what is the meaning of life??

Question

okay,when the "ultimate" question of "what is the meaning of life" is asked,how come the answer is 42?for people who dont no what im on about then dont answer but the people who do,why is it 42?i cant work it out..they even had it as an answer on big brother

ok...please call me dumb coz i still dont get it.i have no idea at all why people answer 42!! your telling me to read books ect...but thats not giving me my answer!! (i dont think!) is it something thats said in these books???is there a reason its 42?? im so puzzled!

Answer 1

"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives. Some people believe that the meaning of life is one or more of the following:

Survival and temporal success

* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...to compete or co-operate with others
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
* ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
* ...to live
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)

Wisdom and knowledge

* ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
* ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
* ...to expand one's perception of the world

Ethical

* ...to express compassion
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to work for justice and democracy

Religious, spiritual and esoteric

* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to become God, or God-like
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God

Other

* ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...to die, or become a martyr
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
* ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
* ...to have fun
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...to participate in the chain events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
* ...still some do not even think there is any purpose whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...(This is actually an extension of the point immediately above) There is no inherent meaning to life, existence, the universe, etc. They exist because they can. However, humans appear to inately give meaning, usually many, often conflicting, to what they are conscious of. So, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever they decide it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.

Answer 2

At the risk of being a spoiler, The answer to the ultimate question is 42!!
You cannot see the relationship unless you know what the actual question is.
That is what Deep Thought said.
(*Spoiler Alert* Do Not read the rest until you have finished the entire 5 book 'trilogy')
Deep Thought went on to design an even better computer to calculate the 'Ultimate Question', which was the 'Earth'.
Sadly, not only did the Vogons blow it up (1), but the introduction of the Golgafricken middlemen population (2) into the research program altered the parameters of operation so that the outcome was inaccurate(3).
Aurthur managed to get a glimpse of the final result, (4) which was 'what do you get if you multiply six by nine'
It stands to reason then, That the real Answer is either 54, (5) or the real question is 'what do you get when you multiply Six by Seven'.
How this works into real life is more of a question for Philosophy, which is what started to whole thing in the first place.

Answer 3

I just went thru the posts for this question and saw some really long posts for it. Very interesting posts for an interesting question. What is the meaning of life? Be a good human. Try to have a posttive effect on the people around you. See beauty in life and in your surroundings. Look to the future and remember the past. Keep your pleasures simple. Sitting on a log watching the sunrise over a canyon. Watch the waves at the beach. Walk in the forest and enjoy the quiet of the nature around you. Sit quietly and watch a rock in the river. Keep life simple. Enjoy the laughter of a child at play. Enjoy the laughter of a child as you play with him or her. Those are a few things that might help put the meaning of life in perspective. Good luck.

Answer 4

In the movie, the computer isn't sure, so it creates Earth as an organic computer whose sole purpose is to find the real answer. But Earth gets destroyed, but just before it does a young women finds the answer. Sadly, the girl dies. However, the movie was made only after the first book. My advice, go read the rest of them and you might find the answer, However, no author can really answer that question/

Answer 5

confident i think of that existence for repeat offenders is powerful.I mean reason maximum of those murders might have been prevented if the killers might have stayed in detention center. i can relate to the sufferers families. My buddy became into killed in 1997 and that they have not any leads.An i comprehend on occasion the jury shall we them off yet come on if the guy or female killed greater desirable than as quickly as you already know hes going to do it returned.

Answer 6

some people who express the belief that the meaning of life is to "love and be loved", or "promote cooperation and togetherness" are expressing the importance of our social needs, which are another component of fitness. Indeed, fitness for individuals requires fitness for the group to which these individuals belong, and this implies cooperation and "love" rather than selfishness and hostility. In fact, the meaning of life to each and everyone will always differ in terms of your priorities and purpose and needs (social, spiritual, cultural).

Answer 7

go read douglas adams' books and you'll understand.

ps, the answer is 42.

Answer 8

In case you haven't already.... read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Answer 9

happiness

Answer 10

it was a movie