I've Solved It!!!! (MH)
Matthew Duhan
before the universe explodes, to be replaced by something even more confusing.
Someone suggested (sorry, I don't have the original posting) that Random
was the embodyment of the original question, and thus her question was the
ultimate one. I have to disagree. It suddenly came to me in a flash of
brilliance! (Well, the toaster exploded, but it sounds better this way.)
Seriously, I disagree because while Random is the product of Arthur and
Trillian, they are not entirely part of the ultimate question. They are
in fact descended from the Golgarflinchins, Ark B, which crashed on Earth
(our probability) and killed off the original descendants! The Ultimate
Question is in the book, though. Don't read on if you want to find it
for yourself.
OK, I'll tell you, shall I? Read chapter seven again.
All read? OK. Now, this planet that Arthur is on is the only earth
we've seen that did not have the Golgaflinchins crash on it. Therefore,
it is true to the original program that Deep Thought designed. Note that
the only animal life form left is the boghogs. And yet, at the end of the
chapter, "A single bird wheeled in the sky above him." The name of the
alternate earth? A question, NowWhat!! THE Ultimate Question! Now What? 42.
The bird is obviously the Guide, Mark II, to make sure that Arthur does not
relay this information back to our probability, which will be destroyed if
both the Question and Answer exist in the same universe/probability. The
bird indeed succeeds, as (here comes the real kicker) the earth destroyed by
the Grebulons is not our Earth! I realized this one almost by accident.
Check out page (of course, the solution HAD to be here) forty-two. Due to
a neutrino, the earth in which Tricia McMillian resides has four-leaf clovers
as the predominant type. Later she finds a three-leaf clover for good luck.
She never rides in hyperspace. Therefore, the earth that Ford, Arthur, and
Trillian (and Random) arrive on at the end is this one, not ours. Ours is
still, as far as I know, the way it was left in SLATFATF. But the bird/Guide
had to make sure that our Ford, Arthur, and Trillian never returned to it,
else the replacement with something more confusing mentioned in TRATEOTU.
BTW, this also helped confirm a suspicion I've had for a while. In TRATEOTU,
Zaphod enters an artificial reality in which he is the most important thing
in the universe (see Frogstar and the Total Perspective Vortex). When they
meet the guy who only tells the truth at the end of L,TU,AE, he remembers
Arthur, leading me to believe that the real universe had Arthur as the most
important thing in the universe. Now that the Guide and Vogons have gone
out of their way to destroy him, and that he is the first (and pretty much
only) person to have both the Question and Answer, it confirms this
suspicion. There may be other Arthurs, but ours, the most important thing
in the universe is now, as far as I can tell, dead. As it had to be. Thanks
for all sharing your ideas. It helped me realize this solution. Please feel
free to respond.
**************************************************************************
* Harvard Man/Harvard Man/Going to school in Cambridgeland/ *
* Always wins against Yale Man/Harvard Man/ *
* Is he a doc/Or is he a jock/Does he just work or does he like to rock/ *
* No one compares to Harvard Man/Intelligent man/Harvard Man *
* -They Might Be Giants (sort of) *
**************************************************************************
Martin Dougiamas
> I've done it! I've solved the mystery! [..etc...]
You raise some interesting points... I like them. I just wonder
if DNA had intended them that way... Hmm.. I'll have to have another
read.
--
,--------------------------------------------------------------. _ .
| All the deserts I could irrigate Martin Dougiamas. | _r| Ll\
| All the poor I could emancipate mar...@cs.curtin.edu.au | | | \
| But that's not what interests me Curtin University | \ |_ /
| I'm interested in apathy Perth, Western Australia -+-> x~ `-'
`=== This Is Serious, Mum =====================================' V
Eric D. Shepherd
- Eric S.
--
Eric D. Shepherd | Apple II Alliance Charter Member
InterNet: uer...@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu | ACM Member
FidoNet: 1:206/2712 Eric Shepherd | "If at first you don't succeed,
AOL: Sheppy | there must be an easier way!"
Michael Burstein
>
> I've done it! I've solved the mystery! Now I've got to tell someone
>before the universe explodes, to be replaced by something even more confusing.
>
>Question is in the book, though. Don't read on if you want to find it
>for yourself.
>
> OK, I'll tell you, shall I? Read chapter seven again.
>
>alternate earth? A question, NowWhat!! THE Ultimate Question! Now What? 42.
>in the universe is now, as far as I can tell, dead. As it had to be. Thanks
>for all sharing your ideas. It helped me realize this solution. Please feel
>free to respond.
OK, I shall respond. Although your theory sounds really neat (and I'm
surprised that I didn't realize that NowWhat was a question). I can see
a few flaws:
1. NoWhat was named by a bunch of colonists who came to the planet,
wasn't it? Didn't they land there and then ask themselves, "Now what?"
