That's right! The mysteries will now be posted not just once a month, but twice a month! Jalocke will be joining me in the exploration and discussion of these mysteries. And now, for this week's mystery: Science vs. Faith: The Crash of Oceanic Flight 815.

There is one question that has provided speculation from the airing of the pilot episode of LOST. That question, of course, is this: Why have these people crashed on this island? It seems like there are two sides to argue here: that of fate, and that of science. These two ideas are presented most obviously through the characters of Locke and Jack, the man of fate and the man of science, respectively. What do these two men have to say on the issue, and how do we, as the audience, choose which is correct? Keep reading to explore these questions.

Locke’s Perspective:
Every moment in the lives of the survivors of Flight 815 has led them to this island. From the moment they were born destiny had them hand-picked for this fate. Boone, Locke, Sawyer, even that guy who smashed through the engine in the Pilot episode (Gary Troup); all of them were meant to be here. Throughout their lives key decisions and moments formed them into the people they were and caused them to be on the plane. The most obvious one being our good friend Mr. Locke. John Locke was a salesclerk and seemed pretty happy with his job until his mother came in and changed his life forever. Being an orphan Locke followed the trail his mother laid and eventually ran into Mr. Anthony Cooper. Cooper stole his son's kidney and eventually paralyzed him from the waist down. These actions on the part of destiny and fate helped bring Locke to the island. Had Locke never been an orphan he never would have wished for some higher purpose. Had Locke never been paralyzed from the waist down he never would have been turned away from the walkabout expedition his desire for purpose had caused him to seek. Let’s look at Ana Lucia. Christian Shepard, the man of the hour, dragged Ana Lucia on a wild goose chase looking for his own daughter. She probably never would have ended up in Sydney had it not been for this crazed man. But wait, Christian Shepard is also the father of Claire and Jack. Coincidence...or fate? If we look throughout the lives of our castaways they all seem inexorably drawn to the island.

When we look at events on the island this thesis is confirmed even more. Our friend Locke has received visions from the island giving him instructions. It brought him to the Pearl (though at the time he didn't realize it), it showed him where to find Mr. Eko, and it has given him the sense of purpose and the ability to walk he has craved. Mr. Eko has also received visions from the island in the form of his brother Yemi. These visions helped Locke to find the Pearl. Aside from the visions we find many events on the island keyed to certain people. How could eko have helped Locke find the Pearl if his brother Yemi had not crashed there in the drug smuggler's plane? The drugs on the plane tested our friend Charlie and gave him the resolve he would eventually need to sacrifice himself for the other castaways. Throughout the story we see that these survivors were placed on this island for a reason, a purpose. How else could we explain the odd phenomenon leading them to this place?

Jack’s Perspective:
Okay please. Fate? Island powers bringing them to their destiny? That’s ridiculous. We have to look at this a bit more logically okay? So you are right that certain events have brought them to the island. We see that on the island that these individual survivors have fulfilled certain roles. So let’s look at those specific instances which brought them there. As mentioned earlier Christian Shepard seems to have played a focal role in the lives of Sawyer, Claire, Jack, and Ana Lucia. Anthony Cooper has influenced the lives of Locke, and Sawyer. Nadia has been instrumental in the lives of Sayid, and Charlie. What if these common denominators mean a bit more. Perhaps the important figures we should be looking at aren't our castaways but the people who helped them get to the island. What if these people are members of the Hanso Foundation, or perhaps the Dharma Initiative? They have managed to find these people and raise and bring them together so that they could crash on this island. It seems impossible right? Then how do you explain the crazy connections between all of the survivors? All of it can be explained if we assume that this big organization, with lots of money and connections, needs the island for some reason and has some purpose for these castaways. Perhaps the reason for these castaways coming to the island used to be part of the plan, but with the fall of the Dharma Initiative and the rise of the Others, they weren't ever needed but certain people carried through with the plan. People like Christian Shepard, Nadia, Anthony Cooper, Walt's mother. I mean how better to protect these people than by making them their sons, daughters, and lovers. The plans of the Hanso Foundation and the Dharma Initiative are still in motion and who knows what it will bring about.

These two seemingly opposing ideals, fate and science, are at the heart of the crash of flight 815. From the very moment the plane landed on the island, the question has always been: what was its cause? And here we have these two conflicting points of view. Perhaps the crash was destiny. Perhaps, all roads of the characters’ lives were leading to this point, a continuation of the path on which they had been set. Or perhaps the crash was engineered by certain influential persons. Each idea is equally plausible, and the line drawn between them becomes blurred at times. So how do we decide which to believe?

Consider, for a moment, the direct cause of the crash. Desmond, the last man left in the Swan, didn’t follow the protocol correctly. He didn’t push the button, and as a result, the strong electromagnetic force wasn’t discharged. The communications and necessary navigational equipment aboard flight 815 were made inoperable, and the plane went down. It all seems reasonable enough, a purely scientific explanation. It is almost certain that this was the cause of the crash. Yet, fate still may have a role to play. Though science seems to be the direct cause, it may have been Desmond’s destiny to not push the button in time that day. It may have been the fate of science to bring down that plane. We don’t have proof of the importance of destiny in the crash, as we do with science. That, however, is the very nature of fate. It has no proof, is fueled by faith. Belief and possibility alone make it a contender. Fate can be argued to work upon our characters, even when science cannot.

So, how do we choose which of these is the correct cause? We base our beliefs off of our personal opinions, just as Locke and Jack (the man of fate and the man of science, respectively) do on the show. There can be compromise. Perhaps the crash was engineered, yet it was fated that it be done. Or perhaps, the influence of characters such as Christian and Nadia was merely meant to happen, and had no connection to the Dharma Initiative or the Hanson Foundation. One thing is certain; the creators of LOST have challenged us to question our own ideas concerning science and fate, as they apply to the plane crash. They leave open both possibilities, and infinite possibilities in between. It is up to us, as the audience, to consider for ourselves these two ideas, and make up our own minds – at least for the time being.

To discuss these mysteries, we encourage you to drop by this thread. If you are not a member of the forums, feel free to post comments below - but joining in is well worth it.

Comments