Jacob's Scale by HebrewHammerTN

Dogen: "For every man there is a scale. On one side of the scale there is good. On the other side, evil. This machine tells us how the scale is balanced."

From the very start of LOST we have been told that there are two sides. Whether is be Good vs. Evil, Science vs. Faith. One side light, one side dark. We have been hit over the head with backgammon, with white rocks and black rocks.

We have explored the decisions the Losties have made. We have seen their pasts and experienced their lives. We have gotten to see which way the scale swings for each of them. We have learned which way they are balanced.

But, for most characters, it is difficult at times to tell which way they swing. I think all of us have tried to figure out which characters are good and which characters are bad. It is my belief that this is one of the major points of LOST, but I will get back to that in a bit.

JACOB and THE MAN IN BLACK
Jacob and MIB seem to be two sides of the same coin. They possess very similar abilities, and seemingly are polar opposites. We know they have been on the island a long time and that they seem to have different views of mankind. But why are they on the island, and what are they?

VARIABLES
Jacob is, or was, the ultimate variable. He is an anomaly, even more so than Desmond. HE IS A MAN WHO'S SCALE IS, OR WAS, PERFECTLY BALANCED. He is a person deserving of incredible study. A person whose light and dark side are in perfect balance. As with a flip of a coin he is a variable. The scale in his cave is testament to the fact that he was perfectly balanced.

AN UNBALANCED EQUATION
Jacob offers a unique study. A comparison of Good vs. Evil. The ultimate study of the soul. If it were possible to split such a person into the good component and the evil component one could study which side is stronger, if any, and add this information into an equation, and balance it. Jacob is this split entity, and until the issue is decided he cannot continue on with his existence.

VARIABLES AND COURSE CORRECTION
According to Daniel Faraday variables are able to change the course of the universe through major ripples. Desmond is seemingly one of these variables. Variables are wild cards, and can either help or hurt. Seemingly a lot of effort has gone towards controlling Desmond, so as to minimize his effects. Perhaps a greater entity than Jacob, a Force, be it alien, supernatural, or other isolated Jacob on the island to study him and resolve the issue before the universe is allowed to proceed on it's normal course, from the time that Jacob was discovered. Or perhaps a variable is always necessary, as will be discussed in the next section.

CANDIDATES
I wager that candidates are people who bear further study into the balance of good and evil in them. Those found to have greater good are kept by the OTHERS or Jacob, and those who are not are killed or recruited by MIB. The ultimate goal is to find a person that is perfectly balanced as well. A failsafe that would prevent anything bad from happening. The LOSTIES are such candidates. With the exception of Hurley, who seems to be a variable all his own, the other characters have oscillated between good and evil, seemingly sitting on the fence in a lot of ways.

END GAME
I believe the point of LOST is either to balance the equation. By that I mean figuring out which is greater, good or evil. Or it is to find a perfect candidate to take over for Jacob and MIB and continue the battle between good and evil. Perhaps this is a universal kind of every 108 minute button.

This is a pretty rough idea, and I welcome further insight :D