Why 42 ?
Mark J Cherkas
I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
Why is the answer 42 ?
Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
Kampen van F
NO, HELP, NOT AGAIN THIS NEVER ENDING DISCUSSION!!!
PLEASE NO! (Spare you precious bandwith...)
In binary it appears to be 101010 (VERY CONSPICUOUS)
Als there is some fooling arount with 2b OR (NOT 2b) (possibly with
some additional parantheses, I did not bother to check this).
(To be or not to be),
Sigh, it's very very very complicated.
YOU DON"T want to KNOW
Greetings
Florentijn van Kampen
--
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Florentijn van Kampen | "O dear", says God, "I hadn't |
| fvka...@cs.vu.nl | thought of that", and promptly |
| (...) The World is Music (...)| vanishes in a puff of logic" |
Robert Svebeck
Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
||||||| ||||| ||| ||||||||||| ||||| || ||| ||||||
7 +5 +3 +11 +5 +2 +3 +6 = 42 !
______..________________________
| (~ ) / /
| ___)( / Robert Svebeck /
|__(_____)__/_________________/
Douglas Adams
The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
Best,
Douglas Adams
London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)
Jack Death
ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
>
>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
>Best,
>
>Douglas Adams
>London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
>Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)
Hmmmm... I kinda figured it was something like that, but then
again if the REAL answer to life the universe and everything WERE
42, it would be a common number to _guess_ or _Pick_, wouldn't it?
I think that whether you, Mr. Adams, picked it intentionaly or not,
you hit the right answer anyways. (Besides isn't it Fun to see just
how many poeple are looking for this number to show up everywhere
they go? :) )
C U LAZER,
Jeffrey D. Shaffer
Mike Vermillion
Thank you very, very, very much Mr. Adams. I find it hard to
believe that this answer wasn't obvious to everyone from the start.
Will the rest of you please stop now?
Mike
John E. Veness
: In Article <2b4asr$b...@syzygy.socs.uts.edu.au>, mjch...@socs.uts.EDU.AU
: Best,
Awww, all the myths come crashing down, one-by-one..
Pel
Sodhed
>(Mark J Cherkas) wrote:
>>
>>I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
>>Why is the answer 42 ?
>>Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
>
>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
>Best,
>Douglas Adams
newsgroups ALL had the real source of the entertainment posting to them, there
would be few flame-wars arguing about stuff we don't even know. The main
reason, by the way, that I read this newsgroup is because a friend of mine is
a fanatic, and has told me much of Mr. Adams' work, and also the fact that the
MAN HIMSELF posts here. Almost makes me want to start reading something more
than textbooks again. Time to finish my physics homework....
=========================================================================
/|
/ | /\ / /\ / / / / / / /| _________ _____
/ | / \ / / \ / / / / / / / | / / / / /
/---|/ \ / / \ / / /---/ / / / | / / / /---<
/ | \/ / \/ / / / / /____/ |/ /__/ / \
\
--The Sodhed, Reid...@Max.cc.URegina.ca, is setting the world on fire...
=========================================================================
Eschel A. Hamel
>In Article <2b4asr$b...@syzygy.socs.uts.edu.au>, mjch...@socs.uts.EDU.AU
>(Mark J Cherkas) wrote:
>>
>>I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
>>Why is the answer 42 ?
>>Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
<Mr. Adams' explanation deleted.>
I still don't get this. People are always trying to look into that one. When
I read the series, I saw it as a joke, plain and simple. It's simple (but
highly effective) irony, period. I've seen and heard him answer this question
way too many times. Let it rest folks. Remember, every moment he has to spend
explaining things, is one he isn't writing. I'd much rather see the script
completed, or perhaps a new novel.
S.Casey
YOU`VE RUINED IT NOW!!!!
Hmm.....
I was watching my copy of HHGTTG last night (after a discussion over all the differences between all the different versions) And I suddenly noticed a certain 'Green' theme to the entire book. Naughty naughty - you were writing this before it was trendy to be green.. - This just won't do... Your only hope is that it was unintentional...
PS. I have only been skiming this group and was wondering if anyone actually got round to compiling that list of questions? - if so mail me or something - I might like to add to it.....
Thanks,
Steve
With a brain the size of a planet, who needs a .sig?
