108

108 is the sum of the numbers.

That is to say that:-

4 + 8 + 15 + 16 + 23 + 42 = 108

References

Log printout from episode "?" which increments by 108 units in base 60.

• 108 is the number of minutes the clock in the Swan counts down before the numbers must be entered into the computer. (Note: the alarm sounds at the four minute countdown mark, and the numbers can be input any time after this). The clock resets itself to this number after the correct numbers have been input.If the counter reaches zero, a set of Hieroglyphics appear in the counter instead.
• 108 x 5= 540. 540 is the number of days until "your replacement" will arrive at the hatch, according to the orientation film.
• 108 also appears on the on wall mural in The Swan
• CV III, the roman numeral equivalent for 108, appears on the Blast Door Map next to a latin phrase that translates to "Save Yourself From Hell"
• The log printout in The Pearl displays numbers that increment by 1:48 in base 60 (which we use for counting time). If we convert 1:48 from base 60 to decimal, we arrive at 108.
• In Three Minutes Charlie says that the vaccine kit injections must be done every 9 days which is 2x108 hours.

Theories/Appearances outside the show

• 108 minutes is the time it took Juri Alexejewitsch Gagarin to circle around the earth on his first spaceflight. Some theories include a satellite that also orbits the earth in 108 min and take this as support. The four minute window during which the numbers must be entered into the computer could be the only time that communication can be made with the satellite. (Of course, since the timer resets immediately after pushing the button, which is done anytime within that last four minutes, syncronization with an orbiting satellite would gradually become impossible.)
  • These satellite theories seem very unlikely since they ignore the rotation of the earth. When the satellite completes an orbit, the earth's rotation will have moved the island many hundreds of miles to the east.
• http://www.uen.org/swan/argos.html - intersting link about using satellites to track swans.
• In Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story "Notes From the Underground" the narrator muses that science will one day teach man that he posesses neither will nor uncontrollable urges and is nothing more than a piano key or organ stop opperating by laws of nature, and that if discovered, these laws could be used to compute human actions mathematically like tables of logarithims up to 108 - 000.
• At http://www.hansorg.com/ there is an alternate sequence of numbers 2 10 13 18 21 44 which also adds up to 108. And there is a quote: A NATION'S BIRTH PREDICTS IT'S OWN DEMISE AND RE-BIRTH. (sic)
  • It's probably obvious, but those numbers are two less, two more, two less, two more and so on than the original numbers.
• In Homer's "The Odyssey," Odysseus is forced to fight off 108 suitors when he returns to his wife Penelope.
• It took 108 years to end the Spanish-American War tax. In 2006, the Treasury Dept. ended a 1898 tax to fund the war.
• 108 = 0108 Hebrew Strong's number = mist, vapor of the ground whence clouds are formed, so called from surrounding and covering the earth like a vail. This derivation is confirmed by the Arabic root 'med', which is whatever guards and strengthens anything, defense. Also means atmosphere such as the black cloud of images.
• 1-0-8 is the emergency telephone number in India (such as 9-1-1 is in the USA). A common saying in India is "Dial 108 and save a life".
• The Chinese classic Shui Hu Zhuan there are 108 Stars of Destiny, heroes who band together for the cause of justice.
• In the martial art Wing Chun, each of the 3 forms, and the wooden dummy training traditionally consist of 108 movements.

DHARMA / Religious meanings

• A list of the significance of the Number 108 (Mostly religious and mystical references)
• There are 108 beads on a mala, used by Buddhists and Hindus for chanting.
• There are "108 Defilements of Buddhism which can be connected to the symbols in the DHARMA logo(s)".
  • More specifically, one of the Buddhist readings of the number 108 is as the quantity of Klesas (mental defilements) according to the Tientai version of the Abhidharma (one of the main Buddhist doctrinary texts) [1].
• A typical Japanese interpretation for the meaning of the number 108, used by both Nichiren and Pure Land schools, is given under "Shoshu Buddhist" (Shoshu is a controversial Nichiren school of Buddhist origins) in [2]:
  • Followers use 108 beads in their malas. They implement the following formula:
  • 6 x 3 x 2 x3 = 108
  • 6 senses [sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought]
  • 3 aspects of time [past, present, future]
  • 2 condition of heart [pure or impure]
  • 3 possibilities of sentiment [like, dislike, indifference]

See Also

• The Numbers
• 4
• 8
• 15
• 16
• 23
• 42
• 7418880