I learned The Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything about two years ago after I decided to leap into the legions of devoted fans who had read through the brilliant and quirky Douglas Adams novel (and radio series): The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
Ok, fine. Jeez. The guy I was dating was in love with the book and I wanted to impress him am always looking for new things to read.
ANYWAYS
It ended up being a great read, even if it was super science fictioney and kinda ridiculous. In the book, a really long time ago a bunch of wicked smart alien folk decided that they wanted to learn The Answer to The Great Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. So they built a super-computer (Deep Thought) that would be able to collect all the data and metrics and LOLZCATZ pictures of existence and schmush them together into one comprehensive absurdly intelligent algorithm that would finally give them The Answer.
It was so complicated that the most brilliant super computer ever created determined it would need 7 1/2 million years to figure it out.
Fast-forward 7 1/2 million years, and the uber-intelligent pan-dimensional descendants are ready to get The Answer. The Answer to The Great Question. Crowds of people gather. The excitement throbs in the air palpably, as everyone will FINALLY have The Answer. That which they have been seeking for millions of years.
The pan-dimensi’s approach Deep Thought and ask it again for The Answer.
“The Answer to the Great Question… Of Life, the Universe and Everything… Is… Forty-two,’ said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.” (H2G2)
So there you have it.
The Answer is 42.
Doesn’t that make you feel better? Knowing The Answer to The Great Question. That which we as humans base our entire purpose and being on.
Your life, in the end, probably means 42.
Of course the pan-dimensional beings are obviously quite pissed and kind of embarrassed. I mean, this was THEIR super computer that screwed The Answer up so royally. They got angry at Deep Thought (mostly cause they were not really stoked to go share this answer with the throngs gathered outside) and questioned the computer’s process. Was this all they had to show for 7 1/2 million years of work?
“I checked it very thoroughly,” said the computer, “and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is.”
“But it was the Great Question! The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything!” howled Loonquawl.
“Yes,” said Deep Thought with the air of one, who suffers fools gladly, “but what actually is it?” (H2G2)
The book spins out after that, with a new (better) super computer constructed to determine what The Great Question is/was. With The Great Question, perhaps The Answer will finally make sense. Then there’s an explosion, a galactic-highway project, bugs in ears, Hitchhiker’s Guides, and a whole lot more stories and adventures that both baffle and engage.
I’ve been noticing this trend cropping up more for my circles in the past few years. I suppose it has always been there (The original Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy radio show aired in 1978, and they were pondering this then) but somehow I’m experiencing it more now.
We are all desperately seeking out The Answer.
Not necessarily THE Answer, but we are constantly seeking out Answers. Somewhere along the way we stopped caring about what The Question was to begin with.
We become obsessed with The Answer.
The magic bullet that will help us shed pounds or make money quick. The 5 Easy Steps to achieve fame and success. The One who will swoop into our lives and somehow make us complete and whole.
Fixated on a stationary destination, we put our head down and hustle and shuffle to occupy ourselves until we find The Answer. We might even build our own Deep Thought that will figure it out for us. Or gather en masse outside the temple, waiting for someone else to get The Answer for us.
Give me The Answer and it will all finally make sense and I will finally be happy.
Sorry, cupcake, but that’s not how it works.
Even if you get The Answer (I just told you The Answer, in case you’ve already forgotten) what does that mean if you didn’t really know what you were questioning to begin with.
The Answer often isn’t The Answer.
Which is why often it feels shallow and confusing when we finally get The Answer.
It just leaves us with more Questions.
That now need their own Answers.
Even if we could find out The Answer (or find some hint of it), if it isn’t what we want, or think it should be, we could gloss right over it and be none the wiser. So even if it was right there in plain sight (or conveniently located in the back of the textbook — this is how I passed high school geometry), would it even do us any good? It also depends on how we pose the question..is it loaded? (“When will this woman I like look my way and realize I’m crazy for her?”) Or is it more like, say, “Hey crush! Y U No like me back?” My guess is that the Universe is kind of like that exasperated math professor who shows the class how to get The Answer, and then facepalms when the students say, “but what does it mean? Why couldn’t it be 21 times 2?” So maybe Professor Universe has given up at this point. (PS the answer is actually….”Dantooine. They’re on Dantooine.”)
I don’t know. I think the professor facepalms because he has taught you the whole process again and again and still none of the students “get it”. Math is totally focused on the question not the answer. It’s all about the brilliant method and theory to get there. It’s like the picture in the post says. You can solve for “x” in the Pythagorean theorem or you can just “find x”. Talk about facepalmming!
Yeah, I agree totally on getting the answer we WANT versus the answer that IS. And man, how hard we try to make those answers that aren’t what we want to be the answers we wish they were.
The Question, of course, is “What is the square root of 1764?” That’s what I always ask myself when confronted with love or death or a restaurant menu (I only go to restaurants that number the items on their menus.)
But it takes SO LONG to wait five hundred and seventy-six thousand million years for a good meal! 😉
definitely perked up when i saw you tweet this because of our previous twitchat where you told me the answer was 42… and I said I hadn’t read the book yet (I really need to)! NOW I understand the context a bit better and that… it’s not really supposed to make ‘sense’ even now having read your recap… and i’m sure it won’t make much sense when I read the book either.. but that’s the point.. nice one. As much as I need/want answers, I do feel part of the purpose of life is to ask questions.. That’s why I love living life with curiosity. I do see that shift right now with more people wanting to find answers.. We are going through a spiritual shift.. I feel it strongly here but I think the East and SE Asia especially is the center of that.
A great part of life is a healthy curiosity. Agree heartily. It is that childlike wonder of things in the world that makes it all so much more fun and interesting.
As for making sense – dear god don’t read the Hitchhikers Guide and look for anything to make sense! 🙂
I don’t know that I believe it isn’t supposed to make sense. But I do believe that we have become a world too preoccupied with the need for answers and the idea that getting them will somehow “solve the problems”. So often that isn’t the case, because we aren’t really understanding or confident in the problems/questions we want solved.
Wow, now I’m not sure if that made any sense!
I like your point about how trying to find an answer without knowing your question misses the purpose entirely. It’s like asking to be told what to do without thinking about what we feel we need to do or want in the first place.
Precisely! It’s like giving someone a square peg to fit in a round hole. Sure, it’s a peg, and it’s purpose is to fit in holes, but in this case the answer doesn’t REALLY help.
Slightly irrelevant contribution- If you haven’t seen the movie it’s actually pretty worthwhile. My favorite aspect is Alan Rickman as Marvin the depressed robot.
Haha, not irrelevant at all! I enjoyed the movie as well. 🙂