MISS RA CLARKE
>>Why is the answer 42 ?
>>Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
>
>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
>Best,
>
>Douglas Adams
>London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
>Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)
Awwww, why spoil their fun? - they were happy with their binaries and base
13s...
Beccy
______________________________________________________________
Beccy Clarke g90c...@warthog.ru.ac.za
Aristotle defined man as a rational animal -
this was probably somewhat optimistic. Arthur Morgan
Ken
>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>Best,
>Douglas Adams
But, perhaps your subconscious mind was giving you (and then all of
us) some wild insight to just what life is really all about ???
Ken. (Not wanting to see a funny thread die and lose all those wierd
possible explanations !).
---------------------->e-mail to: jmar...@unix2.tcd.ie<--------------------
You're all clear and my psychometer indicates smooth sailing.
- 7-Zark-7 (The Jupiter Moon Menace)
---------------------->e-mail to: jmar...@unix2.tcd.ie<--------------------
Dale Schouten
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
Right, think you know something about it, eh?
Surely you're denying your subconscious interconnectedness with
tibetan monks possessed of 13 fingers!?
Or isn't it true that you originally wrote HHGG in a previous
life in 1924?
You can't fool us with simple facts!
Dale Schouten
scho...@uiuc.edu
Matthias Urlichs
ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
>
> The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
> ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
> base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
> stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
in his autobiography somewhere), "Just because you wrote it doesn't mean that
you know anything at all about it."
:-)
--
You should emulate your heroes, but don't carry it too far.
Especially if they're dead.
--
Matthias Urlichs \ XLink-POP Nürnberg | EMail: url...@smurf.sub.org
Schleiermacherstraße 12 \ Unix+Linux+Mac | Phone: ...please use email.
90491 Nürnberg (Germany) \ Consulting+Networking+Programming+etc'ing 42
un Coeur en Hiver
>
> In article <adamsd.11...@news.cerf.net>
> ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
> >
> >The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
> >ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
> >base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
> >stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
> >
>
> again if the REAL answer to life the universe and everything WERE
> 42, it would be a common number to _guess_ or _Pick_, wouldn't it?
> I think that whether you, Mr. Adams, picked it intentionaly or not,
> you hit the right answer anyways.
> (Besides isn't it Fun to see just
> how many poeple are looking for this number to show up everywhere
> they go? :) )
I don't look for the number, it just keeps popping up all the time.
un Coeur en Hiver
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| e-mail: | "You can cry, you can mope |
| bro...@ilf.uio.no | But can you swing from a good rope?" -Pixies |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schumacher Gordon C
>I was watching my copy of HHGTTG last night (after a discussion over all the differences between all the different versions) And I suddenly noticed a certain 'Green' theme to the entire book. Naughty naughty - you were writing this before it was trendy to be green.. - This just won't do... Your only hope is that it was unintentional...
No, he seems to like yellow much more. Yellow tongues (at the VERY
beginning), yellow bulldozers, yellow Vogon ships, Suffusions of Yellow,
and others (tho' I don't remember offhand)
BTW, it's considered polite to break your lines at about 75 chars. It
makes it much easier to read ;)
<NOT a flame, just advice>
Gordon Schumacher
/-------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Champaign- "We apologize for the inconvenience." _@_ |
| Urbana -HHGTTG / \ |
| kilroy was here | o o | |
\-------------------------------------------------------U|--U--|U---/
Kurt Brinschwitz
>
>>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
>>Best,
>
>>Douglas Adams
>
> But, perhaps your subconscious mind was giving you (and then all of
>us) some wild insight to just what life is really all about ???
>
>Ken. (Not wanting to see a funny thread die and lose all those wierd
>possible explanations !).
>
>
>---------------------->e-mail to: jmar...@unix2.tcd.ie<--------------------
>You're all clear and my psychometer indicates smooth sailing.
> - 7-Zark-7 (The Jupiter Moon Menace)
>---------------------->e-mail to: jmar...@unix2.tcd.ie<--------------------
Good God, man ! get a life!
Ken
>>Ken. (Not wanting to see a funny thread die and lose all those wierd
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ?????????
>>possible explanations !).
>>
>Good God, man ! get a life!
