On April 29, 2005 at the Disney El Cap theater in Hollywood, I attended the first showing of the film version of H2G2. I had a wonderful conversation with an older gentleman who said he was part of the original H2G2 radio broadcast cast. He mentioned that he asked Douglas Adams why the answer to life, the universe and everything was 42. Adams told him that if you count the # of dots on a pair of dice, you will see there are 42- and life is just a roll of the dice.

@vtancredi1717

3 ай бұрын

That is brilliant! never heard that before. Also ties in with Douglas Adams being an athiest.

@gregariousity

2 ай бұрын

​@@bens2718That's a pretty good answer though. Even If it is by coincidence.

@dveneky1212

2 ай бұрын

42 likes

@Murray-wk3hz

Ай бұрын

Diceman in a great book, up there with Johnathan Livingston Seagull and Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

@marvinthemartian6788

Ай бұрын

Roll the bones

In ASCII language, the most basic computer software, '42′ is the designation for an asterisk. So, when Deep Thought was asked what the true meaning of life was, it answered as you might think a computer would - 42, in other words, “Anything you want it to be!”

@tropicheist6347

2 жыл бұрын

42 thumbs up

@johnforbes8282

2 жыл бұрын

RISK - the board game RISK has 42 territories. Alla the answer is Risk

@joesomers3949

2 жыл бұрын

In programming the asterisk is mostly use as a wildcard which means the meaning of life could be anything.

@zaphodbeeblebrox4574

2 жыл бұрын

ASCII is NOT softwre, it is a code and even at that it is not the most basic !

@aacallison1535

2 жыл бұрын

Makes digital sense.

"... You're really not going to like it..." God I love that line

"You're not going to like it ... you're REALLY not going to like it"

@Gandalf_the_Fey

3 жыл бұрын

42 likes

Having spent my entire working life as a programmer (now retired), I think this very neatly sums up the whole systems development process perfectly. Although perhaps exaggerated, users never know what they want, so programmers have to guess the solution!

@magicmulder

3 жыл бұрын

I once had a project manager whose MO literally was “just do what you think is required, and I’ll tell you whether I like it when you’re done”. Sounds awful but the one project we worked on ended up running for a decade with zero issues (and he changed very little about the things I did).

@jorgepeterbarton

3 жыл бұрын

It reminds me of fundamental maths constants. Like why is eulers number or pi just some seemingly random seed that goes on infinitely, why do simple equations produce a mandelbrot set? Why does conways game of life produce complex turing complete organic complexity from two rules. Maybe.. its fractal, that complexity can arise from almost mundanity.

@cityman1111

Жыл бұрын

42 equals 101010 in binary. Seen on the wall going into the planet Magrathea.

@fivish

Жыл бұрын

As I retired senior systems analyst I agree that the users who specify their requirements in vague terms dont get exactly what they expected as its often not technically possible. You tell them but they dont believe you.

@rizzochuenringe669

Жыл бұрын

Exactly my experience! That's why I never wanted to know the exact wishes of my customers otherwise they would always come up with the most hilarious expectations and crazy side effects. Let it be my job to define the results, they'll like it.

Marvin...”I know the question” Everyone...” you do?” Marvin... “it’s written in the Earth Man’s brainwave patterns” Arthur... “you can actually read my mind?” Marvin... “yes” Arthur ... “and ???” Marvin... “I’m amazed that you can live in anything that small”

@olgaschegoleva8492

3 жыл бұрын

In numerology every number combination equals a sinhle number. Hence, 42= 4+2 4+2 = 6. In Kabbalah, 666 is the number of MAN( 6 protons, 6 neutrons 6 electrons). 661 is the “ number of the Beast”, contrary to popular belief it is not 666 but 661. Hence , given that 42=6 and 6 is the number of man , the convo makes a lot more sense now, isn’t it? LOL.

@aconfusedlacroix3965

3 жыл бұрын

@@olgaschegoleva8492 k

@pmacamfg7655

Жыл бұрын

@@olgaschegoleva8492 So 666 is a carbon atom, and 661 is a high energy cosmic ray carbon nucleus at +5, probable from a white dwarf supernova.

