The Lost Lowdown

Here are some other questions to ponder.

Desmond remembered his meeting through a nightmare. Is this nightmare related to the nightmares we learned last season Widmore was having? Is Widmore also "uniquely special"?

Why doesn't Desmond remember what year he visited Dan in Oxford? I occasionally forget what year stuff happens, but I don't normally forget years that I've time traveled.

The janitor/fumigator/incinerator of the rats guy says that others have come in the past poking around Dan's office. Locke? Ben?

The U.S. brought a H-bomb to the island in the 1950s. I doubt they just stumbled upon an island an decided to test their bomb. Were they aware of the island? Was it easier to get to back then? Are they still aware of it today?

Well, he wasn't controlling where he was time traveling, a la Sliders, [which Claude mentioned recently and I happen to have watched during the break (up to the middle of the third season at least, it's not worth watching after that)]. But then he did go to that point in his life when he was doing that military training. And speaking of training, he did board a train to get to Oxford. One would think he would see a newspaper or something with the date. But maybe his memory is just a bit smokey and he couldn't recall.

yeah, i dont remember why we know it was 1996 and Desmond doesn't. Didn't he see a calendar at some point? I didn't even realize this was an issue until he said he couldn't remember.

DAN: Desmond, we don't have long to talk so I need you to tell me what year you think it is.
DESMOND: What do you mean, what year do I think it -- it's 1996!

DAN: No, no, no, no. Not right now, Desmond. Where are you supposed to be. Where are you in 1996?

JACK: Why does he think he's in 1996?

DESMOND: Wh...what do you mean, anchor?
DAN: Something familiar in both times. All this, see this is variables, it's random, it's chaotic. Every equation needs stability, something known. It's called a constant. Desmond, you have no constant. When you go to the future, nothing there is familiar. So if you want to stop this, then you need to find something there...something that you really, really care about....that also exists back here, in 1996.

There was also that whole, "I won't call you for 8 years" thing. He defintely knew what year it was at the time, but as it seems with Dan and Charlotte, playing with time travel apparently leads to memory loss.