I would, but they are more trouble than their worth.
Ken.
S.Casey
>makes it much easier to read ;)
Erm yea... - I'll count them! hmm...
The point was green as in eco friendly....
and besides all the graphics were in green!!
the thing was about the burning of the trees on ancient earth etc.....
Steve
Evan Douglas Macbeth
I think it is an unwritten law of the Whole Sort of General
Mish Mash, "And 42 shall be the number of the counting..."
Paradox !-)
the Madhouse
ed...@virginia.edu
Alan Stokes
>Best,
What's the point of us sitting down and wondering whether there may, or may not, be
a reason for the answer 42 if some bloody author comes along and tells us he just made
it up?
:-)
--
Alan Stokes al...@rcp.co.uk
Senior Software Engineer Tel +44 235 510116
Richards Computer Products Ltd FAX +44 235 511084
Dales, High St, Didcot, Oxon, UK
James Messer
someone e-mail it too me? I am at jme...@morgan.ucs.mun.ca or at
mrm%statistics%dfo...@dfonfl01.nwafc.nf.ca
Thanks in advance.
BTW Hello Mr. Adams, I was wondering if you had anyparticular piece of
Bach's music in mind when you wrote about him in the Dirk Gently book?
And what about the Mozart bit with the annoying note?
d
--
James Murdo Messer | "Ah, yes, |
jme...@morgan.ucs.mun.ca | the rattle" |
Mike Unlimited
>In <adamsd.11...@news.cerf.net> ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
>>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>not, be a reason for the answer 42 if some bloody author comes along and tells
us he just made it up?
>:-)
Why, the entertainment value, of course. }->
--Mike
--
To err is human. To bleat is ovine. To bark is canine.
To forgive is divine. To oink is porcine. To purr is feline.
To moo is bovine. To howl is lupine. This list is asinine.
Mike Escutia | Pliable Lad of the LNH | Ergh, the warlord | mi...@unh.edu
Douglas Adams
>Bach's music in mind when you wrote about him in the Dirk Gently book?
Yes. Schubler Prelude Number six. Also appears as a viola obligato (*not*
cello, stupid mistake I made) in one of the Cantatas. Probably number 6.
Ulrich Schreglmann
>>Why is the answer 42 ?
>>Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
Not for me, it isn't! :-) What sort of desk was it you sat on? What
kind of things surrounded you? What did the garden look like? I'm
pretty sure the real meaning of it all is hidden somewhere in your sub-
conscious.
(Don't look at me like that! I won't give up a decade-long quest for a
meaning just because the author tells me there is none! Haven't you e-
er heard psychiatrists? "Everything has meaning, and the more the p-
tient denies it the more it's true. And the dirtier and more sexual it
is." So what's going on there in your filthy brain?! :-) :-) :-) :-) )
May the Cool Be with You!
(C)OOL mcmxciii
Richard S. Sevrinsky
Jo> : The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a
Jo> number, an : ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary
Jo> representations, : base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete
Jo> nonsense. I sat at my desk, : stared into the garden and thought '42
Jo> will do' I typed it out. End of story.
Jo> : Best,
Jo> : Douglas Adams
Jo> : London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
Jo> : Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)
Jo> Awww, all the myths come crashing down, one-by-one..
Not really. Now all we have to do is wonder exactly why the
number 42 was "suggested" in Mr. Adams' mind. My guess is it was
the mice. Any other ideas?
________________________________________________________________
| Richie Sevrinsky a.k.a "Life is an anticipation |
| rse...@dorsai.dorsai.org of....." |
|or- rsse...@its.brooklyn.cuny.edu - R.Sevrinsky|
`--------------------------------------------------------------'
... The OFFICIAL tagline of the 1996 Olympics!
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
Evan Douglas Macbeth
Paradox !-) the Madhouse
ed...@virginia.edu New College
The University of Virginia
Ari P K Korhonen
: ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
: >>Why is the answer 42 ?
: >>Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
: >The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
: >ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
: >base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
: >stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
: Not for me, it isn't! :-) What sort of desk was it you sat on? What
: kind of things surrounded you? What did the garden look like? I'm
: pretty sure the real meaning of it all is hidden somewhere in your sub-
: conscious.
