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 I was poking around my hard drive a while back, and I realized I had several edited, finished pieces on a wide variety of topics, which were for one reason or another unencumbered as far as their rights. So I decided to put them together into a small anthology. I present to you "Things That Suck: Deep Thoughts on Modern Life."
The book is (I hope) much more clever and brainy than the title might imply, however there simply could be no other title to encompass the contents of this book, which asks and answers such important questions as:
Do scientists need a license to create black holes in New York?
Is being lousy in bed really a medical condition?
Did Terry Nichols have lunch with Ramzi Yousef?
Was the Unabomber actually Jim Morrison?
Has George Bush handed al Qaeda the keys to world domination?
Did St. Paul ruin Christianity for all of us?
Is anyone actually running the world?
The book includes several essays that have been published in other anthologies, a couple of pieces that have appeared on various of my Web sites, and a couple of brand spankin' new items to make sure you get your money's worth. It's a grocery-store sized paperback of 171 pages.
Contents include:
Extreme Science!
Who Trains The White House In Ethics?
Hello, I Bomb You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name?
Jesus Was Not A Republican, But St. Paul Probably Was
The Day The Gordian Knot Grew Too Big To Cut
The Memo of the Christ
Why I Love (And Hate) Pro Wrestling
Al Qaeda's New Caliphate
Did Terry Nichols and Ramzi Yousef meet?
OKC: Unfinished Investigation
Fake Medicine
The Love Song of J. Alfred Roker
Sadly, the vendor I am using to print this material is pretty pricey (the unavoidable cost of print-on-demand), but if you're a publisher looking for a fun and mind-bending collection of already (professionally) edited commentary, analysis and investigation, drop me a line and let's talk.
In the meantime, the extremely tiny profit from sales (less than 50 cents per copy) will help support the upkeep of this site. Thanks for helping out!
Click for more info || Click here to buy || About the author
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Did anyone catch the Hanso Foundation commercial during the May 10, 2006 episode of LOST? There was a(probably fake) website but we didn't catch the spelling of the link; www.sublyminol.com? Have tried different variants on the spelling.
it was www.sublymonal.com
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Chariots of the What, Now?Erich von Daniken believes that ancient alien astronauts visited Earth many millennia ago, in order to carry out a mission of extreme galactic importance -- building pyramids out of mud and rock. Daniken is so convinced of the truth of this statement that he has distorted real evidence and manufactured fraudulent evidence to support his claims. Because, you see, it's very important that you believe him. Important for humanity.
For the full story, by J.M. Berger, click here.
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Jakob BohmeAbout 400 years ago, before the discovery of electricity and only 150 years after the invention of the printing press, a barely literate German cobbler came up with the idea that God was a binary, fractal, self-replicating algorithm and that the universe was a genetic matrix resulting from the existential tension created by His desire for self-knowledge.
If that's the sort of thing that piques your interest, click here for the rest of the story (by J.M. for the Rotten Library).
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My So-Called 'Plane Crash'I watched the repeat of "Adrift" on Lost last night, and I was struck again by a nagging point related to the plane crash. To wit, Flight 815 was once an airplane, which looked something like this (in order to ensure strict scientific accuracy, we'll render the illustrations in ASCII):
4
======V======D
Tail Nose
Then, it broke up in mid-air while traveling at a high rate of speed. First (or apparently first), the tail came off:
=V======D
Fuselage Nose
Then, the cockpit and fuselage broke up. The flashbacks suggest several seconds passed between the tail coming off and the rest of the plane breaking up.
=V==== ==D
Fuselage Nose
Then, the pieces hit the ground. Now, I'm not one of these anal-retentives who will insist that this scenario must meet some sort of rigid, realistic physics criteria. Nor am I obsessed with the idea that every minor detail of this show must somehow be integrated into a whole. But I have to ask: How did the pieces of the plane end up on the ground in the order they did? Let's go to the ASCII.
4
===== ==D ====V=
Tail Nose Fuselage
:O ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ &%
Others Island Sawyer and Kate making out
As you can clearly see here, the forward section of the fuselage was pointed toward the interior of the island, as we (actually) clearly saw in the first episode. We don't know how the nose was oriented because of the way it landed, and we haven't seen the tail, but we know the nose was in the middle of the fuselage and the tail. So how did the pieces land with such a strange distribution? (And why did Jack wake up so far away from the plane anyway?)
