A Conversation for The Myth Of 42 [(5-3+0+5) * (6+0) = 42]
Please correct the definition!
FordsTowel Started conversation Aug 3, 2003
Hi,
The ideas here are fantastic, but I have one (rather serious) reservation about the text.
In bold letters, the page proclaims 'Also remember that the guide defines 6x9 as 42'.
This is not, in the least, accurate. The guide (by which I presume you mean the 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', on which cover of which the words 'Don't Panic' can be found in large and friendly letters, never makes this assertion.
The 'What do you get when you multiply six by nine?' question came about from the random drawing of tiles from a travel scrabble set. And, there was no answer provided to the question.
Granted, Arthur and Ford had hopes of coming up with the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, to which the answer was fortytwo; but we are not given any indication that this worked out either. All we get is Arthur's non-committal statement 'Perhaps,...'.
Perhaps we should institute a Campaign for Guide History Correctness - despite the time meddlers.
Please correct the definition!
Rissa of the ShoeShine, Protector of Boots Everywhere - Thingite, Zaphodista, NH Player, Geek Posted Aug 25, 2003
Yes, but the point of that scene is that there is something "fundamentally wrong" with the Universe - the arrival of the Golgafrinchans (sp?) which changed Earth's evolution and thus changed the question which was built into Arthur's brain to "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?". This is (now) the ultimate question which the mice were trying to work out using Earth - Arthur is the end product, and therefore the question in his subconscious is the end product for the whole program. 6x9. We already know that the ultimate answer is 42. Therefore, 6x9=42.
Please correct the definition!
Argon0 (50 and feeling it - back for a bit) Posted Sep 30, 2003
Quite.....
Although I am a little swayed by the argument.... Kind of like a whippy young sappling in a storm, as soon as its gone I'm back to where I was before....
?
Key: Complain about this post
Please correct the definition!
More Conversations for The Myth Of 42 [(5-3+0+5) * (6+0) = 42]
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."