: (Don't look at me like that!......[rest edited by A PK K]
And hey hey, did Mr. Adams have a Ballantine's Whiskey around or
something, I have an old Ballantine's add which says that it is
blended using 42 single whiskeys to create the true smooth
Ballantine...
Ari PK Korhonen (apkk...@cc.helsinki.fi and Zark Off!!
Stefan Linnemann
>And hey hey, did Mr. Adams have a Ballantine's Whiskey around or
>something, I have an old Ballantine's add which says that it is
>blended using 42 single whiskeys to create the true smooth
>Ballantine...
Ah, that _does_ explain why there's something fundamentally wrong with
the stuff.
Stefan.
--
Stefan M. Linnemann Internet: Stefan.L...@cri.LeidenUniv.nl
System programmer Unix CRI, Leiden University, the Netherlands.
The Doctor
> ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
>
>
>>The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
>>ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
>>base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
>>stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story
> .
Are you the real BBC writer? If so, how come this US address?
>
--
God save the Queen! God bless and save us all!!
Remeber, Jesus saves all souls from eternal damnation!
Save the world! Purge Republicanism and Dictatorship!
A British citizen I was born, A British citizen I will most honourably die!
Daniel O'Malley
>> ada...@nic.cerf.net (Douglas Adams) writes:
[deleted]
>Are you the real BBC writer? If so, how come this US address?
Yes, it is the real Douglas Adams. Regular readers of the group will
know that he's on a booksigning tour of the US at the moment, hence the
address.
Daniel.
--
/___Daniel O'Malley___\ /"A computer terminal is not some clunky old TV with\
\___Trinity College___/ \__a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface__/
/___Dublin, Ireland___\ /___where the mind and body can connect with the____\
\doma...@unix1.tcd.ie/ \universe and move bits of it about."-Douglas Adams./
Simon Slavin
>
>Are you the real BBC writer? If so, how come this US address?
Yes, he is the real writer (from comments made at readings/signings
which indicate that he reads this newsgroup). The reason he's
posting from the USA is that he's currently touring there and
doing readings and such stuff. I don't think he actually needs a
US account, there must be thousands of students only too willing
to let him use theirs !
And sorry if this sounds holier-than-thou, but please don't
pester him on the net because the more time he spends posting,
the less time he spends writing books and the movie script,
and listening to the excellent music which appears to inspire it all.
Unless, of course, Mr. Adams, you *prefer* spending time on the
net, in which case please tell us. :-) :-)
Simon.
--
< The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are Wonderful Things. | slavins >
< Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream ? EAPoe |@cs.man.ac.uk >
rbak...@gmail.com
Stevie fae Cardross
You've just revived a thread from 1993 and by accident led a lot of us to re-read posts from DNA himself, bless you...
Stephen Allcroft
Cardross
Scotland
Nemo Thorx
> Dear rbak...
>
> You've just revived a thread from 1993 and by accident led a lot of us to re-read posts from DNA himself, bless you...
google? (I love that google has those posts. I hate that it has them
only via the ajaxy webUI, and not nntp)
.../Nemo
--
----------------------------------------- -----------------------------
earth native
Professor Urban Chronotis
> On 24 Mar (a Monday in 2014) around 0337 hours, Stevie fae Cardross did utter:
>>
>> Dear rbak...
>>
>> You've just revived a thread from 1993 and by accident led a lot of us
>> to re-read posts from DNA himself, bless you...
>
> Are there any newsservers that have those posts from 1993 that are not
> google? (I love that google has those posts. I hate that it has them
> only via the ajaxy webUI, and not nntp)
>
> .../Nemo
Anybody got a discussion or message ID Pointer to DNA post(s) from '93?
Oh never mind. As I wrote that I decided to Google it and found a thread
at http://bit.ly/OPHclU
Nemo Thorx
> So if I go to Google Groups and search, I don't find the connection.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.fan.douglas-adams
...this thread is one of the top (36 posts according to Google, this one
I'm typing now should make it 37), click into thread and scroll up.
