The sum of the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 is 108. These numbers are among Lost's most recognizable recurring symbols, appearing individually and as the sequence 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
In the series, the Numbers are connected to a mysterious radio transmission, a lottery win, the DHARMA Initiative, and the island's mythology. Their total, 108, becomes another important number: the survivors must enter the sequence into a computer every 108 minutes, and the Oceanic Six are said to have been away from the island for 108 days.
The Numbers first receive major attention in the season-one episode “Numbers,” the series' 18th episode. The show deliberately encouraged viewers to search for a single hidden explanation, but Lost never supplies one definitive real-world meaning. Some references are identifiable—42 nods to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, while 108 has religious significance in Hinduism and Buddhism—but the story ultimately treats the sequence as an evocative mystery rather than a normal mathematical clue.