h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

42 makes as much sense as any of the other explainations, although having been forty-two once, the only thing I remember is that I was there.

Post 1653:"I'm talking about educating the human race, advancing their intellect to the point that they make healthy wise decisions on their own, because they are healthy and happy and in agreement with the rest of the world, (because the only way is through evolution) unlike the current situation. It is a delicate balance, this universe, not just chaos, but perfect chaos, developed after billions of years of interaction and reaction. The human mind is the only thing I know of that has the ability to observe and make any sense out of it. It can only be done with great intellect, and great patience, and great wisdom, and a pure and unadultered mind."

Ok, more on the premise. I know the actions of the ignorant don't seem to make sense, on the surface, but if you can take you're mind to the place they're in, if you can ignore what you know, and consider the emotions of the person, and their beliefs, their actions do make sense, in their mindset. The evolution of the species physically, is controlled by the mental evolution socially. Like I said before, their actions are based on misinterpretation, ignorace if you will. The solution is education, it is the changing of common opinion. As the kind of people that understand, it is important to help all understand. You cannot fix the physical problem of society with physical solutions, it is the mental evolution that dictates society and that is what needs to be worked on.
My website is somewhat vague for a few reasons. I still have a long way to go. It is not easy to put the nature of evolution into words, and I don,t consider myself much of a writer. I don't know how I managed to make something so positive sound so bleak. I am trying to stick with what's important, and I will work on that.
Fnord and others: if I do use any of this conversation I am only going to use the important points, I said some things that had nothing to do with the point as well. As for Dr. Kelly, I'm a Canadian, eh! Did my government ever do anything about anything?

It warms my heart to hear an American opposed to their own political propoganda.
One more thing, compliments are nice,insults are deterimental to the evolution of the human race. Freindly, instructive criticism is ok though!

oh good
*will be bacl later with something to say*

That'll make a nice change

When you pass through 42 (years of age) without noticing like I did, then you realise that the Number 42 is a Zen Statement.

When babies are born they scream. They scream because they do not have the language skills to ask "who,what,where,when,why?"

Most philosophies state that the question is more important than the answer.

So to answer "What is the meaning of Life?" with the number 42 is actually more Logical than trying to explain.

It would be more productive to ask why Douglas Adams chose the number 42 above all other possibilities!!

because he's a philosophical genius?

>>It warms my heart to hear an American opposed to their own political propoganda. <<
Well that's half the fun of being American!

>>So to answer "What is the meaning of Life?" with the number 42 is actually more Logical than trying to explain.

is this also a zen statement?

Well, Douglas Adams is a bit of a genius. I think the point was that the universe needed more time for sentient thought to evolve far enough to be able to comprehend the question, and answer it realistically. If you want to know what we've decided so far, just go back a few pages.
"The potential is the point, and the potential is infinite, that is the point, only the phrasing has changed, to reflect our individual states of mind"

There probably isn't a question, really. Whats to ask? Why are we here? Evolution and such. Or maybe the question is "what is the question"...

Well, knowing something about the nature of the man, I'm tempted to say that he put it in only to illustrate the confusion, paranoia, and pointlessness which the universe is composed of. But it all depends on where you're standing.

it is 43. Why? Well it is the next available number, thats why.
42 is the answer, but the question is different, and you all know what it is.
If you think that "what is the meaning of life?" is the same question, well you are wrong.

The original question was 'the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe and Everything'. I don't understand you're point. Is that not what we have been discussing for the last couple of hundred posts

Nah, we've conveniently left the 'Universe and Everything'-bit out...
That would make it too hard. Correctly, as we seem to be having problems with the 'Life'-bit...

Ach. I tried to post a massive rant decrying the infinitely annoying fans of DNA who have nothing constructive, intelligent, original, or interesting to say, but just come on here and clog up conversation with bad 42-based jokes. Grrr. Whoops.

Good evening everybody!

42 was chosen by DA because, in his words, it was the funniest number he could think of at the time.

I personally have to say 42 is very possibly the meaning of life, for somebody, cos I think each life has its own meaning, so maybe one day someone finds out that theirs is 42. Mine could be varifocals. Who knows?

Or, from a theological point of view, 42 is a multiple of seven, which in biblical terms is the perfect number. The world was created in six days, seven if you include the day of rest. And 6 times 7 is...

Maybe in the year 4242, the world will find peace at last.

Or, being sensible (as opposed to semi sensible), why find the meaning of the whole of life? Surely its harder to find something thats true for all values (a Trig identity for instance) than something thats true for one value (like 2x=6 therefore x=3)? What if, as I said earlier, each individual life has a meaning, and you need to see everyones results to create a collective meaning?

Am I making any sense?

Sorry to interrupt a perfectly good 42 conversation!

If you'll look back a page or two, you'll all see that we were not actually talking about the number 42 at all, in case anyone thought we were. We seem to be losing our subject though.

Hey AK, remember when I mentioned the graph of evolution. I wanted to illustrate that , if you compare time to the complexity, capability of the nature of the universe you will get (as someone pointed out) an exponential curve. More than that, the more advanced it becomes, the faster it evolves. My point was two-fold. I wanted people to see right in front of them that 1, the level of evolution is consistent since the dawn of time, there is no room for a God to evolve, and then create the world, and then it to evolve, and 2, that the amount of evolution that we are looking at in even the next 100 years is incredible, unfathomable even, and gives reason for great excitement in our existence.

You mean it is both consistent and exponential? Consistent is not referring to linear I suppose...
Does our evolution get a bit of track when we became "civilised" so that more survived?
Or is that just a natural part of evolution?
And how do you graph it? Where are the numbers?
To increase incredibly in the next 100 years when it hasn't done as much in the last hundred... well are you talking about a really "sharp" exponential curve that curves very suddenly and then straightens out? and is this since the beginning of time or since homo sapiens came to exist?

Thats a lot of questions...