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Although I don't watch much television, a friend got me
interested in "Lost" and I became an avid follower. The show had a well-balanced mix of action,
drama, romance, and mystery. It also left the audience wanting more at the end
of each episode. Despite any critique of
the show that may ensue with these entries, I would describe myself as a fan of
the series.
As an engineer, however, there were some things about this show
that drove me crazy. Time travel and a
black smoke monster? Magnetic fields and
people that don't age? In this 3-part
series, I'll explore some of the scientific anomalies that aired in the show
and discuss whether any of them could really happen.
 The Crash of Oceanic
Flight 815
Plane crashes occur for many reasons, and these reasons have
plausible explanations. The Oceanic
flight that crashes in the pilot episode of "Lost" is not normal, however, nor
is it realistic. As depicted in the
illustration and described in the show, the tail section of the plane literally
rips off. Aerodynamically speaking, this
is basically impossible. A rough
estimate of the forces acting on the aircraft concludes that there would have
to be significant defects in the vehicle for this to occur, issues that would
have been detected in a pre-flight check.
Hypothetically, if the tail section did fall off and the
plane split in two, the pieces that would crash down would hit with such force
that those individuals inside the airplane would be fatally injured. Maybe a lucky few would survive with only
life-threatening injuries, but what about 48 survivors from the front half of
the plane alone? That seems excessive. Passengers
in a tail section with no wings to help glide the plane down from the sky, with
gravity accelerating their fall, would certainly be killed. Amazingly on "Lost", a group from each
section survived (unbeknown to each other) in order to add drama to the plot of
the series.
The Healing Power of
the Island
Throughout the six seasons of the show, many of the
characters on "Lost" are miraculously healed while residing on the island. I do not wish to argue to the potential of
miracles; that being said, it is statistically unlikely that so many fantastic
events could be managed under the given circumstances.
John Locke, paralyzed four years before the plane crash due
to a fall out of a second story window, boards the plane with the necessity of
a wheelchair. Not only does he survive
the plane crash itself, but walks away (literally) with only a scratch. Not only does the potential for such a tragic
event to cause this medical marvel seem unrealistic, but it begs further
questioning. If Locke did regain function of his legs after such a long time of
being unable to use them, he would need to re-learn to walk and re-gain the
muscles necessary for mobility. Somehow,
though, Locke gets up from the rubble and barely falters. He does not even show
a significant limp while meandering from the crash site.
Another survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 was Rose, who was
previously diagnosed with terminal cancer.
After reaching the island and accepting that it was her new home, her
cancer seemed to disappear. Whether this
was a psychological shift caused by living differently or another medical
phenomenon, the possibility of such an event occurring seems doubtful from a
scientific perspective.
Throughout the series, Locke appeared again with one injury
after another. For example, he became
trapped underneath a large metal door in the hatch and a peg penetrated his
leg. He was also shot and left for dead by
Benjamin Linus, a recurring member of the Others. In both cases, Locke healed not only very
rapidly but incredibly well, especially considering the damage done to his
body. He was even told by Richard (the
man who doesn't age and will be discussed later in this series) to keep his
wound clean and "the island will take care of the rest." It would be quite something if one day an
island was discovered where infirm individuals could go on vacation to heal.
Stay tuned for the next part of this series, where I'll
touch on the black smoke monster, sonar fence, and the unusual use of duct
tape. What do you think of some of these
crazy ideas?
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Re: Scientific Anomalies in “Lost” (Part 1)
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