While the pieces of a collapsing airplane can certainly behave strangely, it's hard to imagine any large piece of airplane sustaining the amount of stress and torque required to scatter these pieces in this order, with the fuselage pointing backward relative to the crash trajectory. It's worth noting that the groundwork for the tailenders' survival was laid early and appears to have been part of the writers' plan from day one.
I've always been firmly in the "there was no plane crash" camp. Is this arrangement a clue to indicate the lie? Or just a case of artistic license? The thing about artistic license -- especially on an intelligent show like Lost -- is that it does not represent an unlimited grant to ignore logic.
You can artistically license some of the people all of the time, and you can artistically license all of the people some of the time, but you can't artistically license all of the people all of the time.
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I would venture to say that the way in which the pieces were oriented on the island had more to do with the location of the island in real / theoretical "space" and its orientation vis-a-vis the flight path.
I mention theoretical space as related to some LOST theories extending from the island as a source of unusually powerful electromagnetic (perhaps geothermal, too) energy. These theories infer, in part, the quasi- (or, depending, pseudo-) scientific basis for such phenomenon as the "vile vortices", or other such anomalies as evidenced in your Kircher post.
There have been some island sketches based upon what the program has "shown" us. Sadly, I can't seem to locate a single one!
i watched "adrift" last night, and saw smothing quite odd. I wonder if anyone also was this.
It was a scene when mike and sawyer were clining to their wraft ( shot from below the sea ) and the "shark" swims past...
I saw the Dharama logo on the sharks tail......
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In Honor Of Flu Season...The 1918 flu pandemic came and went like a flash. Between the speed of the outbreak and military censorship of the news during World War I, hardly anyone in the United States knew that a quarter of the nation's population -- and a billion people worldwide -- had been infected with the deadly disease. More than half a million died in the U.S. alone; worldwide, the estimates ran as high as 50 million.
And it might be happening again. Experts say the next flu pandemic could claim between 180 million and 360 million lives worldwide. Take a moment to think about those numbers, then set the wayback machine for 1918 and check out this article I wrote for the Rotten Library. I can't say you'll be "glad" you did, but you'll be sadder and wiser, and that counts for something.
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End of the Nation-State (Redux)When NPR's Frank Stasio was in Boston, pinch-hitting for Robin Young on Here & Now, we worked on a segment which posed the question: Will Iraq be the last traditional nation-state? And is our traditional idea of "national identity" becoming obsolete in the new transnational world? Frank did a follow-up with one of our guests during his regular fill-in gig on The State of Things at WUNC. With considerably more time available, the result was another great conversation. You can listen to it here. Big-picture, beyond-the-box thinking is sorely lacking on the modern media landscape. Snap it up when you get the chance.
For an extension of this discussion in one particular direction, check out my recent white paper on Al Qaeda's New Caliphate, if you haven't already. It's transnationalism at its scariest.
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New Dharma Video(WARNING: This post is spoiler-free but if you click on the links, you will see possible spoilers. UPDATE: You will actually not see spoilers because the video is bogus. It may be "official bogus" (i.e., misinformation produced by the LOST team, like the mapinguari script page), but it is bogus.
The good folks over at the Lost-TV message boards turned up an interesting find -- an alleged new Dharma Initiative film, similar to the one seen in "Orientation." Click here to download. It could well be a hoax -- and if it is, it's a very good one. Personally, I was inclined to think it's legitimate but various folks on that thread linked above have pointed out some various possible inconsistencies. I just don't know, judge for yourself.
However, it is just the kind of thing you'd expect ABC to put out there with the next new episode of Lost being three weeks away.
(I don't know how long that download link will keep working, but if it goes down, I'll see what I can do.)
the_real_ptb at Lost-TV posted the following screencaps of the Dharma logos featured in the videos, if you want to see them without enduring the possible spoilers. (If the film is legit, the spoilers are not earth-shaking exactly -- more an advancement of the kind of thing found on the Hanso Foundation Web site.)
UPDATE: OK, now THIS comment from Javier Grillo-Marxuach officially makes this video the most awesome mind game ever. God help us if these writers ever start working for the government...
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Just for your personal knowledge there was a typo in the listing of the six stations. There was two labels claiming icons to be five skipping four. Strange... plus there was many typos in the document.
I love your site. Totally Lost as always...