Douglas' is about the fourth post in. (and ninth)
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.fan.douglas-adams/595nPukE-Jo
It's worth noting too at this juncture, that according to froup history,
Douglas stopped participating due to being harassed by folks
disbelieving that he was really "The" Douglas Adams. This thread has the
only example of that that I've been able to unearth - by a fellow by the
handle of 'The Doctor' on the 17th November 1993. It's worth further
noting that this same guy is still a usenet regular, especially on
rec.arts.drwho, where he's half uber-fan, and half-troll.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.fan.douglas-adams/595nPukE-Jo/MoTjxC715osJ
> Anybody got a discussion or message ID Pointer to DNA post(s) from '93?
>
> Oh never mind. As I wrote that I decided to Google it and found a thread
> at http://bit.ly/OPHclU
question too (though not necessarily in a manner to indicate that it was
an %afda trope)
Professor Urban Chronotis
educational.
chasi...@gmail.com
franc...@hotmail.com
Nemo Thorx
.../Nemo
[13] Except the ones that do... :)
Mike Jarvis
I may date myself on this one...but who else played the old dice game in college (all games in college involved beer, of course) where rolling a 42 was called a "Ronnie Lot" and everyone had to drink? The meaning of life was built in...
Nemo Thorx
I think I heard of this only recently, but a quick google reveals that
it appears to be a US Football reference - Ronnie Lott being
a footballer who wore the #42 jersey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Lott
Reference on it in the drinking game :)
http://www.sofakingdrunk.com/2007/07/19/three-man-drinking-game-3-man-drinking-game/
.../Nemo
On 30 Jul (a Wednesday in 2014) around 0724 hours, Mike Jarvis did utter:
pier...@tiscali.it
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
I lived the same mental experience of Douglas, and reached the same logical scheme
42 is simply a joke
the true answer is 0/1 -the binary system
bye
pier
painles...@yahoo.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 42
Forty-two is a number with a direct connection to the coming Antichrist. His evil efforts will last 42 months in the end time, and thus forty-two is firmly associated with him (Revelation 11:1 - 2).
painles...@yahoo.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
END SUBJECT.
painles...@yahoo.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
Nemo Thorx
> Google uses Luciferian occult Symbolism in their logo clearly showing 666 spun around 3 times in chrome. The Colors representive of the Illuminati. "Illumination"
definitely improved it!
.../Nemo
Jan van den Broek
painles...@yahoo.com schrieb:
Here we see the power of usenet, always an immediate answer to your
question.
--
Met groeten, | make it so
Jan van den Broek | Make: don't know how to make it. Stop.
balg...@xs4all.nl |
----------------------------------------+---------------------------------------
satha...@gmail.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
aranto...@gmail.com
> In Article <2b4asr$b...@syzygy.socs.uts.edu.au>, mjch...@socs.uts.EDU.AU
> >
> >I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> >Why is the answer 42 ?
> >Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
> >
> >
>
> ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
> base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
> stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
>
>
> Douglas Adams
> London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
> Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)
vinylin...@gmail.com
Raymond Daley
<vinylin...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:308ad9fd-8349-41a3...@googlegroups.com...
I came up with the following:-
The question is different for everyone, and subjective to them. For
Fenchurch it was the number of shrinks she'd seen. For Arthur it was the
number of different kinds of soup his local supermarket sold. Pretty sure
Ford's was something about women punching him in the right upper arm.
Trillians was about the number of pairs of yellow high heeled shoes she
owned.
Everyone had a different question but everyone had the exact same answer,
and it made sense. 42.
tian
This is made sweeter by the fact that Washington is unique among our
states, being the only one (as of last time I checked) represented by a
circle in the District of Columbia.
--
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Latest change: Added pictures from San Jose Bike Party's Bunny Ride.
There's a GPCA leafy G pin on a Wisconsin quarter in my home.
Nemo Thorx
> >
> >Everyone had a different question but everyone had the exact same answer,
> >and it made sense. 42.
> >
> >
> I like that. For me it was that Washington is the 42nd State in the USA.
> This is made sweeter by the fact that Washington is unique among our
> states, being the only one (as of last time I checked) represented
> by a circle in the District of Columbia.
context. A road! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Circle
Pedantically[15][16] though, looks like Washington Circle is commemorating the man, rather than the state, but I've only got wikipedia to go by :)
[15] http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/pedants.html
[16] I'm going to get lynched, aren't I?
tian
> On 11 May (a Monday in 2015) around 1532 hours, tian did utter:
>>
>>>
>>> Everyone had a different question but everyone had the exact same answer,
>>> and it made sense. 42.
