The Pendulum’s Business
“Why doesn’t it move?”
“Well because a point…the central point, I mean, the one right in the middle of all the points you see..it’s a geometric point; you can’t see it because it has no dimension, and if something has no dimension, it can’t move, not right or left, not up or down. So it doesn’t rotate with the earth. You understand? It can’t even rotate around itself. There is no ‘itself.'”
“But the earth turns.”
“The earth turns, but the point doesn’t. That’s how it is. Just take my word for it.”
“I guess it’s the Pendulum’s Business.”
The above is an excerpt from the novel “Foucault’s Pendulum” by Umberto Eco. It is a story about three publishers who invent a fictional secret plan by a fictional secret society to locate the Umbilicum Mundi, or “Naval of the World,” and gain world domination. However a real secret society thinks the plan is real and attempts to implement it. A major part of the plan was to use a foucault pendulum in order to find the exact location of the Umbilicum Mundi. In season 5 of Lost we are introduced to a DHARMA station known as the Lamp Post whose purpose was to locate and track the Island. The main feature of the Lamp Post is a foucault pendulum.
Most of us are familiar with a clock’s pendulum which, with help from the clock’s escapement, regulates time for the clock. A foucault pendulum is a pendulum that swings from a fixed, unmoving point in such a way that the earth rotates underneath the pendulum. Although the plane of the pendulum’s swing does not move we are treated to the illusion of movement because we are rotating with the earth underneath the pendulum.
The Island, perhaps due to interactions between it’s E/M pocket and the pocket of exotic matter, is the pendulum for our planet and regulates time for the planet. The fixed point, or constant, from which the Island/Pendulum swings is the E/M pocket underneath the Lamp Post. The donkey wheel would be the mechanism by which the period of the Island/Pendulum’s swing is regulated, turn it one way and the swing speeds up but turn it the other way and it slows down.
By installing a pendulum in the Lamp Post, DHARMA could use that pendulum as a proxy for the Island. The point from which the pendulum swings would be above the point that the Island/Pendulum would connect to the E/M pocket. By observing the interactions of the proxy pendulum DHARMA could extrapolate the time and positions of the Island/Pendulum. I believe that these positions would be the two exteme ends of the swing and the bottom of the swing where the proxy pendulum would be pointing at the E/M pocket. The apparent movements of the pendulum in the Lamp Post would correlate to the movements of the Island. But these movements are an illusion because it is the earth that is actually moving around the Island. The Island is the earth’s connection to the rest of the universe and time.
I’ve decided to finish this by using another excerpt from Umberto Eco’s “Foucault’s Pendulum” that I think sums this up very well.
“…Whereever you put it, Foucault’s Pendulum swings from a motionless point while the earth rotates beneath it. Every point in the Universe is a fixed point: all you have to do is hang the Pendulum from it…That’s why the Pendulum disturbs me. It promises the infinite, but where to put the infinite is left to me. So it isn’t enough to worship the Pendulum, you have to make a decision, you have to find the best point for it…”
Great post, Achalli!
My understanding of what Ms. Hawking says about the Pendulum is, that it’s not a question of where to locate ‘the island’, but when and where it is going.
The Pendulum’s purpose is to determine ‘the islands’ most probable location in space and time and identify windows of opportunity for travel thereto.
What confuses me is, how does ‘the islands’ movement differ from the earths movement? Or, is what is confusing me, the ‘fixed points’? Please help me to clarify. Thanks.
Ok Dabs, this is how I imagine it.
The Island swings through both space and time.
The two extreme ends of its swing would be the point in time when the Island was created in the past and the point of time in the future when its existence comes to an end.
The fixed point from which the Island swings is the Lamp Post’s E/M pocket which is in the present.
So the Island is constntly moving back and forth through time between it’s creation and it’s destruction. It’s apparent hopping about the planet would actually be due to the planets rotation.
I figure that DHARMA would use the proxy pendulum and the map in the Lamp Post toobserve the effects of the E/M pocket and then extrapolate where and when the Island would show up. I believe that the easiest times to detect the Island would be at the points when it changes it’s direction in time (the extreme end of it’s swings), and the point in the swing when it would have the most energy (when it is in the present with the rest of the planet).
So it would come down to a matter of DHARMA calculating the probabilities of the next time the Island makes an appearance in the present.
I hope that helps some. If you go to the foucault pendulum entry on wikipedia you can see a couple of animations that may help.
Achalli, thanks for the explanation. I understand the Focault Pendulum and how it works. I wrote a theory on it, quite awhile ago, and researched it quite well.
I didn’t understand how ‘the island’ differed if at all to the movement of earth. I was uncertain about the ‘fixed’ points, and how it all worked.
Thanks to your explanation, I now have a better understanding!
I would be very interested in knowing anything else you might come across, pertaining to the movement of time on ‘the island’. In particular, to how ‘strings’ are formed, or could be formed due to the strange anomalies. I find it fascinating!