Great find! I read the "official" board post as indicating that it is a fake; it lacks the polish I'd expect from an original Lost creation. Just my two cents!
-Lex
The Lost Blog
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After a destabilizing invasion and occupation, Islamic extremists are poised to seize political power across the Middle East in the wake of a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. The resulting transnational fundamentalist caliphate (Islamic empire) would represent the successful completion of al Qaeda's explicit political goal.
As domestic support for the U.S. occupation of Iraq continues to decline, American withdrawal is no longer a question of "if," but "when" and "how soon." Egoplex.com (in cooperation with INTELFILES.com) presents "American Made: Al Qaeda's New Caliphate," a special report examining the all-too-real prospect that al Qaeda can successfully leverage any foreseeable scenario for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq against its extremely effective propaganda efforts in the Middle East to create a semi-cohesive regional Islamic power bloc -- an extremist-led political force commanding some of the world's richest resources, an arsenal of nuclear weapons and a territory comparable in size to the continental United States.
Click here for the full report
J.M. Berger is a freelance writer and consultant covering transnationalism, business, technology, terrorism and complexity issues. Berger has produced nationally distributed news programming for WBUR (Boston's NPR affiliate) on the future of Iraq and the threat of transnational terrorism, among other topics. Click here for links to audio. Berger is available for media appearances to discuss this analysis.
Contact the Author: JMB at intelwire.com
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Good to see something on egoplex not to do with LOST, but maybe I just say that because I come from Australia and there will be a big delay before we see the 1st episode of the second season.
Thanks for the article JMB.
I hear ya....
The 1,000 to 5,000 visitors on any given day mean there will be more Lost posts to come, but I do have plenty of other interests...
(The 108 i-Ching article actually has nothing to do with Lost either.)
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Jin's I-Ching Reading In case the previous indications were too subtle, the i-Ching was featured prominently on tonight's episode of Lost ("...And Found"). Jin's i-Ching "fortune telling" reading was Hexagram 12: Obstruction. With heaven (yang) above and earth (yin) below, the primal forces of the universe do not meet (because yang rises and yin sinks). Thus, there is obstruction.
Everyone who was paying attention caught that much. Now for the subtleties. There were two transforming lines highlighted in Jin's i-Ching reading. One (6 at 3 for the purists) signified "hiding shame," which was clearly indicated in the story by Jin's shame over his upbrining -- which he conquered in a moment of pride at the end. The other transforming line (9 at 6) signifies that although there is a delay, obstruction will eventually be removed and then there will be joy. Meeting Sun at the end certainly was a happy moment.
As for orange, well, I have no idea where Jin's roomate got that one from... The hexagram was transforming into Hex 31, Sensing, which observes "It is lucky to wed a woman." Well, Jin's luck hasn't been too great so far, but it could be coming yet...
To my mind, the fact that this hexagram is so directly related to the plot of the episode, down to some fairly arcane details, strongly suggests that the other Eastern symbolism featured on Lost is also directly relevant to the overall meaning of the show. At the very least, it demonstrates that Lost employs some people who are intimately familiar with the nuanced use of the i-Ching. Food for thought...
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I have read with fasination your in depth analysis of LOST.
I would like to hear your thoughts on how the last two shows which are based almost entirely on character issues can continue to interest the group of fans who are only interested in the technological issues of the show.
I am somewhat dismayed they have varied the plot lines so dramtically in the last couple of shows in comparison to the begining of the season.
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King Wen's Hidden 108 and Other Mysteries
New site: http://iching.egoplex.com/
New Site: http://iching.egoplex.com/
New article: Broken Symmetry in King Wen Pairs
King Wen is a figure shrouded in myth. We know almost nothing about him except that someone using his name created a famous sequence, an ordering, for the i-Ching. Over time, King Wen's sequence has proven impenetrable to any mathematical explanation of why the hexagrams are in presented in this particular order.
King Wen's sequence orders the i-Ching hexagrams into 32 pairs. Each hexagram in a pair is structurally related to the other hexagram in the same pair, but the sequential ordering of the pairs appears to be random.
 The i-Ching is inherently numerical and any sequence of hexagrams can be made to perform a variety of mathematical or narrative tricks, but the underlying mathematical-structural intention of King Wen's ordering is nothing short of baffling -- to the point that most scholars fall back to the "random" theory. While some commentators have advanced theories about the ordering, most of these are unconvincing and somewhat contrived.
