While trying to wrap my head around the different possibilities of where the show is going, and researching different theories of physics and space/time online, I came across a great paper out of the UK, the highlights of which I will post below, followed by a link to the site I found it on. If the answer to what's happening on LOST isn't in here somewhere, than I don't know where it is - because it almost sounds like the author of this paper is a writer on the show. Just to reiterate, I take no credit for this research below other than finding it on a BBC website, but it's one of the easiest to understand explanations of time travel theories I've read yet. See the text below followed by a link:
Time Travel Using Wormholes
According to the wormhole theory, time travel can be achieved by first creating a stable wormhole. This already causes problems as natural wormholes (if they existed) would be very unstable, they would want to collapse the instant they were created. So, in order to prop them up, antigravity would be needed. Some sort of 'exotic matter' would be needed which, instead of pulling other matter towards it via gravity, actually pushes matter away.
Current research projects into 'dark matter', 'dark energy', 'quintessence', and other unusual entities are looking into this, but for the moment, 'exotic matter' with negative gravity is not known to exist. However, for the sake of argument, let's believe that such matter exists. Now there are two points in space, X and Y, which are connected by a stable wormhole.
1. Move the end of the wormhole that is at point Y around very fast. But how? Some people on Internet message boards have suggested dumping a large supply of magnetic material into the wormhole at point Y, and using electromagnets to move it. This is not guaranteed to work: quite possibly the magnetic material would simply go through the wormhole and pop out the other side, but this is not important. Imagine that point Y has been moved around very rapidly.
2. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, the moving end should go forward in time faster than the stationary end. As a result, Y is farther in the future than X.
3. So, if one travels from Y to X, one travels back in time.
What Would Happen If Time Travel Were Possible?
Many people wonder about the apparent 'grandfather paradox'. What if, when we had invented time machines, you went back in time, and accidentally landed on your grandfather, who had not yet had children. You would simply pop out of existence because you could not have been born. Then, you could not have killed Grandpa, and so he survives and you are eventually born and go back in time and land on him again, so you instantly pop out of existence... you would be stuck in an endless loop. There are a few theories around how this could be resolved.
End of the Universe
This theory involves two types of temporal loops. One type is the loop mentioned in the last paragraph, the 'grandfather paradox'. For the rest of this paragraph, let's call it the 'infinite repeat' loop, because it results in two different possibilities, infinitely repeating after one another. Another type of loop exists. It is the 'infinite possibilities' loop. In this loop, the loop changes every single time that the loop repeats. Think of this: Imagine that you ask your best friend to go back in time to before you were born and kill your granddad. Also, you had enough forethought to tell him, while he's back there, to write a note to his future self to go back in time and kill the man who would be your granddad. Everything's okay, right? Maybe not. When your friend is given the instruction to go and kill your granddad from you, he might do one thing. When he receives a note from his future self, he might do another. And if he does another thing during the second repeat, ! he must do a different thing the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. A change in one iteration of the loop would result in a change in the note, which would result in a change in the next iteration. Eventually, he'll do something that ends up breaking down the loop (ie, forgetting to write himself a note). This will result in a infinite repeat loop starting. And as was already mentioned, infinite repeat loops may cause the universe to end.
Fate
This theory allows for time travel to occur without any fear of paradox. But the price is not cheap. Under this theory, free will is an illusion. Nothing that you do is truly your own choice; everything was preordained at the beginning of the universe. If you accept this, then the 'grandfather paradox' vanishes. No matter how hard you tried, you could not go back in time and kill your grandfather. You would slip, or the gun would jam, or something else would pop up, but you could not kill him.
This theory allows for some interesting events to happen, however. Let's say that, while reading a history textbook, you noticed that a person who looked exactly like you saved George Washington during the Battle of Trenton. To meet this person, you go back in time. However, much to your dismay, you can't find them anywhere. But, since you're already in the past, you decide to see George. As you approach, you see that he is fighting the Battle of Trenton, and he is losing. You save him. When you return to the future, you ponder what has happened. Apparently, the history book was talking about you. Assuming that free will is an illusion, this could very easily happen.