>>>
>>>
>> I like that. For me it was that Washington is the 42nd State in the USA.
>> This is made sweeter by the fact that Washington is unique among our
>> states, being the only one (as of last time I checked) represented
>> by a circle in the District of Columbia.
>
> I had to do some research to find out what you meant by circle in this
> context. A road! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Circle
>
>
> Pedantically[15][16] though, looks like Washington Circle is commemorating the man, rather than the state, but I've only got wikipedia to go by :)
>
>
> [15] http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/pedants.html
> [16] I'm going to get lynched, aren't I?
>
Washingtons in the USA. More than Lincolns? I don't know, but streets,
cities, and counties named Washington are plentiful here. It's a rare
American thats never seen at least one of them.
BTW: Back in my misspent youth I lived a couple of blocks from that
circle for a while. More recently I took thermodynamics at George
Washington University, which is not far from there on the other side.
Professor Urban Chronotis
> On 05/11/2015 06:02 PM, Nemo Thorx wrote:
>> On 11 May (a Monday in 2015) around 1532 hours, tian did utter:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Everyone had a different question but everyone had the exact same answer,
>>>> and it made sense. 42.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I like that. For me it was that Washington is the 42nd State in the USA.
>>> This is made sweeter by the fact that Washington is unique among our
>>> states, being the only one (as of last time I checked) represented
>>> by a circle in the District of Columbia.
>>
>> I had to do some research to find out what you meant by circle in this
>> context. A road! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Circle
>>
>>
>> Pedantically[15][16] though, looks like Washington Circle is
>> commemorating the man, rather than the state, but I've only got wikipedia to go by :)
>>
>>
>> [15] http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/pedants.html
>> [16] I'm going to get lynched, aren't I?
>>
> Ummm... The state is also commemorating the man. There are lots of
> Washingtons in the USA. More than Lincolns? I don't know, but streets,
> cities, and counties named Washington are plentiful here. It's a rare
> American thats never seen at least one of them.
>
> BTW: Back in my misspent youth I lived a couple of blocks from that
> circle for a while. More recently I took thermodynamics at George
> Washington University, which is not far from there on the other side.
Every state has a street in DC. As far as circles go (ha!) I'm fond of
Dupont Circle. It takes the (bold?) stance of being named after someone
but without following the correct spelling of that person's name, Sam
Francis Du Pont.
Nemo Thorx
> >Pedantically[15][16] though, looks like Washington Circle is commemorating the man, rather than the state, but I've only got wikipedia to go by :)
> >
> >
> Washingtons in the USA. More than Lincolns? I don't know, but
> streets,
> cities, and counties named Washington are plentiful here. It's a rare
> American thats never seen at least one of them.
rather my point. The circle isn't commemorating the state (and thus
commemorating-once-removed the man), it's commemorating him directly,
but it's commemoration is otherwise unrelated to the state.
(In fact I think pre-dates the state, but I didn't dig deep enough
to be sure)
Looks like there is a (surprisingly short) Washington Avenue Southwest, which
is explitely named after the state though
> BTW: Back in my misspent youth I lived a couple of blocks from that
> circle for a while. More recently I took thermodynamics at George
> Washington University, which is not far from there on the other side.
kerm...@gmail.com
It assumes a=1, b=2, ... Z=26
http://www.geocachingtoolbox.com/index.php?page=wordValue
kerm...@gmail.com
Stevie fae Cardross
> Also the phone number (2079460347) added together for the appartment where Arthur Dent went to a fancy dress party, and met a very nice young woman whom he totally blew it with.
Raymond Daley
available to read here, on my old blog:-
tian
> On 12 May (a Tuesday in 2015) around 1803 hours, tian did utter:
>>
>>> Pedantically[15][16] though, looks like Washington Circle is commemorating the man, rather than the state, but I've only got wikipedia to go by :)
>>>
>>>
>> Ummm... The state is also commemorating the man. There are lots of
>> Washingtons in the USA. More than Lincolns? I don't know, but
>> streets,
>> cities, and counties named Washington are plentiful here. It's a rare
>> American thats never seen at least one of them.
