What does Mark possibly do at his job on Severance? Theory explored 

Mark Scout, played by Adam Scott, on the show Severance has got fans hooked and questioning what is Macrodata Refinement (MDR) all about. The central story of the show revolves around Mark and his colleagues who are stuck in the basement of Lumon Industries, sorting through these random single-digit numbers without any real idea of why.

According to an internet theory, MDR trains computer algorithms by linking numbers to human feelings on Severance. Therefore, most probably Mark and his coworkers categorize numbers based on the feelings they evoke.

Even though we're not sure what these bins mean, it seems like the workers' feelings are important for the job. By cutting off their memories, Lumon keeps their employees' instincts sharp so they don't get confused by anything else.

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What do people at Macrodata Refinement do on Severance? Theories explored

A well-known idea is that people at MDR sort numbers based on feelings, like if they make you scared, happy, sad, or mad. This could help Lumon's computer brains get even smarter.

YouTube channel Film Paradise had some interesting thoughts about it, saying,

"Some fans speculate that Lumon uses the refined data to train machine learning algorithms. By sorting numbers based on human emotions, the company might be perfecting artificial intelligence systems or even improving the severance chips implanted in employees"

Then there's the "Lexington Letter" deal – an ex-worker said they noticed weird connections between what they were doing and things happening outside, like explosions at another company they compete with. This could mean that MDR is using Lumon employees to target competition.

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Numbers as tempers, memories, or people on Severance

As seen on the work computers, the labels that the numbers are divided into are WO, FC, DR, and MA. They might represent human feelings connected to Kier Eagan's idea of the "four tempers." These numbers they deal with get tossed into bins with names like WO for sadness, FC for having fun, DR for fear, and MA for being mean, per Film Paradise.

When you peek at Mark's computer in the first episode, you see progress bars that seem to relate to those categories, which makes one think maybe the numbers are about how people feel or think.

Some have this theory that MDR might be playing around with memories or even keeping a tab on folks' mental health. It's possible that the employees are categorizing memories or psychological elements without even realizing it, and that ties in with what Lumon is doing with consciousness on a much larger scale.

Another Severance fan theory floating around on Reddit suggests these numbers could be mind-control buttons. By tweaking them, employees could accidentally make things happen outside the office, maybe for some dubious company business or even to cause a ruckus in society.

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The reason MDR exists hasn't yet been explained in the show but Severance also seems to reflect modern work life and how one can lose sense of their personal lives amidst work.

Watch weekly episodes of Severance Season 2 on Apple TV+.