Here's another example. One evening, you find a floppy disk on your desk which you're sure you didn't put there. You look at it, and sure enough, it's the blueprints to a time machine. So you build the time machine, and send the blueprints to your past self. Now, where did the blueprints come from? There is no answer to this question. The blueprints simply 'are'.
This theory is often used in science fiction programmes because it avoids the paradoxical problems and allows the plot to tie itself up neatly in the end.
Parallel Universes
The above two theories assume that when you travel in the past, you travel in the past of the same universe. This causes problems, as mentioned above. But what if the universe whose past you travelled into wasn't your own? If this were true, you could go back and kill your granddad, without fear of causing the universe to end. The 'grandfather paradox' would be solved. This is because although you don't exist in the universe you went to the past of, in your own universe, you do.
For the sake of argument, assume that there are parallel universes. One thing to note about these universes is that without inter-universe interaction, all parallel universes would be the same. After all, if they started out the same, and since no outside force changed them (a force outside the multiverse?), they would remain the same.
This changes with inter-universe interaction. Let's say you live in universe A and you've just developed a time machine. Because of the above stated theory, the 'you' in all of the multiverses must also have developed a time machine. You go back in time (actually, back in time and universe) and end up in the past of universe B, where you kill your mother. Therefore, in universe B, you never existed. However, in universe A, you did exist, and could therefore have gone back to kill your universe B mother. There is no conflict here.
However, when one expands this to cover all universes (theoretically, an infinite number), conflicts do arise. Since in all universes you started out going back in time, and in all universes, you kill your mother, how should the multiverse decide which version of you will successfully go back in time and kill your mother, and which version of you will never exist? If all universes were the same (as stated above), there will be no way to decide. This will have two results: each universe will split into two universes, one where you exist, one where you don't; or the universe will end.
SO that's the highlights, but there is some more interesting info on the link below. Now, it doesn't explain Jacob, Smokey, etc, but I personally think that primary story arc of LOST is a combination of all three theories above, likely a bit heavier on the "Fate - No Free Will" angle. - Thanks for reading! MRH
Check out the full article below
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A398955 Theory by MRH
Time Travel Using Wormholes
According to the wormhole theory, time travel can be achieved by first creating a stable wormhole. This already causes problems as natural wormholes (if they existed) would be very unstable, they would want to collapse the instant they were created. So, in order to prop them up, antigravity would be needed. Some sort of 'exotic matter' would be needed which, instead of pulling other matter towards it via gravity, actually pushes matter away.
Current research projects into 'dark matter', 'dark energy', 'quintessence', and other unusual entities are looking into this, but for the moment, 'exotic matter' with negative gravity is not known to exist. However, for the sake of argument, let's believe that such matter exists. Now there are two points in space, X and Y, which are connected by a stable wormhole.
1. Move the end of the wormhole that is at point Y around very fast. But how? Some people on Internet message boards have suggested dumping a large supply of magnetic material into the wormhole at point Y, and using electromagnets to move it. This is not guaranteed to work: quite possibly the magnetic material would simply go through the wormhole and pop out the other side, but this is not important. Imagine that point Y has been moved around very rapidly.
2. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, the moving end should go forward in time faster than the stationary end. As a result, Y is farther in the future than X.
3. So, if one travels from Y to X, one travels back in time.
What Would Happen If Time Travel Were Possible?
Many people wonder about the apparent 'grandfather paradox'. What if, when we had invented time machines, you went back in time, and accidentally landed on your grandfather, who had not yet had children. You would simply pop out of existence because you could not have been born. Then, you could not have killed Grandpa, and so he survives and you are eventually born and go back in time and land on him again, so you instantly pop out of existence... you would be stuck in an endless loop. There are a few theories around how this could be resolved.
