MovieChat Forums > Inception (2010) Discussion > The math doesn't add up!

The math doesn't add up!

posted 8 years ago by cubbyfn
21 replies | jump to latest

The Mumbai scene we learn that 3-4 hours in the real world is equal to 40 hours in the dream world. So for sake of argument we will say 4=40, real to dream world. That's 240 minutes to 2400 minutes which means the dream world lasts 10x longer cause 240 x 10 = 2400. Now Cobb says that him and Mal were in limbo for 50 years which means in real world time it was 5 years cause 5 x 10 = 50. This means Mal and Cobb would of been dead. To be in a coma for five years with no intravenous feeding. Also assuming there was no one to take care of the kids they may of been dead too. Since a human being can't live much more than 3 days without water and there are 72 hours in 3 days we can divide 72 by 10 and we get the average lifespan in limbo to be about 7.2 hours! Cobb would of been long dead before the events in the movie! Chris Nolan is full of *beep* Man!

[–] cubbyfn 8 years ago

Just realized I did that last part backwards. 3 days in the real world would equal 30 days in limbo. I divide when I should of multiplied

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

With the heavy sedative, one hour in the real world is twenty hours in the first level. From the FAQ:

What is the time frame for each dream level?

It is mentioned in the film that 10 hrs under heavy sedation = 1 week in level 1 dream, 6 months in level 2 dream, 10 years in level 3 dream That's the original Inception plan. However, it seems that not even a day has passed in level 1 dream throughout the whole mission. This is due to the unforeseen circumstances such as Fischer's subconscious being trained (heavily armed and capable of finding the intruders quickly) and Saito is hurt and dying, so their mission needs to be completed as quickly as possible.

I should point out that the FAQs are completed by IMDB members, so they may not be correct. For Limbo, they state that they do not understand the time relationship. "It could be infinite."

There is food in the dream world (notice Cobb eating soup.)

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] cubbyfn 8 years ago

So it seems the explanation in what part of the film doesn't match another. Any food eaten in a dream wouldn't count because it isn't real. Your mind could be made to think it's real but it still would not be real and you would die of dehydration and starvation pretty quick.

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

Any food eaten in a dream wouldn't count because it isn't real.

That's kind of absurd -- your body isn't real, either. This is the dreamworld. None of it is "real". The only reason why there is "food" in the dreamworld is so that it feels and acts normal. Otherwise, you could call attention to the dream on the part of the subject.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] cubbyfn 8 years ago

Exactly none of it is real which means Cobb would of starved to death after 30 days in the dream limbo

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

Exactly none of it is real which means Cobb would of starved to death after 30 days in the dream limbo

No. If he starves to death in "dream limbo", then he would return to Limbo.

I'm beginning to think that you did not actually watch this movie.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] owenambrose 8 years ago

No, you are not understanding what the OP is saying; he is not saying he starves to death in the dream limbo, he means his physical body starves to death in the real world, whilst his mind is in dream limbo.

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

No, you are not understanding what the OP is saying; he is not saying he starves to death in the dream limbo, he means his physical body starves to death in the real world, whilst his mind is in dream limbo.

That makes less sense. Their physical bodies are on the plane for ten hours. It's not long enough to starve to death.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] owenambrose 8 years ago

Who said anything about the plane? Read the original post.

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

It doesn't matter if it is in the plane or on their living room floor. The math is the same. Fifty years in Limbo is a matter of hours in the awake area. If ten hours is 182 years in Limbo, then 50 years in Limbo is less than three hours.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] brianpierce32 8 years ago

Correct that's why in dreams it seams to last longer depending on the strain or anguish that the dream puts your brain through.

[–] MonoEnojado 8 years ago

Plus (and this is completely less brainy than your well-structured argument), Cobb looks exactly the same while Saito is an old man.

Nolan makes and breaks his own rules whichever way he wants.

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

Plus (and this is completely less brainy than your well-structured argument), Cobb looks exactly the same while Saito is an old man.

Saito is an old man because he dreamed himself that way. Several times in the movie, he states his greatest fear -- "to become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone."

He loses track of reality while in Limbo and needs Cobb to remind him of reality.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] plazbo 8 years ago

Limbo seems to have it's own ruleset, it's basically shown as the end of the road compared with dream layers that compound time. So not really sure the math would really apply or that time would be experienced in a linear way there by different people.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

Assuming Limbo follows the rules of the other levels (which it doesn't) the time leg per level is a factor of 20, not 10:

1) Airplane level -- 10 hours
2) City Street level -- 200 hours (8.3 days).
3) Hotel level -- 4000 hours (167 days or 6 months.)
4) Snow Mountain level -- 80,000 hours (9.1 years.)
5) Limbo -- 1.6 million hours (182 years.)

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] plazbo 8 years ago

Limbo isn't a layer though, it's just were you end up when something has gone wrong.

I mean each level is someone elses dream, how are they getting four layers in when only two of them are hooked up? (in reference to mal and cobb)

[–] realbullet 8 years ago

Limbo isn't a layer though, it's just were you end up when something has gone wrong.

I mean each level is someone elses dream, how are they getting four layers in when only two of them are hooked up? (in reference to mal and cobb)

For the movie, Limbo represents the deepest layer of the unconscious mind from the Jungian architecture of the mind.

The way I figured it, the literal interpretation would be that Limbo is the level below the lowest level of structured shared dreaming (i.e. the lowest level with a dreamer who is holding the map of dreams.)

At the end of the dream Inception, Cobb and Saito remain in Limbo, despite the fact that levels 2 & 3 are gone (the hotel building and the snow hospital.) When Cobb & Mal did the Inception, they were exploring the dream world without adequate understanding or planning. That means the unstructured level would not be the fourth level.

👿 I know something you don't know ... I am ambidextrous!

[–] chilone 8 years ago

This means Mal and Cobb would of been dead.

Also assuming there was no one to take care of the kids they may of been dead too.

Cobb would of been long dead before the events in the movie!

Before tackling math, you might consider basic English.

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] blessedassurance 8 years ago

😀
I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING ! !
Would OF ?!
Would've !

[–] briannaromanoskie 8 years ago

If I remember correctly, doesn't the time effect have to do with the sedation used? Couldn't the time effects then be different, since they wouldn't have been using the exact same compound?