DID anyone ever clarify the 108 minute button pushing crap???? .. because I couldn't find it yet!

My theory: I think it was a cloaking device. It made the island look like an ocean to anyone near.... simply WATER.. No one can see the island. When the button didn't get pushed, people could SEE the island.

When the Electro-magnetic field was shut off, now they could navigate without interference... therefore, they can completely give the gps/longitude-latitude.. location of the island.

MOVE the ISLAND! After All things were turned back on... (the cloaking device and the EM, etc) ... it becomes secret again.. hidden.. POOF.. it's gone.. Just a myth.

The Island can physically be moved and cloaked again. Which is why no one can return to island after they leave.. they can't find the magical island.

good point

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"Well here’s an idea...why don’t we take a gun, point it to his big toe and send that little piggy to market. And if he still doesn’t want to tell us...we'll move on to the roast beef. Now why don’t we do that?" [S4E3]

But, if the island is moved, would the swan then be restored? Wouldn't you need the swan to hide it at it's new location.

I believe the swan had a different, more mundane purpose. I believe the swan was a safety net. Lets assume the DI knew that inhabitants of the island in the past were subject to mass extintions from different sources, smokey, volcanoes, 'hostiles' or natives. The DI builds the swan so that the island could be found again if everyone was wiped out. You tell the guy he has to push a button to save the world(hiding a huge magnet behind a wall for mystery and effect), he, or two men alone hold the fate of the 'world' in their hands. They get resupplied by airlift, will get replacementss after time, and then you have another set of people to monitor how the guys in the Swan are doing(the Pearl), recording when they start to have mental breakdowns and such. Now, if something were to happen to the DI AND the guy in the hatch, it explodes, destroying the threat on the island, OR, the failsafe is activated and the hatch IMplodes. Either way a signal is sent out to monitors on the outside world who can contact the leadership on the outside.

Ben knew the place was a joke, but also didn't want to risk alerting the outside, but Desmond and Locke foiled the plans.

Comments?

I would be really interested in knowing exactly what would have happened if the failsafe key hadn't been turned....

There's lots of mythology in Lost.

The idea of a "Lost" island---where once you leave, it is very very difficult to return, appears frequently from the British idea of Avalon to the "Shangri-La" of the Himalayan.

If the island also travels in time...would be extra dimension of difficulty.

far stretching! But hey.. it's an idea!

NO, I really think LOST island is closer than we would have originally thought. Cloaking it is easier. EMP/electro-magnetic pulse could cause it to be invisible to navigational equipment.

It still sounds like Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass.

How many have actually read the books?

Penny B, you have just cracked me up. Intentional or not, you are funny.