Time Paradox and the Space/Time Continuum
This post was written by Master Nak. Welcome back to the blog, Nak! ~tJM
Ok, I admit I am stealing this theory from Bob Zemeckis and the Back To The Future writers, but I have a hunch that the rule applies in Lost as well.
In BTTF Part 2, Doc Brown said that if the same person from two different time periods ran into his/herself, the meeting would cause a "time paradox," and could potentially rupture the entire space/time continuum. Earlier on in the season, Locke saw the light from the Hatch shining into the night sky, and knew that if he kept going in that direction, he would find his past self. However, something made him turn away and lead the others away with him. I know Locke later gave an explanation for shifting his course, but I think there was a deeper reason - he couldn't run into himself because it would cause a time paradox.
This would also explain why Ben is still on the island in the present day and did not jump back with Jack, Hurley and Kate. The possibility of old Ben running into young Ben (who was on the island with the Dharma Initiative) prevented him from jumping through time. And in the most recent episode, "LaFleur," Charlotte's corpse disappeared when everyone jumped to 1974. We know that Charlotte was on the island as a little girl during this time; she could not possibly simultaneously exist as both dead and alive.
The space/time continuum seems to be "course correcting" to prevent the occurrence of a time paradox.
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Labels: episode commentary, master nak, theories
posted by Master Nak at 11:59 PM
3 Comments:
Nak,I like that theroy as it relates to LOST.
--james721
The only real reasons why Locke didn't go over and say hi to himself were because it didn't coincide with what the writers are wanting to do. It would also displease the special effects guys who'd have to figure out how to have both Lockes on screen at the same time, but it's not completely out of the question.
Presuming that time travel is at all possible, which the series already does, you can meet yourself without causing the entire universe to go kablooey. However, you would have to have experienced it both times. Perhaps your older self forgot, but it won't cause the world to explode.
It IS possible that if you confront your younger self and your older self doesn't remember, the resulting sudden surge of memory might cause an aneurysm. This is perhaps part of what causes nosebleeds in time travellers who are experiencing the flux of multiple timelines collapsing on themselves. Cuz there's really only one timeline but there's the potential for infinite timelines simultaneously.
Imagine if Schroedinger's cat were sentient enough to try and check for herself, while inside the box, whether or not the cannister of poison has already gone off, then she contemplates the ramifications of her ability to do that. If her poor widdle lolcat brain didn't explode from the strain I don't know what.
If they wanted to do it, it wouldn't be a big deal to have two Lockes on screen at once. All they do is have someone be a "stand-in" Locke while they shoot the scene with "old" Locke, then vice-versa when they shoot the scene with "young" Locke. Then the special effects guys super-impose the old or young Locke on top of the stand-in actor.
As far as your comment about "the sudden surge of memory might cause an aneurysm," I don't think this is what causes the nosebleeds. Remember, Daniel Faraday met Desmond while he was still in the hatch. Desmond woke up in bed (in the future) with this new memory suddenly in his brain, but his nose was not bleeding. Of course, I suppose you could argue that this has something to do with Desmond being "special," and "the rules don't apply" to him, as Faraday suggested.
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