End of the Universe
This theory involves two types of temporal loops. One type is the loop mentioned in the last paragraph, the 'grandfather paradox'. For the rest of this paragraph, let's call it the 'infinite repeat' loop, because it results in two different possibilities, infinitely repeating after one another. Another type of loop exists. It is the 'infinite possibilities' loop. In this loop, the loop changes every single time that the loop repeats. Think of this: Imagine that you ask your best friend to go back in time to before you were born and kill your granddad. Also, you had enough forethought to tell him, while he's back there, to write a note to his future self to go back in time and kill the man who would be your granddad. Everything's okay, right? Maybe not. When your friend is given the instruction to go and kill your granddad from you, he might do one thing. When he receives a note from his future self, he might do another. And if he does another thing during the second repeat, ! he must do a different thing the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. A change in one iteration of the loop would result in a change in the note, which would result in a change in the next iteration. Eventually, he'll do something that ends up breaking down the loop (ie, forgetting to write himself a note). This will result in a infinite repeat loop starting. And as was already mentioned, infinite repeat loops may cause the universe to end.
Fate
This theory allows for time travel to occur without any fear of paradox. But the price is not cheap. Under this theory, free will is an illusion. Nothing that you do is truly your own choice; everything was preordained at the beginning of the universe. If you accept this, then the 'grandfather paradox' vanishes. No matter how hard you tried, you could not go back in time and kill your grandfather. You would slip, or the gun would jam, or something else would pop up, but you could not kill him.
This theory allows for some interesting events to happen, however. Let's say that, while reading a history textbook, you noticed that a person who looked exactly like you saved George Washington during the Battle of Trenton. To meet this person, you go back in time. However, much to your dismay, you can't find them anywhere. But, since you're already in the past, you decide to see George. As you approach, you see that he is fighting the Battle of Trenton, and he is losing. You save him. When you return to the future, you ponder what has happened. Apparently, the history book was talking about you. Assuming that free will is an illusion, this could very easily happen.
Here's another example. One evening, you find a floppy disk on your desk which you're sure you didn't put there. You look at it, and sure enough, it's the blueprints to a time machine. So you build the time machine, and send the blueprints to your past self. Now, where did the blueprints come from? There is no answer to this question. The blueprints simply 'are'.
This theory is often used in science fiction programmes because it avoids the paradoxical problems and allows the plot to tie itself up neatly in the end.
Parallel Universes
The above two theories assume that when you travel in the past, you travel in the past of the same universe. This causes problems, as mentioned above. But what if the universe whose past you travelled into wasn't your own? If this were true, you could go back and kill your granddad, without fear of causing the universe to end. The 'grandfather paradox' would be solved. This is because although you don't exist in the universe you went to the past of, in your own universe, you do.
For the sake of argument, assume that there are parallel universes. One thing to note about these universes is that without inter-universe interaction, all parallel universes would be the same. After all, if they started out the same, and since no outside force changed them (a force outside the multiverse?), they would remain the same.
This changes with inter-universe interaction. Let's say you live in universe A and you've just developed a time machine. Because of the above stated theory, the 'you' in all of the multiverses must also have developed a time machine. You go back in time (actually, back in time and universe) and end up in the past of universe B, where you kill your mother. Therefore, in universe B, you never existed. However, in universe A, you did exist, and could therefore have gone back to kill your universe B mother. There is no conflict here.
However, when one expands this to cover all universes (theoretically, an infinite number), conflicts do arise. Since in all universes you started out going back in time, and in all universes, you kill your mother, how should the multiverse decide which version of you will successfully go back in time and kill your mother, and which version of you will never exist? If all universes were the same (as stated above), there will be no way to decide. This will have two results: each universe will split into two universes, one where you exist, one where you don't; or the universe will end.
SO that's the highlights, but there is some more interesting info on the link below. Now, it doesn't explain Jacob, Smokey, etc, but I personally think that primary story arc of LOST is a combination of all three theories above, likely a bit heavier on the "Fate - No Free Will" angle. - Thanks for reading! MRH
Check out the full article below
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A398955 Theory by MRH
