the constant works is pretty good. Desmond needed something to latch his consciousness to in both the past and the present. Something with a strong enough emotional meaning that it would override the confusion brought about by the time skips and anchor him back in the present.

Looking for time travel requiring a constant I came across this (http://www.innerchangemag.com/0804-watson-temples-of-time-travel.htm).

>>The second method of time travel, using consciousness and subtle bodies, is considered highly complex and requires of the traveler a constant awareness of "keeping the fabric of space-time 'open' in order not to lose the connection between the body left behind inside the Cabin and the subtle bodies that are traveling."

Related or not it's very interesting.

I think the affect of time travel makes one disorientated, like Desmond was in the beginning. The timelines are confused. Desmond thought it was 1996 on the boat etc.

So my take is that the Constant is the key to differentiating the timelines as to avoid confusion.

I think is the correct idea. It gave his brain a point of reference to know which time he was at (thats why he had memory loss before) so his brain would stop flipping out and wouldn't die. I guess this also stops him from time traveling.

Looking for time travel requiring a constant I came across this (http://www.innerchangemag.com/0804-watson-temples-of-time-travel.htm).

>>The second method of time travel, using consciousness and subtle bodies, is considered highly complex and requires of the traveler a constant awareness of "keeping the fabric of space-time 'open' in order not to lose the connection between the body left behind inside the Cabin and the subtle bodies that are traveling."

Related or not it's very interesting.

Wow great research going on here!!!! I wonder if the whole "Cabin" thing has anything to do with Jacob, Like his body was left behind in the cabin.

Looking for time travel requiring a constant I came across this (http://www.innerchangemag.com/0804-watson-temples-of-time-travel.htm).

>>The second method of time travel, using consciousness and subtle bodies, is considered highly complex and requires of the traveler a constant awareness of "keeping the fabric of space-time 'open' in order not to lose the connection between the body left behind inside the Cabin and the subtle bodies that are traveling."

Related or not it's very interesting.

Thanks for the link godzilla! It is indeed very interesting. There's another part that I think is worth quoting:

The Damanhurians also believe that the soul's consciousness can travel in this way and be temporarily transferred "not only inside other human beings, but also inside animals. [In this way,] it becomes possible to see through the eyes of a hawk, to hear with the hearing of a fox, to smell with the senses of a dog."

Cabin-dog-jacob. What if Jacob is the master of consciousness time traveling and the cabin is his constant? Or the dog painting? Or both?
What if he uses Vincent to manifest? I just remembered that scene in Expose where they have a blanket over Nikki and Paolo, thinking that they're dead and Vincent runs up to them and tries to uncover them with his mouth. Hmmm...

also:

What purpose does this serve in the greater picture of things, and why would a community such as Damanhur spend so much time and effort to create such a force? In our experience of the Damanhurians and in our spiritual energy healing work in the United States, my wife, Rio, and I feel that it all serves the same purpose - to heal the past, live in the present, and evolve the soul, literally. As stated in the Isaiah scroll 3, the Damanhurians believe, as I would imagine many of us do on some level, that we have many possible realities and that the more we consciously choose to create a better world, the greater the force will be towards the creation of a new timeline, one based upon world unity.

"the creation of a new timeline, one based upon unity". I like that. It also ties well with the whole opposites concept that we've seen a lot in LOST. Also Locke's faith that they were all brought on the island for a reason. Is that the reason? Are our Losties meant to create a new timeline? Did Jack screw it up when he tried to get everyone off the island?
Is their mission to unite opposites, live harmoniously on the island?
I always thought that LOST would end up in this grand finale where science, faith and philosophy merge to create a perfect balance/unity, which would push humanity to the next consciousness level.
Anyway, enough rambling. Thanks again godzi.

Theodwra - Did Jack screw it up when he tried to get everyone off the island?

My answer - YES!!

This explaines the bearded man yelling at Kate as she walked into court, "WE HATE YOU!" At least this is what I hear when I listen to it in reverse.

Here is a link to where it is already being discussed.

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=89508

The Constant works by strengthening the Good Vibrations emanating from the electromagnetic field of the brain. Elementary pseudoscience.

Initially, Dan said that Eloise's brain short-circuited, describing everything as "variable" and changing, and that every equation needed a constant. Thus, the rat died quickly after the experiment as it couldn't comprehend or fix itself in either time.
Minkowski on the other hand, as a human and inept and handling more, was able to live longer - though when he died, he said something along the lines of "can't get back" - his brain couldn't affix itself to either time frame.

That's how I understood it anyways.

I see it as a time stream or stream of consciousness that the soul or spirit is tapping into. The anchor or constant is what ties the person to reality. Little Eloise's brain couldn't handle traveling the stream because she didn't have an anchor to the present.

What I don't understand is Eloise's brain aneurysm. An aneurysm is physical or neurological. If her mind or consciousness is what is traveling the stream and not her body, it would make sense that any malfunction would be cognitive and not neurological. But this is Lost and anything could happen.

Why isn't Farraday a constant for Desmond? he talked to him in both times?

Why isn't Farraday a constant for Desmond? he talked to him in both times?

Desmond hardly knows Daniel, it's safe to say he doesn't care about Daniel. Especially not "a lot" like Daniel says is necessary.

Desmond is Daniel's constant because Desmond represents success for Daniel.

I just have one questions

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR CONSTANT TODAY????

(Saw this on a Blog and loved it...)

I just have one questions

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR CONSTANT TODAY????

(Saw this on a Blog and loved it...)

Kristin's right? That second video for next week made me go "oh snap" out loud.

In otherwords, he literally got "unstuck" in time and sort of "merged" back onto the "time freeway" back in 2004. But for awhile there, he was literally nowhere between 1996 and 2004. This is why he did not remember any of the Losties as the Crash and the boat race all happened between those years which didn't exist.But wouldn't 1996 Desmond remember the freighter, and the conversation with Farraday at Oxford, etc? It seems like Island Desmond would have remembered Farraday from their first meeting.

The question remains, does he remember Sayid now? Or did everything in his life get rearranged? He remembers everything. He called him "Sayid" at the end, and even referenced the island when talking to Penny.

Kristin's right? That second video for next week made me go "oh snap" out loud.

Yeah, from Kristen's. I know!!! The second video was, ummm, well made me go "oh snap"

:eek:

Desmond hardly knows Daniel, it's safe to say he doesn't care about Daniel. Especially not "a lot" like Daniel says is necessary.

I will buy that.

I think it makes total sense. You need something to stabilize you into one time location or another. Right before Minkowsky (presumably) died, he was saying, "I can't get back." By talking to Penny, Desmond's consciousness got completely drawn back into the present (2004), and as he was talking to her, his memories of being on the island returned, and he became completely mentally invested in the present moment, which got him all the way back instead of only partially back. The photo was apparently not enough to do it.