>
> yes, I'm well aware that the state is also commemorating the man. That's
> rather my point. The circle isn't commemorating the state (and thus
> commemorating-once-removed the man), it's commemorating him directly,
> but it's commemoration is otherwise unrelated to the state.
> (In fact I think pre-dates the state, but I didn't dig deep enough
> to be sure)
> Looks like there is a (surprisingly short) Washington Avenue Southwest, which
> is explitely named after the state though
>
(snip)
There's a AMOK TIME pin on an Oklahoma quarter stacked in my home.
yusuf...@gmail.com
Stevie fae Cardross
> P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney
smok...@verizon.net
troutofaw...@gmail.com
ag...@sainthilaryschool.org
ag...@sainthilaryschool.org
ag...@sainthilaryschool.org
Nemo Thorx
> It is so legit that this conversation started in 1993 and we are carrying it on in 2015... Also, read my first post!
someone replied to a 1993 post, and revived this thread :)
I did read your first post, and I don't agree. I cannot fetishize
ignorance and do not think that existance would be boring if we know
everything. We have imaginations and can create things - and the more we
know, the greater the possibilities for creativity!
ag...@sainthilaryschool.org
Nemo Thorx
> Good idea, I'm just worried about the fact that if we know the answer to "Everything" we will know the answers to all of the possible outcomes of experiments.
time. The ability to learn new things - and sometimes forget things too
- is part of what makes me me. And makes me human.
If we (as a species, and moreso as individuals) got to the point of
literally knowing everything, then we would no longer be human. That
amount of knowledge and potential would be like that of an omniscient
God. And presumably one of the things we'd know at that point, is how to
deal with knowing ALL the things.
And being omniscient is so far removed from where - and what - we are,
that it's a very long way from anything I'm concerned about :)
bisc...@gmail.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
Nemo Thorx
reply to this thread, also 22 years ago. A couple of times in fact. This
link is the response to the original question:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.fan.douglas-adams/595nPukE-Jo/koaAJ3tPBtEJ
Froup lore has it that he was driven out from posting here by people
nagging his posts with disbelief. There is an example of that in the
history of this thread too!
The Salmon of Doubt was one of several projects he was working on when
he died :(
Aidan Gray
Jan van den Broek
Nemo Thorx <afda.RE...@NOPYTHONSKETCHES.nemo.house.cx.COM> schrieb:
>>
>> On Monday, November 1, 1993 at 7:50:35 PM UTC-5, Mark J Cherkas wrote:
>> > I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
>> > Why is the answer 42 ?
>> > Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
>>
>> BRO THIS IS NOT DOUGLAS ADAMS, HE IS DEAD. HE DIED WHILE WRITING THE SALMON OF DOUBT.
>
>Bro, you're replying to a 22 year old post, and Douglas himself DID
would be an improvement.
(And I have the feeling that those hit&run gmail-posters not even are
aware that others are reacting to their postings.)
--
A tuna is a way of Liff
Jan v/d Broek
balg...@xs4all.nl
Nemo Thorx
life - it's something that usenet allows, and if google prevented that,
I'd feel that was another tick in the "google hates usenet" box.
But I do agree Google hates usenet. I wish they'd provided an actual
nntp interface! (or failing that, any kind of API for reading posts
really - I'm trying to generate a comprehensive froup post archive
(mainly for the Fit productions and Bop Ad genuine posts :)
jasbud...@gmail.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
This is the exact sentence they asked Deep Thought in the movie.
If you prefer python
>>> len("the answer to life the universe everything")
42
Jan van den Broek
Thu, 4 Feb 2016 12:49:50 -0800 (PST)
jasbud...@gmail.com schrieb:
>> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
>> Why is the answer 42 ?
>> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
>
>Have you ever noticed that strlen("the answer to life the universe everything") = 42?
By the way, between 1993 and now, alt.fan.douglas-adams.forty-two was
created for 42-related questions.
