Everyone knows that Ben is nto great at revealing what he knows.
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Lostitute
Just another soul sucked into Lost.
17 thoughts on “Ben’s Knowledge…”
Lostitute, very nice pickup! I was wondering when somebody would bring this up!
Clearly, Ben knew what the future held in terms of requiring a runway. That’s why he had it built back in Season 4, with the help of Kate and Sawyer.
The question is, HOW did Ben know about the future? It starts to limit the possibilities.
If Ben is unable to recall events from the past, according to many people, then how did he acquire this information?
Conventional wisdom dictates, if he says or does anything in the past, or anyone else provides him with knowledge from the past, he has no way remembering those events at a future date. Nor, would he have any way of acquiring that knowledge in the present or future.
I wholeheartedly concur, it would suggest a ‘time loop’
Ben has always known and been able to anticipate the outcomes of situations on too many occasions, for it to be mere coincidence, IMO.
The location of the runway is unimportant in my opinion, the actual runway is what is important. I think that Ben knew that the losties (and himeself) were going to leave the island and then come back, so he preemptively built a runway.
My roommate has done pilot training, and he says that part of survival/crash training is that when you are going down, you look for the best possible landing destination, and aim for it. Remember that Lapidus needed some extra boost to get to the runway, and he had to do some maneuvering and turning to get to the runway. So Lapidus – being an experienced pilot – saw the flat land, and went for it. It was not just an “Oh no, we’re going down, but look, the way we are falling has us landing perfectly on this runway placed conveniently here!”
I agree with Cap, and to piggy back: Ben knew he was going to leave the island, Ben knew Locke would have to. Ben knows not because of time travel, but because he is pulling all the strings. I think, and hope, this soon will come to an end and Ben will be in for a rude awakening.
One other possibility is that, child Ben is now running into our 815 friends and may gain some knowledge through them.
I think the manuevering involved turning on the burners after they hit the runway to stop the plane, and lifting in order to prevent a nose-dive right into it. Looked to me like he didn’t have much choice but land on the runway, or crash into it.
This also makes sense if you consider all of the things he gets away with outside the island. He just goes around murdering people and spying. It always appears that he just barely escapes capture/detection every time.
Not sure if this is the right answer, but nice theory.
Lostitude, I 100% agree that the plane was for them, I just disagree with the fact that Ben knew exactly WHERE on the small island to put it. I think he knew that the plane would possibly land on it, so he had it built in a central clearing area, where the pilots could see it from above. I don’t think he somehow knew where the plane ended up so he had the runway built in that exact location.
Jacob told him to build it years ago, but good ol’ Ben only just got around to it at the end of 2004.
Ben claims it was all the previous administration’s fault. All he could come up with was excuses about cost overruns, a shortage of skilled labor (they all disapeared in 1992 leavin’ the Egg Heads in charge)…
Oh, so these others are great at wasting time on fertility research and such but ask them to make a long flat space out of the jungle and all they can do is bitch about union breaks and overtime.
But when Jacob asked for that ball field so Shoeless Joe could pop in for an exhibition game the thing got built in record time. Ben is a real Sox fan!
It was a good thing those two southerners came along to set a good example or the thing never would have gotten done on time. Just goes to show what a texas girl and a Tenesee boy can do!
No wonder Jacob has Richard out headhunting for new administrative talent.
Andre7, once again, I read a theory, have a thought to submit from my perspective, read the comments, and there you are, having said it dead on! 🙂 It’s so validating, thanks!
Yes, I would agree that Jacob is the influence here – not necessarily that Ben is equipped with the knowledge of all future events.
I just want to add one thing to support this idea that we can credit runway knowledge to “Jacob”…
The character that we have seen as the most influential between the time periods now is Christian. (Yes, we’ve seen ‘ageless’ Richard, but I’m talking influential…)
– Christian was in 2004 cabin – tells Locke to move the island AND that he could speak on Jacob’s behalf.
– Christian was in the well in 19___ (I forget at the moment!) whatever year to tell Locke to turn the wheel to realign the island (and to say hello to his son, not a throwaway statement obviously).
