I don't get it! Is this a joke? Or is there a rational explanation behind this unusual answer?
2006-12-30 20:21:07 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
There's an awful lot of real philosophy hidden in the humour of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".
The search for the meaning of life is just one element.
The answer, 42, turns up before the question is completely specified. The question turns out to be
"What do you get when you multiply 6 by 9." which is problematic.
It works in base 13, but Douglas Adams is on record as saying ""nobody writes jokes in base 13 [...] I may be a pretty sad person, but I don't make jokes in base 13."
Which leaves other possibilities. One can opt for "Clearly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty", a personal favourite. Or given the number of times the "What is the meaning of life?" question comes up in this section, the view of the bowl of petunias may be relevant:
"Oh no. Not again!"
You need to read the books... At least the first three.
2006-12-31 06:41:46 · answer #1 · answered by Pedestal 42 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it's a joke (see the Douglas Adams book others have cited).
And no, I don't think there's a rational explanation for it. Perhaps that was Adams' point - life really doesn't have any pre-defined meaning, so you might as well say that it's 42 as anything.
2006-12-31 04:31:11 · answer #2 · answered by IrritableMom 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i guess you've heard of "the Hitchhikers guild to the galaxy" by the question, but no there isn't a rational explanation for the answer. However there is an answer, to get it you should read "The ultimate hitchhikers guild to the galaxy" it's a compilation of five separate novels, but spends three of them frequently discussing the possibility's of the ultimate question. But that's where the whole 42 thing came from.
2006-12-31 04:33:49 · answer #3 · answered by Richard M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
42
2006-12-31 09:24:25 · answer #4 · answered by metroactus 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is reference to the Books series by Dougals Adams the HItchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It wasthe ultimate answer to everything arrived at by a giant super computer that spend generations contemplating it. Of course, as a bit of irony...the ultimate question turned out to be,"What do you get when you multiply 7 by 8." Which would explain shy things are so screwed up in the universe.
2006-12-31 05:29:38 · answer #5 · answered by kveldulf_gondlir 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its a joke. Actually its a very funny one when in context.
Its from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Its best not to rent the recent movie which is nowhere near as good as either the books or the BBC Radio Series (which actually came before the books). The Radio Series is the very best - you can get it (and the books) on Amazon (link below).
2006-12-31 04:34:39 · answer #6 · answered by anthonypaullloyd 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Basically Deep Thought, a computer, came up with this as the answer to the question of "Life, the universe and everything".
But that was because the askers hadn't asked the correct question
2006-12-31 04:23:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Spectacularly entertaining book which provides the answer to the big question of life, the universe, and everything.
2006-12-31 04:23:16 · answer #8 · answered by sueflower 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's from the Douglas Adam's series of books
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Universe.
2006-12-31 04:24:04 · answer #9 · answered by Semaj S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps you can only grasp the meaning of life after you reach the age of 42??
Thanks for all the fish!!
2006-12-31 06:27:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