--
__________________________________________________________________________
Jan van den Broek -----_____ In remembrance of Eustachius Warszebald
balg...@xs4all.nl -----_____ Herdenkt Eustachius Warszebald
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
edwardt...@gmail.com
crow...@gmail.com
Do not let them take your brain.
atga...@gmail.com
stephen...@lycos.co.uk
rshi...@gmail.com
Kari Mäkinen
brand...@gmail.com
> In ASCII language "42" is the designation for an asterisk (*). Asterisk is commonly used to translate as "whatever you want it to be". Deep Thought, as a computer, answered like a computer, in ASCII. So answer to life, the universe, and everything is "anything you want it to be". ^__^
michaeld...@gmail.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
bibic...@gmail.com
> Why is the answer 42 ?
> Has Douglas Adams ever explained this ?
But anyway, 42 is fine, it's a nice number, easy to pronouce: 42, full of mysteries: 42, full of hope also: 42, may be the future of the planet and the whole universe: 42....
42 is magic.
Just wait one year and a half, and everything will be revealed( 1978 + 42=2020!)
BE PATIENT!!!!!!!!!!
Kie
Nice to see a DNA response. I recall fondly emailing ask...@aol.com and getting a few replies pre English GCSEs.
On the 42 topic, I'll reach the magic age in 5 years, 3 months and several days. So I guess technically that'll make me the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything.
Kie,
"Life, don't talk to me about life."
Nemo Thorx
> Well this thread is just a little time capsule off afda isn't it?
of usenet: that for better or for worse, there is no timelimit on
replies
I'd like to get a fairly complete AFDA archive one day, but google seems
to have the only copy and their interface is a bit shocking for this
stuff
> On the 42 topic, I'll reach the magic age in 5 years, 3 months and several days. So I guess technically that'll make me the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything.
our annual christmas cards that they never happened! Oh, and opening up
a timecapsule I sealed when I was 30. That was pretty cool :D
Jan van den Broek
Kie <mr.gr...@gmail.com> schrieb:
>
>Nice to see a DNA response. I recall fondly emailing ask...@aol.com and
>getting a few replies pre English GCSEs.
>
>On the 42 topic, I'll reach the magic age in 5 years, 3 months and several
>days. So I guess technically that'll make me the answer to Life, The Universe
>and Everything.
The Great Kie is back, let's have tea, and continue hoping that Meg wil also
come back.
(And, considering base 13, my age is now six times nine)
--
Abi! Emine caput in porcum Jan v/d Broek
balg...@xs4all.nl
cricke...@gmail.com
Claudio Calvelli
> As Douglas Adams said "it was a joke and end of" I have the distant memory that Douglas Adam said it was the price of a pint at the time of writing. 42pence.
ordering 2 pints at the time.
C
gattachew
You can get the hidden meaning of 42 by realizing that it is not a base 10 number (as many others already suggested): consider that if if you take as base the inverse of the opposite of the first [integer] number past the unity, i.e. -1/2, the decimal value of 42 is 4*(-1/2)^1 + 2*(-1/2)^0 = 0 that is zero, nothing, nada! This is the meaning of “Life, The Universe and Everything”.
But you already knew that, isn't it?
Nemo Thorx
> > As Douglas Adams said "it was a joke and end of"
> The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an
> ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations,
> base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk,
> stared into the garden and thought '42 will do' I typed it out. End of story.
> > I have the distant memory that Douglas Adam said it was the price of a pint at the time of writing. 42pence.
you can find a cite that'd be great :D
> That's quite possible. You would definitely get change from £1 after
> ordering 2 pints at the time.
Guinness in early 1978 would have indeed been around 42p
http://publin.ie/2015/the-price-of-a-pint-from-1928-2015-in-todays-money/
And threads like this talk about getting four pints and change for
a quid in a thread about 1975
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=192&t=1316201
So... Pint for 42p? Seems viable, so long as it was the right stuff
arjay...@gmail.com
> I am new to this group so bear with this beginners question:
https://thingsihavethoughtof.wordpress.com/2019/04/11/the-question-to-the-answer-42/
ariendra narendra
B: The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42
B: It would have been simpler of course to have known what the actual question was
B: Only when you know the question, will you know what the answer means
what if the question is like this:
A: why is there life? why is there a universe? what is all this for?
B: The Answer is 42 (for thy too)
B: I already said it, you're not going to like it with the answer...