2. NowWhat? doesn't have "42" as a logical answer. "How many roads must
a man walk down before they call him a man?" makes much more sense, if a
number is the answer.
3. Finally: A friend of mine who saw Douglas Adams the last time he did
a tour asked him to confirm a rumor as to what the Ultimate Question
was. And he confirmed it. The question appears in Life, the Universe ,
and Everything. Marvin says it at one point, which makes sense because
he's the only one who knows what it is. If people want me to post the
question, let me know.
--
Michael A. Burstein
Physics Department, Boston University m...@buphy.bu.edu
590 Commonwealth Ave. (617) 353-9437 (o)
Boston, MA 02215 (617) 735-9433 (h)
Neal Miller
>3. Finally: A friend of mine who saw Douglas Adams the last time he did
>a tour asked him to confirm a rumor as to what the Ultimate Question
>was. And he confirmed it. The question appears in Life, the Universe ,
>and Everything. Marvin says it at one point, which makes sense because
>he's the only one who knows what it is. If people want me to post the
>question, let me know.
POST! Please! The Universe be damned, just tell me! :)
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neal Miller | "Why not go mad?" | mill...@craft.camp.clarkson.edu
Clarkson University | - Ford Prefect | da...@craft.camp.clarkson.edu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Burstein
>m...@buphy.bu.edu (Michael Burstein) writes:
>
>>3. Finally: A friend of mine who saw Douglas Adams the last time he did
>>a tour asked him to confirm a rumor as to what the Ultimate Question
>>was. And he confirmed it. The question appears in Life, the Universe ,
>>and Everything. Marvin says it at one point, which makes sense because
>>he's the only one who knows what it is. If people want me to post the
>>question, let me know.
>
> POST! Please! The Universe be damned, just tell me! :)
OK, Neal, relax. I'll post the question now, but leave a control-L and
spaces for those who don't want to know. Please do keep in mind that
due to the Golgafrinchons, the question is probably wrong anyway, but
still it's what Adams said.
The Ultimate Question, Of Life, the Universe, and Everything, to which
the answer is forty-two, is...is....
"Think of a number. Any number."
Marvin says this to Zem the mattress when he wants to prove that he's
much smarter than the mattresss is. The mattress answers, "Three," and
Marvin says, "Wrong. See?"
(I'm sorry if this is a letdown. Don't blame me. The universe never did
make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.)
Matthew Duhan
>In article <millernw....@craft.camp.clarkson.edu> mill...@craft.camp.clarkson.edu (Neal Miller) writes:
>>m...@buphy.bu.edu (Michael Burstein) writes:
>>
>>>3. Finally: A friend of mine who saw Douglas Adams the last time he did
>>>a tour asked him to confirm a rumor as to what the Ultimate Question
>>>was. And he confirmed it. The question appears in Life, the Universe ,
>>>and Everything. Marvin says it at one point, which makes sense because
>>>he's the only one who knows what it is. If people want me to post the
>>>question, let me know.
>>
>> POST! Please! The Universe be damned, just tell me! :)
>
>
>The Ultimate Question, Of Life, the Universe, and Everything, to which
>the answer is forty-two, is...is....
>
>
>
>
>"Think of a number. Any number."
>Marvin says this to Zem the mattress when he wants to prove that he's
>much smarter than the mattresss is. The mattress answers, "Three," and
>Marvin says, "Wrong. See?"
>
>(I'm sorry if this is a letdown. Don't blame me. The universe never did
>make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.)
>
>
>--
>Michael A. Burstein
>Physics Department, Boston University m...@buphy.bu.edu
>590 Commonwealth Ave. (617) 353-9437 (o)
>Boston, MA 02215 (617) 735-9433 (h)
Well, if DNA said it then I guess it's the case. This is more of a
statement than a question, though, isn't it?
Matt
Eric D. Shepherd
sure it made _perfect_ sense in the universe that ceased to exist when DNA
figured out what the question was! :)
Actually, that's a perfectly logical question. Thanks! :)
- Eric S.
--
Eric D. Shepherd | Apple II Alliance Charter Member
InterNet: uer...@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu | ACM Member
FidoNet: 1:206/2713 Eric Shepherd | Programming Law #1: "When in
AOL: Sheppy | doubt, rewrite from scratch."
Matthew P Wiener
>1. NoWhat was named by a bunch of colonists who came to the planet,
>wasn't it? Didn't they land there and then ask themselves, "Now what?"
Right. But *why* did they ask that question, on that particular planet?
>2. NowWhat? doesn't have "42" as a logical answer. "How many roads must
>a man walk down before they call him a man?" makes much more sense, if a
>number is the answer.
Sense? Logic? Now what does that have to do with anything?
--
-Matthew P Wiener (wee...@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)
Thomas Zych
42! ...err, no, I guess not. Never mind.
--
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Tom Zych tjz2...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu | The University of Illinois |
| tz1...@coewl.cen.uiuc.edu | at Urbana-Champaign... |
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