So I have a new theory. I must warn you in places it sounds like the drunk ramblings of Daniel Faraday, but I promise it all makes some kind of sense.
It’s almost definitely not correct as it is way too complicated and too complicated to explain clearly (or clearly enough for most viewers to understand) it is interesting however in that it explains nearly everything…
It’s similar to the old theory in that it has to do with experimenters being incorporated into their own experiments.
It is a common idea that it is impossible to separate the experimenter from the results of the experiment. EEE (experimenter expectancy effect) My current idea is that the real Henry Gale was sent by Whidmore on a reconnaissance mission for an offshoot of his company Minnesota Metallurgy & Mining Co. The objective of this mission was to source a certain mineral which heightens the effect of EEE. This mineral has an effect similar to a magnetic or radioactive metal as it radiates out probability effectors. Staying too long in its field causes some detrimental effects. This mineral is effectively the “magic box” Ben describes:
“Let me put it so you'll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that, somewhere on this island, there is a very large box and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it when you opened that box, there it would be? What would you say about that, John?” -Benjamin Linus, the man from Tallahassee
(It is worth noting that EEE is a non-temporally-bound effect and can radiate backwards through time. This allows cause/effect to be reversed through time and so things they do on the island can effect what they do before they have arrived.)
Whidmore then became interested in the island which is a rich seam of this mineral, purchasing both the Black Rock’s journal and the now defunct Dharma initiative company. Which had previously done experiments on the island utilising the islands singular effects on experimentation. Namely that what you expect to find or look for, you find.
Almost all events on the island can be explained by either the warring factions between groups attempting to control the mineral and the effects of the mineral itself.
The monster is the answer to what bumps in the night. When the original islands inhabitants heard strange noises (the kind you naturally find in forests at night) they looked for a monster that could make the noises and eerie (but completely normal) feelings of being watched.
The polar bears were on one hand brought to the island by the dharma initiative as experimental guineapigs. The content of the experiments themselves were unimportant. What was important was the experimenting with experimentation itself. On the other hand the polar bears are also a property of the effects of EEE on Walt’s perception.
The healing properties of the island can be explained as what characters were seeking within their own stories. Locke was looking for a place he belonged and was respected and that is what he found. Rose and Bernard were actively seeking a cure when they ended up on the island.
The Others are the descendants of the black rock crew as my previous theory, who were able to use the island’s properties to their advantage, exploiting their position through the company Mittelos Laboratories.
The hatch, related button experiment and observations were experiments set up to analyse how the mineral functioned.
The numbers are a coincidence. They are just a strange attractor like “the law of 5s” from the Discordian religion. The numbers don’t mean anything. Hurley found them on the island as that is what he was seeking an answer to.
The runway that the others made sawyer and Kate work on was a runway for them to transport items between the island and Mittelos HQ Portland. They have more things than just one submarine.
The infertility on the island is caused by constant exposure to the radioactive qualities of the mineral.
Time travel within the characters own consciousness is possible as time is a function of consciousness. It is facilitated by the field of the EEE mineral which at points of high stress (when several contradicting EEEs clash) can knock you back along your own timeline.
The frozen donkey wheel was discovered as the looked for some way to save the island once it was discovered. They sought it and so it was found.
Certain people have the innate ability to produce the EEE effect and this is strengthened by the Mineral. These are the people who have a stronger pull than others if the effect is in contradiction. These people are Walt, Locke, Desmond, Hurley, and maybe more.
All visions that occur on the island are due to people seeking the people they find, or seeking to excuse behaviour through the visions.
don't tell me what i can't do!
everything Lost is 