You put a lot of hard work into your theory! It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read!
great post sir!
reading through your explanation,of how the island is located, i read through and thought, if the island moves et, due to planet rotaion, what happens in a leap year…
i hate leap years, get in the way of everything, even tv shows!
x
Dabs I am so relieved that that explanation helped, for awhile ihad a feeling it may have muddled things some. You seem to be very knowledgable on a lot of subjects so your comments are always insightful and valuable.
I have reread your theory. The exchange between AES and yourself is what put me on to “The Island of the Day Before” which I am currently reading.
I just thought of another way to explain the Islands movements in relation to the planet. The E/M pocket in the Lamp Post could be the original location of the Island when all this started. At the time this particular pocket could have been located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean but has slowly moved to it’s present location much like the continental drift or like the pole shifts that some scientists think may have happened. So the Island is swinging in a plane that is located where it was when all this weirdness started but the planet has moved on so the Island’s location would be different.
I’ll have to brush up on string theory Dabs, what I know about it is scant at best.
I would be interested to hear what you make of the last excerpt from the novel that I used. I think it pertains to a lot that has been happening. My current thinking is that it could mean that each individual on the Island has to make a choice bout how best to place the Island in their lives and how best to utilize the benefits it grants.
Losts-columbo I believe that leap years would provide the one day that everyone decides to stay in bed all day so they don’t have to deal with the hassel of them lol.
Achalli, it was my interpretation that was lacking, not your explanation of it. You clarified it beautifully! I also like this other explanation, as well.
AES also wrote a great theory on the Focault Pendulum, and you should give it a read. He is very knowledgeable on many subjects!
He has also read Umberto Eco’s book on it, so has the advantage of understanding it, much better than I do.
My limited take on the last excerpt is, that he is saying, while the possibilities of where to place the Pendulum are endless, it is left up to his discretion, (a man), as to where to place it. Big responsibility!
The reason why I mentioned ‘string theory’ (Boson String Theory) is, that Dharma was studying it, and the concept may fit into the use of the Pendulum. I don’t understand enough about either to elaborate, but wonder if the Pendulum could be in part, responsible for the ‘looping’ effects on ‘the island’.
Achalli: Great work! I have to admit, I had to read this a few times before it sunk in, and your comment to Dab’s helped out greatly.
Reading this I appreciate the skipping record metaphor that Faraday uses even more. The island is to the record as the pendulum is to the needle.
Am I analyzing that correctly?
Elsewhere I believe your take on it works perfectly. I have to admit that I wasn’t considering the record metaphor at the time I wrote this. Thank you for pointing that out.
Dabs, thank you for pointing me in the direction of string theory, I’ll let you know what I find out.
Hey Dabs, would you happen to remember the name of AES’ theory?
Achalli, I tried searching for it, but many times AES didn’t use obvious titles for his theories.
I’m sure he will bring you up to speed, when he reads this.
I highly recommend you read one of his theories that is very long on the 4th page, that is entitled, “What I think is Going on”. It is awesome! It might help you to understand more about ‘string theory’ also!
Hey Achalli, nice theory. I think you can click on A.E.S.’s name on any post and it will bring up all his theories and such.
Angus, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I did click on AES’ name but the hard part is like Dabs said, AES’ titles are not always obvious.
Dabs, thanks for the suggestion, I have read that theory. I plan on printing it out later this week so I can give more attention to it.
reading the bit about the islnd rocking back and forth, which is really quite cool by the way, remindered me of something similar – The Restaurant at the end of the Universe.
i know the two are very different, but when i read all these post, it just made me smile, thats all.
I_Am_Jacob, I thought of Milliway’s also. I believe Douglas Adams described huge time turbines that kept taking the Restaurant to the end and back. It is a similar concept but I believe the Restaurant is closer to a time loop.
Helloooooo Achalli…
As I was about to post the theory of mine that relates to the pendulum…I saw you already found it.
The one with the “window/spoiler”.
I found that very important to the storyline of lost, and if you did read the book, you will understand more why I believe so.
Umberto Ecco has several titles that Lost seems to have plucked from (The island of Yesterday), some I have read since discovering this thought, and others I have just read up on, but either way, the connections are undeniable.
The exerpt from the beginning of your theory is actually the beginning of the book, if I recall correctly.
The thing that baffles me about the island has actually a lot to do with the exerpt you quoted.
How is there day and night on the island that is constantly moving?
Whether through time or/and space, it makes little sense that sunset and sunrise act as normal as we have seen it on Lost.
Great job diving into the Pendulums heart and disecting away.
I think that the pendulum we see is a major clue into at least one of the islands mysteries. And although it seems we will be learning more about the people in the final season, the island still baffles and astounds me in ways that I can only hope will be answered adequatly.
Again, nice job on this one, and sorry I couldnt drop in sooner with help from a link to my “theory”.
AES, the questions you raise about the sunrise and sunset have been bothering me also. You would think that one of the Losties would have noticed that after the first few days. I think the closest it has come to being mentioned was when Karl (I believe it was Karl) was telling Sawyer (I believe it was Sawyer) about looking at the stars and naming the constellations.