[raven444]

The “incident”: someone had a dream.

108...
-The button must be pushed every 108 minutes, or the world will not be ‘saved.’ It takes 90 to 120 minutes to enter REM, or dreaming, sleep. Having to be awake to push this button would for the most part prevent any dreaming sleep whatsoever.
-It is suggested in the orientation film that button-pushers pair off and work in shifts. I don’t think this is to allow for sleep. I think this is to keep the other awake.
-The serum Desmond was taking was possibly an amphetamine. Amphetamines are used to treat narcoleptics and are a general all-around good way to stay awake. He probably didn’t know what it was he was taking, though, and was thankful to be awake when necessary.
-It is my contention that the countdown sequence results in a simple alarm clock effect. The loud sound awakens the sleeper, and they are freaked out enough by the red and black symbols to remain awake from now on. There may indeed also be a seal-off that occurs at each station when this happens…


Consequences…
-It has been noticed that objects from flashbacks somehow find their merry way onto the island. I think this is a result of dreaming about them. I think something about the island synthesizes reality from dreams. This topic has been covered before, but I think this is the actual mechanism.
-The horrible monstrosities out there were the results of past dreams--past incidences. Since that time, research facilities have been moved underground and have built-in seal-off features (activated by not ‘turning off’ the alarm clock) to protect people from the manifestations of their own dreams. The clocks were installed, as mentioned, to prevent researchers from falling asleep.


Miscellaneous related phenomena…
-There was a thread on here about the seeming memory loss of sorts that the losties are experiencing. Memory is consolidated from short-term to long-term memory (in other words, permanently stored) during REM sleep. Think of dreaming like the defragging of a computer: random bits of old information and new information are shuffled around in no particular order in an effort to best streamline long-term memory with its new additions of information you have gathered during the day. This results in the interpretation of this information by the mind on some level to make sense of all the info. A story, or dream, is ordered out of the chaos.
-There is also a thread dealing with ‘backwards’ images and voices. Inconsistencies are common in dreams; you are not taking in a strict and consistently defined sensation to perceive what is happening, rather you are interpreting things purely from memory: perception without sensation. Errors are very common in dreams.
-I’m not sure how long some of the stranger events on the island have lasted, but the typical REM (dreaming) stage lasts ten minutes.
-The REM (dreaming) phase is longest in infants and pre-adolescent children. The Others may have taken Walt and want Aaron to protect them from themselves. Alternately, it could be possible that Walt wields this ability to manifest the unreal without being in a dream state and off the island as well.

-ETA: Melatonin is a chemical that may play a role here as well. Melatonin regulates circadian rhythm, which is the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin is permitted by darkness--and makes you sleepy; it is inhibited by light. This plays into the light-dark theme. Melatonin is also important in learning and memory.

[raven444]

For instance, under this theory, it is possible Henry Gale is not an actual human being, but rather a creation of the napping Locke.

[PandoraX]

raven, there are some really good ideas in your post... I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I was wondering though, you brought together some incidents and themes, of which I believe are also significant for similar reasons... but what do you believe is underneath it all? A plot for sleep deprivation? And why?

I can tell you have a background in sleep psychology--I do myself (not specifiically in that field, but I am a psychiatrist by trade (geriatric psych).

[raven444]

Howdy Pan. Yeah, I did my undergrad thesis on dream content resulting from external stimuli. You must see this show as a psychological playground too. Heh.

I don't think the underlying plot is an experiment concerning sleep, I think it's protocol that's just a result of the original Dharma team finding out what the anomalies of the island are capable of. Nor do I think this explains everything, like the EMP stuff, for example. If you can lace this stuff up in a different way, I'd love to hear it, 'cause my theory is far from comprehensive.

[lacenaire]

Countermeasure against the FOrbidden Planet ?
I buy it.

[raven444]

Maybe the losties are having difficulty remembering things because something is preventing them from having REM sleep, some sort of dampening effect in the area or over the island. And when they do have dreams, they're either freaky as all get out or result in sleepwalking like in Charlie.

[ColenelLocke]

Nice idea Raven. Could smoky be some sort of dream scanner, aswell as a flashback finder?

[raven444]

Originally Posted by ColenelLocke

Nice idea Raven. Could smoky be some sort of dream scanner, aswell as a flashback finder?

My money would be on dream scanner. Smoky's been described as a security device. Maybe he's searching for someone who has the capacity for dreams. If I remember correctly, one of the inconsistencies ocurred when Locke was cornered on the ground by Smoky (the bruise/splotch that was switched sides on his head).

[Emerson]

Pretty nice theory. What seems to me, for some reason, to be the biggest evidence for the island being a compilation of losties' pasts, is the fact that Rose recognized the monster's sounds. There's probably bigger things, but that gets me the most.

[raven444]

Originally Posted by Emerson

Pretty nice theory. What seems to me, for some reason, to be the biggest evidence for the island being a compilation of losties' pasts, is the fact that Rose recognized the monster's sounds. There's probably bigger things, but that gets me the most.

I shudder at the idea, but...it's like many pasts rolled into one big nightmare world. Somehow I doubt the writers would dare try the ol' 'it's all a dream' thing though. I sincerely hope, anyway.