– Christian was in 2007 post-Dharma-post-Otherton cabin to tell Sun she has a long journey ahead of her, AND that he knew exactly what year her husband/friends were in.
It’s kind of up in the air at the moment I think… where does Ben get his information from? Is Jacob feeding him? It seems likely to me that Jacob is giving him information. That’s why he’s so rarely surprised. So Sun hits him with a paddle… I think he’s been cut off since he’s not the leader of the Others anymore (or even a member of the group for that matter).
It’s not important for Ben to know exactly where the plane will crash. There is definitely real-world precedent to show that a pilot will attempt to maneuver to the best landing spot he can find in case of an emergency landing (“Miracle on the Hudson” anyone?).
I doubt that Ben is getting this knowledge from someone telling him when he was younger. He would have known all along, time loop or no time loop. If he knew all along then he probably would have started construction a little earlier and made a better runway.
Andre7.. I’m with you. I was thinking about this last night.
The most powerfull players are Christian/Jacob and probably Locke now. They seem to be the influencers.. or Time Cops if you will.
So I think Jacob USED to be feeding Ben info. So that Jacob and the “living dead” folks can get to their end game. Ben has been ousted though. So now our friend Locke will be the more powerfull. Which I think was somewhat clear as he revealed himself from behind that mystic cloak. All Luke Skywalker and !@#$!!!!
I think Ben could turn out to be the good guy in everything and the losties in 77 figure that out and have told Ben to do all of the things he has to get them to the point they need to be. Basically the things Ben has done has been training them for what lies ahead, and Bens done everything on there orders…..i would like for the story to go like this…..not sure it will tho lol
Lostitute, very nice pickup! I was wondering when somebody would bring this up!
Clearly, Ben knew what the future held in terms of requiring a runway. That’s why he had it built back in Season 4, with the help of Kate and Sawyer.
The question is, HOW did Ben know about the future? It starts to limit the possibilities.
If Ben is unable to recall events from the past, according to many people, then how did he acquire this information?
Conventional wisdom dictates, if he says or does anything in the past, or anyone else provides him with knowledge from the past, he has no way remembering those events at a future date. Nor, would he have any way of acquiring that knowledge in the present or future.
I wholeheartedly concur, it would suggest a ‘time loop’
Ben has always known and been able to anticipate the outcomes of situations on too many occasions, for it to be mere coincidence, IMO.
The location of the runway is unimportant in my opinion, the actual runway is what is important. I think that Ben knew that the losties (and himeself) were going to leave the island and then come back, so he preemptively built a runway.
My roommate has done pilot training, and he says that part of survival/crash training is that when you are going down, you look for the best possible landing destination, and aim for it. Remember that Lapidus needed some extra boost to get to the runway, and he had to do some maneuvering and turning to get to the runway. So Lapidus – being an experienced pilot – saw the flat land, and went for it. It was not just an “Oh no, we’re going down, but look, the way we are falling has us landing perfectly on this runway placed conveniently here!”
I agree with Cap, and to piggy back: Ben knew he was going to leave the island, Ben knew Locke would have to. Ben knows not because of time travel, but because he is pulling all the strings. I think, and hope, this soon will come to an end and Ben will be in for a rude awakening.
One other possibility is that, child Ben is now running into our 815 friends and may gain some knowledge through them.
I think the manuevering involved turning on the burners after they hit the runway to stop the plane, and lifting in order to prevent a nose-dive right into it. Looked to me like he didn’t have much choice but land on the runway, or crash into it.
This also makes sense if you consider all of the things he gets away with outside the island. He just goes around murdering people and spying. It always appears that he just barely escapes capture/detection every time.
Not sure if this is the right answer, but nice theory.
Cappayne I will have to disagree about the location of the landing strip.
The plane came out of the clouds and pretty much instantly was dodging some mountains and then landed.
Very little time to choose a spot to land. That scene seemed pretty clear to me that it was their specifically for them.
