Pressing the Button Tested The Candidates by Matt Stacey

More of an observation than a theory....

Desmond became a "candidate" for the hatch when he washed up on shore. His only job was to press the button every 108 minutes. It was an extremely important and tedious job that had to be done based on blind faith. If he didn't press the button, very bad things would happen - so they say. But the job seemed ridiculous to most people because the only way to know what happens is to not press the button (which seemed to be a very dangerous idea).

After watching "The Substitute", I realize that Jack and Locke are very similar to MIB and Jacob. Let me explain... MIB tells Sawyer that basically, protecting the island is pointless...he wants to go home. His words are "from nothing, there's nothing to protect it from, It's just a damn Island.". It seems as though Jacob had the opposite view on the matter. He felt it to be very important and put faith in it. When Jack sees the button, he finds it to be stupid and ridiculous. Locke finds meaning in it.
The point is, the "game" or test was being played with Desmond (then Locke, Jack, Ecko and the 815ers) by pressing the button based on faith - to simply protect the island. Jacob does this for the island and MIB thinks it's pointless.

Basically, the island needs someone to take over and protect it...be a leader and delegate power and responsibility, etc... Pushing the button was Dharma's (science) way of testing people and their dedication and faith. If you can push a button every 108 minutes, based on no knowledge other than bad things will happen, then you are a candidate. But this was not the proper way of testing. It wasn't natural and it wasn't a test Jacob would put someone through. It was man made and designed by man, which is flawed. That is why it was so hard for Locke to open the Hatch and why the Hatch was a "bad" experience for Locke. He and no one else were meant to be tested that way.

Granted, this is not very well thought out, but I just thought there were connections between the Hatch Button and the recruiting process of Jacob and MIB. Let me know what you think, I'm open to suggestions and constructive criticism.