Ever since Lost aired, the theories and rumors have been endless. But these numbers have a very simple meaning.
Lost, one of the most remarkable productions in the history of television, made a big impact with its mysteries and gripping storyline. Inviting the audience into an enigmatic world from the very first episodes, the series became a phenomenon full of unsolved mysteries over time. As the series progressed, the complex structure of the script deepened even more. Now added to the Netflix library, Lost is back on the agenda with its mysterious numbers. But what do these numbers mean? Here’s everything we know about the numbers in Lost.
Lost was one of the most theorized productions in the television world at the time of its broadcast
Even Lost’s biggest fans were saying that the show was losing its way every season. Because there were a lot of question marks and these questions did not have a logical basis. Damon Lindelof, one of the creators of the series, admitted that the script had reached a dead end, especially after the episode “Stranger in a Strange Land” in the third season. After that episode, they realized they needed something different to complete the story. Lost’s mysterious numbers were all over the show. However, not even the slightest detail was given about what these numbers meant.
The numbers from Lost first appeared on the lottery ticket Hurley played
Hurley’s character added another mystery to the story with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 on a lottery ticket that brought him only bad luck. But nothing in Lost was a simple coincidence. These numbers were also the passwords Desmond entered into the computer in the bunker every 108 minutes. Let’s not forget that the sum of these numbers is 108. Hurley considered these numbers to be cursed and thought that they only pointed to bad events. From season 1 to season 6, we often see mysterious numbers in Lost. However, until the last season, no explanation is given about what these numbers mean.
By the final season of the series, the character Jacob, played by Mark Pellegrino, says that each number represents a specific person who has the potential to become the protector of the island
Later in the series, it is revealed that a mysterious figure named Jacob has been directing events on the island for a long time and has chosen some people as “candidates” to protect the island. These people are candidates to succeed Jacob as his heir. Interestingly, each candidate is associated with one of the mysterious numbers in the series. For example:
- 4: Locke,
- 8: Hurley,
- 15: Sawyer,
- 16: Sayid,
- 23: Jack,
- 42: Jin ve Sun.
These numbers are directly linked to Jacob’s candidates and determine their fate. Jacob’s use of these numbers for the candidates shows how deeply the numbers are connected to the nature of the island. However, the exact meaning of the numbers or why they were given to these people is again not clearly explained.
So what is this Valenzetti equation? It was a formula used to predict the end of the world. The Hanso Foundation launched the Dharma Initiative to prevent the end of humanity after the Cuban Missile Crisis and commissioned Valenzetti to solve this equation. When Valenzetti determined that the probability of humanity self-destructing was 100%, the foundation tried to change these variables. In the post-series Lost: The Experience, which aired after the series, these numbers are associated with a fictional scientific theory known as the “Valenzetti Equation”. We want to emphasize again here. This scientific theory is also pure fiction. Scientists use this equation to try to predict events that could spell the end of humanity. This is why we see numbers everywhere throughout the series.
Despite this official announcement by Lost, fans continue to interpret and theorize about the series in a different way
As a result, numbers in Lost played an important role both in Jacob’s process of choosing the new guardians of the island and in the mathematical formula developed by the Dharma Initiative to prevent the end of the world. But despite all these explanations, the show’s complex structure leaves viewers with more questions. These numbers seem like a puzzle left open-ended for viewers to interpret the series. But as we mentioned above, these numbers come from an equation. Since this issue is not explored in detail in the series, people are looking for a different and bigger mystery. That’s why the last season of Lost is still considered a disappointment for fans today.
The post Unraveling the Mystery! What Do the Mysterious Numbers in Lost Really Mean? appeared first on NSF News and Magazine.