I could be wrong of course. Can’t really state anything as fact in lost. Accept that you can’t state anything as fact!
Lostitute – just because Ben didn’t know exactly where it should go, doesn’t mean the island didn’t. Or at least that’s my opinion.
Lostitude, I 100% agree that the plane was for them, I just disagree with the fact that Ben knew exactly WHERE on the small island to put it. I think he knew that the plane would possibly land on it, so he had it built in a central clearing area, where the pilots could see it from above. I don’t think he somehow knew where the plane ended up so he had the runway built in that exact location.
Okay, remember that the small island is about twice the size of Alcatraz. Think about that
Well he knows events, not people’s thoughts.
Sun whacking him in the noggin is an event…
Maybe his realm of knowledge only extended to the time period prior to him returning on 316. Just a thought.
Jacob told him to build it years ago, but good ol’ Ben only just got around to it at the end of 2004.
Ben claims it was all the previous administration’s fault. All he could come up with was excuses about cost overruns, a shortage of skilled labor (they all disapeared in 1992 leavin’ the Egg Heads in charge)…
Oh, so these others are great at wasting time on fertility research and such but ask them to make a long flat space out of the jungle and all they can do is bitch about union breaks and overtime.
But when Jacob asked for that ball field so Shoeless Joe could pop in for an exhibition game the thing got built in record time. Ben is a real Sox fan!
It was a good thing those two southerners came along to set a good example or the thing never would have gotten done on time. Just goes to show what a texas girl and a Tenesee boy can do!
No wonder Jacob has Richard out headhunting for new administrative talent.
Sorry for the rant, but I really think Jacob gets the credit for this one, not Ben.
Andre7, once again, I read a theory, have a thought to submit from my perspective, read the comments, and there you are, having said it dead on! 🙂 It’s so validating, thanks!
Yes, I would agree that Jacob is the influence here – not necessarily that Ben is equipped with the knowledge of all future events.
I just want to add one thing to support this idea that we can credit runway knowledge to “Jacob”…
The character that we have seen as the most influential between the time periods now is Christian. (Yes, we’ve seen ‘ageless’ Richard, but I’m talking influential…)
– Christian was in 2004 cabin – tells Locke to move the island AND that he could speak on Jacob’s behalf.
– Christian was in the well in 19___ (I forget at the moment!) whatever year to tell Locke to turn the wheel to realign the island (and to say hello to his son, not a throwaway statement obviously).
– Christian was in 2007 post-Dharma-post-Otherton cabin to tell Sun she has a long journey ahead of her, AND that he knew exactly what year her husband/friends were in.
It’s kind of up in the air at the moment I think… where does Ben get his information from? Is Jacob feeding him? It seems likely to me that Jacob is giving him information. That’s why he’s so rarely surprised. So Sun hits him with a paddle… I think he’s been cut off since he’s not the leader of the Others anymore (or even a member of the group for that matter).
It’s not important for Ben to know exactly where the plane will crash. There is definitely real-world precedent to show that a pilot will attempt to maneuver to the best landing spot he can find in case of an emergency landing (“Miracle on the Hudson” anyone?).
I doubt that Ben is getting this knowledge from someone telling him when he was younger. He would have known all along, time loop or no time loop. If he knew all along then he probably would have started construction a little earlier and made a better runway.
Andre7.. I’m with you. I was thinking about this last night.
The most powerfull players are Christian/Jacob and probably Locke now. They seem to be the influencers.. or Time Cops if you will.
So I think Jacob USED to be feeding Ben info. So that Jacob and the “living dead” folks can get to their end game. Ben has been ousted though. So now our friend Locke will be the more powerfull. Which I think was somewhat clear as he revealed himself from behind that mystic cloak. All Luke Skywalker and !@#$!!!!
I think Ben could turn out to be the good guy in everything and the losties in 77 figure that out and have told Ben to do all of the things he has to get them to the point they need to be. Basically the things Ben has done has been training them for what lies ahead, and Bens done everything on there orders…..i would like for the story to go like this…..not sure it will tho lol