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Mysteries: The Dharma Initiative |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 12 July 2007 |
Mystery Status: Unsolved
 The Dharma Initiative was originally described in the Orientation film as the result of a dream for a multi-purpose social science research facility for scientists and free thinkers from around the world. The details of their past and whether or not Dharma is still operating in some form remains a huge mystery as does the truth of whether the Others are somehow connected to Dharma.
Things You Should Know About:
- stands for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications
- Started in the 1970’s by Karen and Gerald DeGroot
- Financed by Alvar Hanso
- Operated the Stations on the island for apparent scientific research
- Food bearing the Dharma logo continues to be ‘dropped’ near Swan Station
- The shape of dharma logos appear to resemble a Bagua from eastern philosophies.
Want To Know More?
Season 2
We have learned that Dharma was the brainchild of Karen and Gerald DeGroot, psychologists trying to follow in the footsteps of B.F. Skinner. They envisioned that of a large scale communal research compound where scientists and free thinkers from around the globe could pursue research in meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, electromagnetism, and utopian society. It was during the 1970s when, thanks to Alvar Hanso's financial backing, their dream of a multi-purpose social science research facility became a reality.
How Dharma came to use the island remains a mystery, but their methods of research appear to revolve around underground research stations they have set up across the island. Four such stations have been found so far, and as many as 6 to 8 have been hinted at existing. The Four stations found so far include the original Swan Station (devoted to electromagnetic research), The Arrow (unknown/abandoned), The Staff (a medical facility of some kind), and The Pearl (devoted to observational or possibly a psychological experiment on the inhabitants). According to the Blast Door map there may also be a station called The Flame, as well as 2 others devoted to Weather Research and Meteorlogical Research.
Inside of The Swan and The Pearl, orientation videos have been found, detailing to the inhabitants the purpose or mission of that particular station. The same man has narrated both of these videos, though he called himself Marvin Kandel on the Swan video and didn’t seem to have use of one of his arms, and on the Pearl video he referred to himself as Mark Wickman and had the full use of both arms. An apparent catastrophic incident is also mentioned in the Swan video, an event which led to the procedure of entering the numbers into the computer every 108 minutes.
The Lost Experience
Thanks to clues from Rachel Blake, known as Persephone at the time, we finally learned the meaning of the acronym behind DHARMA. It stands for; Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications. This is still a cryptic title, though it is clear that Heuristic is a particular technique of directing one's attention in learning, discovery, or problem-solving.
It is unclear whether the Dharma Initiative still exists. According to Hugh McIntyre, head of Marketing and Promotion for the Hanso Foundation, it ended in 1987, however this seems impossible.
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For further information see: The Swan, The Pearl, The Staff, The Incident, The Sri Lanka Video
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 July 2007 )
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