I've been looking into the ordering of the King Wen sequence for a while now. Although I haven't solved the underlying logic, I recently uncovered a set of correspondences tied to King Wen which has some interesting implications as far as arranging and ordering the hexagrams. I am increasingly certain that the King Wen sequence is not random, although the exact pattern still eludes me.
I began with the King Wen circular arrangement of the ba gua (eight trigrams). The King Wen ba gua contants a "magic square" number scheme -- if you add the numeric values of each position in a row, column or diagonal, the total is always 15. I was curious about how far the properties of this square could be extended, so I created a diagram running the numbers out in a 9x9 grid. 8x8 for the normal grid used to find an i-Ching hexagram, plus a column in the center to correspond to the five in the center of the ba gua (which symbolizes the Tai Chi, or yin-yang symbol of totality).
I added the values of the vertical and horizontal columns, then added the totals of the columns and rows. The result was not a magic square, but it was surprising.
The rows and columns corresponded horizontally and vertically, but the 108 especially jumped out at me, because of its importance in other Eastern systems not immediately linked to the numerology of the i-Ching. (The number recently became very prominent to the wider public due to its recent use on ABC's LOST.)
Within the four quadrants created by the "108 cross" the summed values alternate perfectly between even and odd. While not conclusive, this suggests an element of design, rather than chance. This suggestion becomes far more concrete when you analyze how the "108 cross" interacts with the full 64-number King Wen sequence.
When you plug the King Wen numbering into the appropriate slots for the hexagrams (collapsing the "five" line into an axis, since there are no corresponding hexagrams), you get the following arrangement:
The blue-shaded hexes are symmetrical -- yin-yang opposites are reflected diagonally around the axis of the "108 cross." The reflected hexagrams aren't just any hexagrams either -- the set includes the first two hexagrams in the King Wen series, Nos. 1 and 2, Pure Yang and Pure Yin; Nos. 29 and 30, Fire (strong yang) and Water (strong yin); Nos. 11 and 12, Advance and Obstruction; and the final two hexagrams in the King Wen series -- Nos. 63 and 64, Unsettled and Settled.
The hexagrams represented in the set of 16 symmetrical hexes are the purest yin and yang hexagrams. All of them represent major forces. But the symmetry doesn't end there.
Although you can easily build a narrative for the 108 cross (or any other sequence of hexagrams), there is no apparent rhyme or reason to the numbers within the cross, in terms of hexagram structure or numerical order.
When the numbered hexagrams are divided into simple 4x4 quadrants, again, there is no pattern in hexagram structure or numerical order -- at first glance. But a deeper analysis shows that there is an underlying order to the arrangement. I found order in the "nuclear" hexagrams that correspond to the hexagrams in the square. A nuclear hexagram is found by taking the second, third and fourth lines (counting from the bottom) as the lower trigram, and the third, fourth and fifth lines as the upper trigram -- forming a new hexagram. This is a common practice for advanced i-Ching practitioners.
If you derive the nuclear trigram for every hexagram in the i-Ching, you end up with a set of 16 hexagrams that repeats four times.
This time, the chart does reveal an ordering, and a symmetry -- a complete set of nuclear trigrams is found in each distinct quadrant. The same number never appears twice in the same quadrant. The yin-yang mirroring in the clusters of four hexes surrounding the 108 cross is also maintained after the transformation, again providing a central cluster of symmetry -- but still off center from the overall diagram.
Additionally, the two vertical columns down the center axis are perfectly symmetrical, and each row and column has a perfect reflection across the horizontal and vertical axes, although they are not symmetrically arranged.
Clearly, this division of the hexagrams is not random, but it is also lacks a simple, obvious pattern. In fact, the table is similar to the King Wen numerical sequence, because there is clearly a grouping (quadrants in the chart, pairs in the sequence) but the pattern that dictates the grouping remains impenetrable. It may be fractal in nature, in which case a final explanation could prove impossible to discern.
I'm not giving up yet. I will update with whatever additional correspondences I turn up after some additional study of these charts. Based on the complexity of the relationships, I am increasingly certain there is an underlying mathematical-structural explanation for the ordering of the King Wen sequence. I suspect the answer lies in the ba gua diagram...
Oh, yes, the square at the center of the 108 cross? "Joy," No. 58, also known as "Lake." An appropriate hexagram for 108, a number so closely associated with transcendence and nirvana.
