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The LOST Experience
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Characters:   Rachel Blake · Alvar Hanso · Thomas Mittelwerk · DJ Dan · William Kilpatrick · W. Malick · Other...
Themes: Hanso Foundation · DHARMA · Valenzetti Equation · Sri Lanka Video · Apollo Candy · Other...


Enzo Valenzetti is the reclusive Princeton University mathematician who was commissioned by the UN in 1962 to investigate the threat of mankind extinguishing itself. The result of his research was the Valenzetti Equation. Whilst the UN decided to disregard the equation, Alvar Hanso did not, and continued Valenzetti's ideas in an attempt to alter the results of the equation (thereby manipulating and extending the life of mankind). Valenzetti's mathematical equation was investigated by Gary Troup, who wrote about him and his equation in his out of print book The Valenzetti Equation. It is said that Valenzetti died in a horrific plane crash over the Apennine Mountains, though this has been challenged by Rachel Blake (see below), and nobody was ever reportedly found.

Information on Enzo Valenzetti's background comes almost entirely from a Wikipedia article on the Valenzetti Equation created by those behind the Lost Experience. However, as the content is complete fiction, it was removed from the website by Wikipedia's moderators. The information was confirmed by Speaker, however, to be "VERY accurate", and has been accepted as official information as part of the alternate reality game. Much later, in-game website valenzettiequation.com reiterated much of the information from the old Wikipedia article for fans who may have missed the clue before Wikipedia removed the information.


Wikipedia article[]

Enzo Valenzetti

Very little is known about Enzo Valenzetti, save that he was born in the island of Sardinia sometime in the late 1920's. Identified as a math prodigy from an early age, Valenzetti attended the prestigious Fibonacci State Institute of Advanced Sciences early in life - achieving the equivalent of a full doctorate before the age of sixteen - but his strident desire for privacy, compounded by a gag order placed on his personal information by the Italian government - reportedly in exchange for his services - has thwarted even the most intense of inquiries into his career and movements, and Valenzetti’s death silenced many who sought to tell his story. Similarly, Valenzetti has never published his research - but his reputation is legendary among mathematicians and scientists alike.

As a young man, Valenzetti reportedly spent a significant amount of time in the company of such luminaries as Kurt Godel, Albert Einstein, and John Forbes Nash, but, as no record exists of his having had a tenure at any major academic institution, it is difficult to establish his exact contributions to the field. Most controversial among those who follow advanced mathematics is the contention, made by several prominent figures in the early sixties, that Valenzetti was first to devise a proof of Fermat's last theorem - a proof verified by several colleagues - only to throw the completed work in the fire so that - according to his former assistant - "other could have as much fun as he did in solving it."

Valenzetti's most legendary contribution is said to be his eponymous equation. Anecdotal reports indicate that Valenzetti, at the request of the United Nations, devised a complicated algorithm capable of predicting the exact date of the extinction of the human race. As with so many things relating to Valenzetti, the actual equation has never been seen. The result of Valenzetti's equation remains unknown and is the subject of much speculation. Sadly the answers to many of the mysteries of Valenzetti’s life vanished with him after his single-engine plane crashed during a trans-European flight.


Controversy[]

In July 2006, Rachel Blake travelled to Italy amidst rumours that Enzo Valenzetti may actually be alive and living in San Remo. Blake surmised that Valenzetti could have faked his own death, though lacked any solid theory as to why he would do so.


Trivia[]

  • During his live broadcast, DJ Dan mentioned a couple of other Valenzetti death theories: leukemia in the 70s, a Swiss combine accident in the 80s or possibly that he is currently still alive and working for the Italian Government. Dan was also the source for the specific location of Enzo's plane accident, which is thought to be the Apennine mountains.
  • After the Lost Experience ended, a discussion was posted between Speaker and Lost Ninja. In it they mentioned the Valenzetti post on Wikipedia, and Speaker admitted that Javier Grillo-Marxuach was responsible for the addition. He comments that the wiki community did not like it, and adds that "luckily Lostpedia picked it up." [1]
  • Valenzetti, or more accurately his equation, is briefly mentioned on the blast door map.


External Links[]

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