I'm confused

[monster-eats-pilot]

We all [well most of us] worked out it was Christmas last week and posted [an amusing if I do say so myself] thread [Why no mention of Christmas??] about it so how is it Christmas eve?
I seriously dont understand the time difference?
Help anyone?

[Him]

The writers screwed up, or they screwed up deliberately to suggest something about time moving slower off-island. The number of days passed, for the Losties, can be quite easily counted...

[D-Roc]

Good catch MEP.

It's interesting because this suggests that the time-lag (or the perception of etc etc) doesn't accumulate the longer one spends on the island. The losties believe that it's Christmas day (although I too was under the impression that island time is behind outside world time??) yet we know not only from the calendar, but from Penny's house (as she's speaking on the phone to Des) that it's Christmas Eve (well, I'm sure I still saw a few unopened presents etc) in the outside world.

I guess the problem with using Daniel's payload as a measurement for time, is that it was coming in to the island, whereas our perception of time without a measurement devise filters outwards, where time is at least half a day ahead (the chopper left at dusk and landed on the ship in the middle of the day).

..or it's a continuity error

[monster-eats-pilot]

hmmm I still don't get it...there's so many time differences

[D-Roc]

Originally Posted by monster-eats-pilot

hmmm I still don't get it...there's so many time differences

I know it's baffling - even those of us who think we might have it nailed could well be wrong, i've already changed my mind on a few things

I think tho, that the best way to look at this is in terms of the perception of time, rather than time itself. I think the suggestion is that time is perceived differently according to where you are (island/off island) and what variables you are using to perceive it (clocks/the sun/hunger/sensation etc).

Unltimately I would think that by bending the perception of time, we are able to impress upon ourselves different perceptions and the emotions/feelings attached to them (hence the need for constants).

Because we live in a world with so many variables (things that change), we can only have a true perception of 'time' when we have something constant - something familiar in each perception we are viewing.

(I realise that makes little sense written down)

[monster-eats-pilot]

Originally Posted by D-Roc

I know it's baffling - even those of us who think we might have it nailed could well be wrong, i've already changed my mind on a few things

I think tho, that the best way to look at this is in terms of the perception of time, rather than time itself. I think the suggestion is that time is perceived differently according to where you are (island/off island) and what variables you are using to perceive it (clocks/the sun/hunger/sensation etc).

Unltimately I would think that by bending the perception of time, we are able to impress upon ourselves different perceptions and the emotions/feelings attached to them (hence the need for constants).

Because we live in a world with so many variables (things that change), we can only have a true perception of 'time' when we have something constant - something familiar in each perception we are viewing.

(I realise that makes little sense written down)

The big words fail me...actually they dont...


Also when you guess time you can have a completely different perception to somebody else.
That's all well and good but I still don't understand how there are so many time differences

[PaulineMRoss]

Originally Posted by D-Roc

The losties believe that it's Christmas day (although I too was under the impression that island time is behind outside world time??) yet we know not only from the calendar, but from Penny's house (as she's speaking on the phone to Des) that it's Christmas Eve (well, I'm sure I still saw a few unopened presents etc) in the outside world.

I think it's quite easy to get the number of days slightly out, so it may not be quite as confusing as it seems.

On the other hand, we know (from Penny) that's it's Christmas, but we only have the calendar to suggest it's 2004. Maybe the calendar is only there to remind whoever talks to the Losties of what year *they* think it is, and in the real world it is Christmas 2005? It would certainly account for how Kate is able to pass Aaron off as her own child...

Just throwing that out there.