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New Dharma Logo, New Ideas KinmarX at the Lost-TV forum posted the screenshot at right, showing the newest version of the Dharma Initiative logo -- as seen on the wall of the new hatch occupied by the tail-end surviviors on ABC's TV series Lost.
The new logo is different from the old one, notably in the outer ring of the ba gua diagram -- which features broken lines -- as if to suggest the outer shell is part of the ba gua itself (normally it isn't). Click here for my previous discussion of the ba gua.
There are many variations on the ba gua. This is an odd one. It's not unprecedented, but it's notable as more than a variation since it's presented in contrast to the Swan version (this one appears to have an arrow in the center). It could suggest a fourth line appended to each trigram -- making tetragrams. And indeed, there is a tetragram-based divination system in Chinese mysticism -- the T’ai Hsuan Ching, a counterpart to the i-Ching.
The T’ai Hsuan Ching probably a little younger than its better known counterpart, but it's in the same neighborhood of antiquity (i.e., 2,000 to 3,000 years or more). Where the i-Ching is binary (using yin and yang as 0 and 1), the T’ai Hsuan Ching is ternary -- base three -- using yin (solid line), yang (broken line), and a twice-broken line representing man.
The T'ai Hsuan Ching has 81 tetragrams arranged in a 9-by-9 magic square (which I will examine later when I have more time). 108 is 9 times 12, so we're getting into some numerological areas where there are interesting possible resonances. Chinese astrology is based on a 12-hexagram cycle. It might take some mental gymnastics, but we could wend our way to 108 yet.
Let's be up front about this. The creators of Lost are not probably not conducting a seminar in Chinese metaphysical obscurities. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with all these moving parts. And before you ask, here's what the "numbers" mean according to the T’ai Hsuan Ching:
4: Barrier
8: Opposition
15: Reach
16: Contact
23: Secretly of Two Minds, Gives Way to Balance
42: Going to Meet
An interesting narrative path is suggested here, complementary to (and arguably more interesting than) what my earlier i-Ching analysis provided. Food for thought....
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http://www.mostlymuppet.com/archives/2005/10/14/lost-dharma-initiative-login/#comments
Much like with AI and Donnie Darko, a parallel internet "mystery" is evolving for LOST.
I've been extremely impressed (and reliant) on the crucially intelligent discourse here. I think we could use some help putting together "The Devil's Verse" and "Suculae" (a brief previous code, and an apparent astrological reference)with the larger conception of time you have begun to explore.
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Who Is Alvar Hanso?A couple of people over at Lost-TV forms stumbled across the fact that "Hanso" is Sanskrit for "Swan." But there's more to the story of the new mystery man on Lost. Although he's apparently Danish, his name has some interesting Indian links which are probably not entirely accidental (considering the Dharma drama playing out).
"Alvar" is Sanskrit/South Indian dialect meaning "He Who Masters the World Through the Worship of God," which is certainly an interesting connotation for the head of the Dharma Initiative. (Alvar can also mean a Hindu saint.) Hanso is not as simple as it seems either. Hanso (a variant of Hansa) was also the name of the original caste in India. Legend has it that once, long ago, there was only one caste, and that was the Hansa caste.
Offered for what it's worth. If you haven't already seen the Hanso Foundation Web site, click here to check it out. And by the way, who else caught the Mayan Calendar sitting on the shelf of the Degroots' office? 2012, here we come...
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OK, now I have to watch this show.
-Quagga
Better start with the DVDs, because this show is more self-referential than a thesaurus. (Also if it starts to blow chunks this year I can warn you so you can pretend it was canceled after the first year.)
hansa means white goose or swan, vehicle of the Asvins. It also corresponds in the West to the pelican of alchemy.
The asvins:
Asvins, Asvinau (Sanskrit) The two horsemen; two Vedic divinities which in some respects parallel the Greek Dioscuri, Pollux and Castor. Harbingers of Ushas (the dawn), they are represented as twin horsemen, appearing in the sky in a golden chariot drawn by horses or birds.
One myth gives their origin as children of the sun by a nymph, Asvini, who concealed herself in the form of a mare; another myth makes Asvini their wife. Since they precede the sun's rising they are called the parents of the sun's form, Pushan. They are also the parents of Nakula and Sahadeva, Arjuna's brothers by Madri. Many Vedic hymns are addressed to them; their attributes pertain to youth and beauty, to speed, and to duality.
