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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
 Posted - 03/15/2005 : 14:53:57
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My sister has recently gotten me into the television show Lost, which is about a group of people stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. The cause of the crash and the back stories of each of the cast are still a great mystery. Each week the show delves deeper into one character's history and slowly expands the overall plot.
The show is actually quite good and there is a serious WTF factor that pervades the show. For instance, very early in the season, the survivors were exploring the tropical island when they were attacked...by a polar bear. Yeah, WTF? Why is there a polar bear on a tropical island? No one knows. Similar incongruities and strange occurrances keep the viewer guessing as to the island's actual nature.
Last week's episode focused on a chubby man by the name of Hurley. He won the lottery by playing these numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Since winning, he has been plagued by bad luck. It seems the numbers are cursed. In an effort to discover if there is a way to remove the curse, he returns to the man he heard them from--a patient in a nut house who does nothing but repeat them over and over again. The crazy man becomes distressed upon learning that Hurley "used" the numbers, but is able to tell him about a man in Australia who discovered the numbers before being dragged away by orderlies.
Hurley then travels to Australia to locate the man. The man's widow greets him and informs him that her husband is dead. She does however reveal the source of the numbers. Her husband had been stationed at a coast guard radio outpost which received the numbers from an unidentified signal which repeated them over and over again: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. The man used the numbers once at a carnival to guess the number of beans in a jar. Turns out he was correct, to the bean. However, after winning the contest he was plagued by the same curse and eventually took his own life to be rid of it.
Hurley was returning from Australia when the plane crashed and stranded him on the island. Also stranded on the island is a mysterious French woman which lives deep in the jungle. She was marooned when her ship sank there 16 years ago. The reason her and her crew came to the island was to investigate a strange signal emanating from the island. It was a broken radio signal repeating the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. She is not able to tell Hurley their significance, but does agree that they have ruined her life as well. The numbers are cursed.
The last shot of the show concluded on a piece of a metal fuselage or some other structure half-buried in the jungle foliage. Stenciled on its side were the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.
So, what could the numbers mean? I don't know. That's why I'm posting here. I was hoping they had some mathematical significance, but browsing through other fan sites shows that little has been able to be made of them. Some have tried turning them into lat. and long. coordinants. Here is one web site that lists various attempts at deconstructing the numbers. I can't say that I have any good guesses, but I figured the bright minds at SFN might have some insights.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
Edited by - H. Humbert on 03/15/2005 16:50:35
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 15:16:53 [Permalink]
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How the hell do you count 4 billion beans, and then some, every single one of them within an ordinary human's life-span?
And how big can a jar become before you call it a silo? |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 15:21:16 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
How the hell do you count 4 billion beans, and then some, every single one of them within an ordinary human's life-span?
And how big can a jar become before you call it a silo?
Actually, she never says how he used the numbers. I suppose he could have lopped off a few of the end ones or whatever to make a more reasonable guess. The point was that he won. I'll correct my original summary to reflect this observation.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 03/15/2005 15:25:37 |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 15:30:27 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by H. Humbert
So, what could the numbers mean? I don't know. That's why I'm posting here. I was hoping they had some mathematical significance, but browsing through other fan sites shows that little has been able to be made of them. Some have tried turning them into lat. and long. coordinants. Here is one web site that lists various attempts at deconstructing the numbers. I can't say that I have any good guesses, but I figured the bright minds at SFN might have some insights.
There are several.
4 = Jimmy Spencer
8 = Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15 = Michael Waltrip
16 = Greg Biffle
23 = Kenny Wallace
42 = Boris Said
Only Kenny Wallace, who isn't that strong qualifying but a nice guy, has positive connotations to his driving style.
Spencer, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Biffle, and Said would wreck their mothers for an extra position.
A different idea
42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
A different idea
4 - James Madison -- War of 1812
8 - Martin VanBuren - Depression
15 - James Buchanan - poor leader during unsettled pre-civil war era
16 - Abe Lincoln - Civil War
23 - Benjamin Harrison - Singlehandedly erase treasury surplus with poor economic plan
42 - Bill Clinton - enjoyed a cigar in the oval office, current Republican scapegoat
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Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2005 : 16:42:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Ricky
How about this idea:
They are completely random.
Ahh, but that's no fun. While that's possible, I think any writer who introduced such a mystery into the plot but then failed to resolve it would be out of a job. Though I grant you that the numbers' meaning might be only significant to a specific (and yet undisclosed) story element, which would make successfully guessing all but impossible.
Still, might be fun to try. I'm hoping there are some people reading this who have that A Beautiful Mind ability where they can just stare at numbers and see them glow and rise off the page into something meaningful. 
And thanks for that news story, Ricky. I had heard about it earlier but forgot to mention it.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 03/15/2005 16:47:47 |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2005 : 01:48:16 [Permalink]
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Warning, possible spoiler:
I heard someone on TV say that one of the things that will never have it's true
nature exposed is the thing that sounds like Mecha-Godzilla. Just in order to
keep the suspense. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
| Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 03/16/2005 14:14:39 |
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