An Ordinary Answer

I’ve recently reread a book by Robert Anton Wilson called “Masks of the Illuminati.” Briefly it is about Albert Einstein and James Joyce working together to solve the mystery of an Englishman who belives that a secret society is trying to kill him by using a book that supposedly drives people to suicide. Soon after they solve the mystery they have a group hallucination in which they each learn something that is important to each of them. During their discussions Joyce points out that he has learned that every story, along with all the allegorical and metaphorical devices used to tell the story, are firmley grounded in the ordinary. He then goes on to state that a people do not see the ordinary until it’s too late. So I decided to apply this to Lost and this is my answer.

The most ordinary thing to me about Lost is the choice that EVERYONE, and I mean everyone on this planet, not just the characters; is continually presented with. Within the context of the show both Jacob and the Nemesis represent opposite ends of thought about the choice. Now on the surface it appears that the choice is the age old question of freewill vs.fate. But it is much simpler and ordinary than that and the majority of us don’t realize that we have the choice nor what the choice is.

Human beings are no different than the rest of the lifeforms on this planet in that they have programed into their nervous sytems guidelines that pretty much dictate our behaviour, much like the operating system that runs on a computer. If you look at all the actions and activities that humans engage in you can also find a counterpart in the animal world. There is the heirarchical power struggle in the pack that we see the Losties go through in the early seasons and the territorial battles between DHARMA and the Others. Even though we are more sophisticated and complicated than the other animals on the planet we still act and are guided in our actions the same way any other animal is, it is hardwired into us for survival.

So this is what Nemesis’ real position is, that humans will never learn nor choose to go against their programming. They will always act like animals. Jacob’s position however is that humans can choose to overcome their programming and switch off the auto pilot. This is the choice that Jacob was refering to when he told Ben that he had a choice; that Ben did not have to give in to his instinct to get revenge on Jacob and take out the alpha male.

So the most ordinary thing in Lost is the choice to switch off the auto pilot that we humans run on and take control of ourselves OR leave the auto pilot on and never have control of our life.