They bring treasures to mankind, averting misfortune and sickness, for they are the two physicians of heaven (svar-vaidyau). Yaska, the earliest known commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta writes that the Asvinau represent the transition from darkness to light and are identified with heaven and earth.
Blavatsky says that "these twins are, in the esoteric philosophy, the Kumara-Egos, the reincarnating 'Principles' in this Manvantara" (TG 41). That the Greek Dioscuri were respectively the son of Zeus and the son of a mortal, is a direct reference to the dual character of the kumaric mind or the higher manas, an immortal quality in human beings in its higher aspect, the lower aspect being connected with the mortal part of the human constitution.
What you think is not real, is real. You have to stop them. I am not in control anymore. The island is real. What is happening is happening. You are being used. Stop asking the wrong questions.
I stil;l can do good for mankind help me
A.H.
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Orientation, the Sun & 108 No massive and profound treatises on the most recent episode of Lost, at least not quite yet, but I will point out that the Dharma Initiative operatives were supposed to work 540-day shifts. As many have already probably noticed, 540 = 108 x 5. However, it's also worth noting that 108 divided by four is 27, which is the length of a solar rotation (the time it takes the sun to spin completely around once). So the term of service down the hatch was supposed to be 20 "solar days."
Why should we care about 20 solar days? Well the solar rotation produces magnetic disturbances on the earth. As as we "learned" (ha ha) in "Orientation," the 108 computer in the hatch is supposed to control a magnetic disturbance on the Island. And the 108 number is inscribed in the center of the sun on the mural in the hatch. Some solar studies use 108-day cycles as well. (There are also 108 sun salutations in some yoga practices.)
Interesting? Click here for more details and further links.
By the way, now that we now know magnetism is an ongoing focus, you might want to revisit my earlier Athanasius Kircher posting. (See Click here for Kircher's connection to the "phoenix" logo on Lost, as well as his link to the i-Ching trigrams in the Dharma logo and his link to Rousseau's sketch of the Island.)
A Jesuit scholar and polymath who chronicled a substantial amount of the 17th century's scientific, religious and philosophical knowledge, Kircher was particularly renowned for his Magnes sive de arte magnetica opus tripartitum, a massively influential treatise that first coined the phrase "electromagnetism."
The book includes measurements of the Earth's magnetic properties at various locations, as well as the construction of various devices using principles of magnetism, such as a magnetic clock and a magnetic "oracle" -- referred to at various points as the Oracle of Apollo, if you're keeping track of all the ungodly obscure references from the show....
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I just found this site. This page is fascinating - I've saved it and forwarded it to a fellow LOST fan. Nice to see someone with actual intelligence offer up interesting and logical theories after some of the nonsense I've been reading on some message boards. Thanks!
108?
What's the sum of The Numbers? I think you know.
Thanks!
You can fool sum of the numbers, sum of the time...
I noticed you used the word "treatise" several times in this blog. I noticed this because I had to look it up. Try a Google search for "treatise" and see what comes up...
If it is not interesting to you, here's the first link that came up whem I ran the search:
http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtreat.htm
im just a mear googling rodent that is fanatic about lost and its mind bending sub theories and this blog i have found to be the most far streched out from the story but the best as it is perfect in every way if anyone here would like email me about these theories and any other theoryies it would be much appreicated
matyn_leetto@hotmail.com
(please no spam)
Some of these theories are reflected elsewhere checkout http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-9VQjEKI8dKmG.cpgkmaylcc9Z.YI
about The 108 Number]
And just something as a side-line: http://lawoftime.org/home.html
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Athanasius Kircher's Magnets, Numbers and IslandsI was working on a freelance article dealing with medieval mystics, when I came across a fellow who may be of interest to Lost fans. His name is Athanasius Kircher, and he was a Jesuit scholar in the 1600s. So what's the connection to Lost?
 For one thing, he wrote an epic study on magnetism, and as we know, there are some strange magnetic features on the island. The frontspiece appears to be a double-headed phoenix, an image which will be familiar to those of you who have invested too much of your lives in this ABC TV show (a very similar image was on Jack's vodka bottle and on Desmond's shirt in the stadium flashback). The image here is actually a "magnetic eagle" modeled on the insignia of the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria. (Maybe Alvar Hanso is a descendant of the Hapsburgs...) Click the image for a larger version.
