I think I like your explanation for the clipping the best. It makes the most sense of anything I've heard.

This makes me so sad for Sawyer in so many ways. And the contrasts with Jack -- his books, his maps -- are so vivid. There's something so striking about the list of hurts he suffered on the island, real physical scars, verses the real world inflicting only bruises. Which we should be grateful for, because the island heals. But that's what Sawyer's fighting against, isn't it?