Hi y'all. Just a theory:

The disease could be inflicted by the strong electromagnetic force on the island / inside the bunker. We never seen someone physically ill, so the disease could very well be mental (hallucinations, whispers, paranoia). Those things can be induced by strong electromagnetic fields.

In real, places with paranormal activity have higher electormagnetic radiation than normal. Some scientists think this could stimulate brain activity - hence the hallucinations and _paranormal activity_. Perhaps the same thing is happening on the island. We know there's a strong electromagnetic force (Sayid/Locke's compass is WAY off, the key on Jack's neckless is attracted to a strong magnetic force), so what do you think? Am I looking too hard for explanations?

Makes sense, it would explain Locke's sudden ability to walk. I said in a previous post that the reason he became psudo-paralized near the Beechcraft is because he was too far from the bunker.

Sayid said in "Everybody Hates Hugo" that there was a geothermal generator under the bunker. Could that somehow be tied into the magnetism?

i can see that you all are men of science, I like Locke am a man of faith, and believing that you are healed is half the battle...
Locke lost or was losing his faith when boone died,
unable to open the hatch and losing his friend, he lost his strength and will, but in realizing that he could carry Boone back to the cave, he also reinforced his "will" to walk and his belief that he was infact healed.
He believes he is well, therefore he is. He believes that he is a great hunter/protector, and he is...
Believing is half the battle

Ditto.

However...the huge pulses of magnetism can play havoc with many things. Do we really know where they are? The pilot said 1,000 miles of course...but 1,000 miles from where? Who says the plane was actually headed to LA when it went off course? Maybe it was headed to the magnetic South Pole...for an experiment and things went totally wrong??

Oh, I agree that the magnetic device played a huge part in their being there and having to push the button. The whole utopic society run amuch theory plays right into that. "look what we built"...and then having it turn out to be a very bad thing.
That explains the lack of the signal from the radio being able to be heard outside the island, and the compass running off kilter.
Its in blending the real with the imagined that the true sense of mystery comes out.
Jack has a GOD complex, and look, he leads and controls, Locke wants to be needed and wanted, and bingo!, he is the hunter gatherer, Charlie needed to find life outside the drugs and music, and he found Clair, who found him
This is by far the most detailed of personal interactions, and the loss of their social standings coupled with having to reform that society and how they do it...
The dead ends and back alleys of this are ENDLESS

You're right Night Noices. The dead ends and back alleys are endless. And look all those people like you and me thinking of ways to pull it all together. We're all Locks or Jacks in a way, claiming divine intervention or explaining things with quantum mechanics.

Does the island give what you wish, deep down in your heart?