 There's more, however. Kircher was an orientalist, and as such, he was exposed to many aspects of Asian spirituality that were little known by his peers. One such example is tucked away in the corner of a large numerological design, the frontspiece of a text called Arithmologia. You can click the cherub for the full picture. The large 9-pointed star to which the little cherub's magic square points may itself contain a magic square. Nine x 12 is 108, of course, but what's more significant is that the magic square held by the cherub is the numerical expression of the eight i-Ching trigrams -- the ba gua -- featured in the DHARMA logo in Desmond's hatch. (See previous posts here and here.)
In addition to designing strange musical instruments, recording massive charts loaded with all sorts of occult numbers and designing mirror-based imaging systems (!), Kircher was a major inspiration for the Illuminati, and he also claimed to have mapped out the location of Atlantis. His version is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and some students of his work say it may actually be a representation of Antarctica. What interests me is the mountain peak in the center of the continent which Kircher claims still protrudes from the ocean. That image is below. The inset is from the "French Chick's Map" that Sayyid took from Danielle Rousseau. Any resemblance is strictly in your head, or mine.
You may commence Googling...
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I wanted to say thanks -- as a big LOST fan, I find your site to be amazing. I was drawn here while researching the I Ching numbers myself. I totally enjoy your other articles also. I wish you the best in your endeavors
i have a question... did you add that small picture of the map or was that part of the orginal picture?
I put the small inset of the Island in there. The one at the tip of the arrow is the one that was on the original. I did note that it looks more like a mirror image than a one-to-one correspondence...
ah.. ty. I admit I was kind of hoping it was part of theoriginal picture. ;) Would have made it even MORE interesting. But, great post none the less. thanks for the information.
You know, a lot of the time, I find the history and "mythology" that might have influenced to the show to be far more interesting than the show itself. Thank you for a very interesting read. :)
Where do you come up with the 12 to get to 108? I understand the 9 and the math but what reference points to twelve?
^ There is a 12-hexagrams i-Ching cycle which might be able to be cross-referenced to the 9-square Tai Hsuan Ching chart. I will post on this later -- I might order a copy of a relevant book to get a little more information first...
^^ I like the show itself plenty, but the related material is my bread and butter (literally and figuratively), so I agree with doomcrayon's sentiment entirely...
All I have to say is: awesome. I just came across your blog when I was looking for info and feel like I've hit a goldmine. This post in particular really grabbed me. Now I'm going to have to sit down and find all the Lost tidbits you've noted.
I hope you don't mind, but I mentioned your website on the Lost forum I frequent: www.4815162342.com
Check out www.kirchersociety.org
does someone have a sceencap of Jack's vodka bottle?
http://synchromysticism.blogspot.com/
I like magic square image.
I'd like if you can post it on Flickr and introduce it in my Flickr Magic Square group
www.flickr.com/groups/magic-square/ or allow me to introduce it.
Fabrizio Pivari
fabrizio (at) pivari.com
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What is Dharma?Previous Lost posts:
>: Hurley's Numbers Intepreted As i-Ching Hexagrams
>: 4 8 15 16 23 42 (Ba Gua in Desmond's Hatch)
>: More Lost, More 23 and More I-Ching
In the wake of its debut on Lost, I've read a lot of different attempts to explain exactly what dharma is supposed to mean. Some of these explanations -- including the top ranked Google hit at the time of this writing -- have very little resemblance to reality.
It's actually a testament to the ineffectiveness of Google that you can come up with a wrong answer for the question: "What is dharma?" Dharma is one of those words that can mean just about anything. Anything except "protection," that is. After reading the 23,000th message board posting matter of factly stating that dharma means protection, I was finally moved to pontificate.
The oft-cited Web posting here isn't wrong so much as misleading. In the sense it is referenced on this well-intentioned Web page, dharma means "protection" only in the same sense that the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule can be interpreted to mean "protection" -- i.e., if you follow the rules, you will be protected from negative consquences (whether hellfire, an unhappy life or bad karma).
Dharma can mean many, many, many different things depending on the context. The page cited above is using "dharma" in a very specific way. Here, dharma is a word that means "the teachings of the Buddha." Now, this particular definition may not be very illuminating if you're Googling dharma in order to find out why the word is written on Desmond's candy bars and olives (and I'll get to that) down in that pesky old hatch on the ABC TV series Lost. (UPDATE: Well, thanks to "Orientation," we finally know it is the "Dharma Initiative." And we all caught that reference to B.F. Skinner, king of behavioral conditioning. Too obvious, if you ask me.)
Dharma in Hinduism can refer to a moral code -- compliance with dharma improves your karma. On a metaphysical level, it more generally refers to the true essence of reality, akin to a Platonic ideal, but more intense -- the true essence of things.
In Buddhism, dharma is used to describe the Buddha's teachings of the eightfold path (more details in an article by me here).
Perhaps more significantly in this context, however, dharma is also the cosmic principle that drives samsara -- the cycle of death and rebirth in which your karma determines the situation of your return. Since our characters do seem to be working through their bad karma on the Island, this is worth considering -- especially since every five minutes or so someone says "we all have new lives here."
Dharma can signify the reflection of reality in a human mind, also a fun prospect if you believe the Lostaways are acting out some sort of Matrix/VR/Dream scenario. Dharma can also mean the manifestation of phenomena and reality, which is the definition most in tune with the i-Ching -- a map of that very manifestation.
The logo features the word "dharma" in the center of an eight-trigram arrangement from the i-Ching. As discussed in my earlier posts, there is no overt traditional connection between any of the many meanings of dharma and the i-Ching. Dharma in certain forms of Buddhism (Hinayana, literally meaning "small vehicle" or "little raft") signifies the "factors" or building blocks of existence, a definition that is equally applicable to the i-Ching.
In Hinayana Buddhism, the object of life is to liberate yourself from the misery of endlessly repeating the cycle of death and rebirth. Unlike some other forms of Buddhism, Hinayana teaches that reality is actually real and not illusory. Interestingly, Hinayana Buddhism also requires believers to be cut all ties to family and friends -- a condition involuntarily thrust on the Island castaways.
Apollo and OlivesOn a separate note, the Apollo candy bars that Kate found in the storeroom are interesting in the context of the room's large supply of olives. Olives are often a symbol of rebirth and the cycle of life (see the above), but they have many other possible symbolisms associated with them. In myth, Apollo's sister Athena brought the olive tree to Greece, and the olive branch is sometimes offered in ritual to Apollo. Whatever that's supposed to mean, I will leave to others...
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1 Comments:
First of all, great site. I enjoyed reading your material and will be regularly checking back for updates.
The following is in refernce to the Apollo chocolate bars found inside the bunker's food store.
Apolllo, son of Zeus, is referred to in classical mythology as "the far shooter". He is the divine archer who shoots arrows from afar.
Although they have the same father (Zeus), Apollo is the twin brother of Artemis (goddess of the hunt) not Athena.
From the Homeric hymn to Apollo:
"...the lady Leto (mother of Apollo) rejoices because she has borne a son who is a mighty archer. Rejoice, O Blessed Leto, since you have borne splendid children, lord Apollo and Artemis, who take delight in arrows. Artemis you bore in Ortygia and Apollo in rocky Delos as you leaned against the great and massive Cynthian hill, right next to the palm tree near the stream of the Inopus."
Leto travelled far and wide in her search for a refuge where she might bear her divine son.
The hymn continues, "...lady Leto came to Delos and asked with winged words: Delos, if you would like to be the home of my son, Phoebus Apollo, and to establish for him a rich temple - do not refuse, for no one else will come near you, as you will find out, and I do not think that you will be rich in cattle or sheep or bear harvests or grow plants in abundance - if you would then have a temple of Apollo, the far-shooter, all people will congregate here and bring hetacombs, and the aroma of rich sacrifices will rise up incessantly and your inhabitants will be nourished by the hands of foreigners."
Delos rejoices but raises the following concern to Leto:
"Leto, most renowned daughter of Coeus, I should receive your son, the lord who shoots from afar, with joy, for the terrible truth is that I have heard a bad reputation among human beings, and in this way I should become greatly esteemed. But I fear this prediction... they say that Apollo will be someone of uncontrollable power, who will mightily lord it over both immortal gods and mortal humans on the fruitful earth. And so I am dreadfully afraid in the depths of m heart and soul that when he first looks upon the light of the sun he will be comtemptuous of me (since I am an island that is rocky and barren) and overturn me with his feet and push me down into the depths of the sea where the surge of the great waves will rise mightily above me."
As this does not really say anything, I thought there were too many references not to mention.
My 2 cents,
Cheers
PK
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