@petevan8942

Жыл бұрын

And no one ever finds out from Marvin the answer....no wonder he's so depressed

@dallassegno

Жыл бұрын

5 is the number of man. this is why numerology is stupid. 5 fingers 5 appendages 5 butts. gfy

The incomparable penmanship of Douglas Adams there; a genuine genius (a word too often abused but worthy in this case) taken from us too soon, proving the axiom that, “Only the good die young.” We can only begin to guess at what wonders his brilliantly satirical mind would have conjured for us if only he’d lived longer. He was in his early 40’s, I believe, when struck down by a massive heart attack. A terrible loss to the world. Especially to those who love comedy, science, science fiction and grotesque parody. RIP dear boy. RIP.

@dayegilharno4988

Жыл бұрын

:) I get the sentiment, but then again... Age has a way of creeping up on us - I would have liked to see Douglas Adams gettng unimaginative and bitter as little as watching James Dean getting fat and wrinkly!

@DavidHRyall

Жыл бұрын

If he does old, he would have lived long enough to become the villain - and no longer good 😂

@collegeman1988

11 ай бұрын

Douglas Adams was 49 at the time of his death.

"IT WAS A DIFFICULT ASSIGNMENT."

@leighthomas6798

4 жыл бұрын

7.5 millions years worth

@PaiSAMSEN

3 жыл бұрын

*FOURTY TWO?*

@davidpawson9047

3 ай бұрын

​@@PaiSAMSEN No, FORTY-TWO.

Somehow, this scene is much funnier in the book, with Adams' comedic timing and narration.

@magicmulder

6 ай бұрын

Especially when DT enumerates all the other great computers and shows his contempt for them. 😂

@bonglesnodkins329

18 күн бұрын

@@magicmulder Although that was before he became a total convert to the microcomputer, becoming an evangelist for the Apple Mac in particular.

42 was Adam's age when his daughter was born (many years after he wrote the book).

@philipdalton1000s

5 жыл бұрын

It may not have been coincidental when you consider that babies are not really brought by the stork.

@Thunderlord1738

5 жыл бұрын

@@philipdalton1000s How else are they brought?

@philipdalton1000s

5 жыл бұрын

Try Googling sexual reproduction, there's a fairly simple answer. Although maybe you're not going to like it.

@Thunderlord1738

5 жыл бұрын

@@philipdalton1000s D:

@plebulus

5 жыл бұрын

It was 42 minutes into the original movie (in the original)

Great scene. I remember laughing out loud when I first watched it. Now that I'm older, it still brings on a chuckle, but with a bit of a sad twist.

@zapkvr

Жыл бұрын

So you never heard the radio show then?

@vtc8570

Жыл бұрын

@@zapkvr wasn't even aware there was one. I remember watching these episodes on pbs when I was a kid, but now that you've mentioned it, I think I'll look for them online. Thx!

@davidlaw689

Жыл бұрын

So you never heard of the books ?

The majesty of this performance and its epic booming delivery far far outshines the cartoonish equivalent in the HGTTG reboot

i so enjoy the english accent, especially when they say "forty twooo???!" with that precious tone of voice :D

@Life_42

4 жыл бұрын

Lol! 42 can also be written as 42.0

@Puppy_Puppington

4 жыл бұрын

Life = 42 and also as 42.00000000000000000

@elonif4125

Жыл бұрын

Sounds like Eric Idle from Monthy Python.

@wesleywarsmith1113

Жыл бұрын

So important it is and was that they had a man In the background of the remake do the same.

@Ysckemia

Жыл бұрын

@@wesleywarsmith1113 damn! i need to watch the movie again :o (and in original version, maybe they cut it out in the french dubbing, because i don't remember hearing it..)

I was watching this and the I checked my battery... 42%

@fireplace8352

6 жыл бұрын

The Epic E same

@visa8408

6 жыл бұрын

Lol me too

@RichardGillard321

6 жыл бұрын

The Epic E Wow! How Spooky is that!

@lRlElD

5 жыл бұрын

this made more sense than the video.

@shanecolby547

5 жыл бұрын

It’s a sign

I've seen this many times over the years and my favorite line is the way he says "tricky".

@RobleViejo

Жыл бұрын

Tree'ke

@paulwilson7234

Жыл бұрын

Brilliant answer.

@psychoangus

Жыл бұрын

I use this line in work meetings often.

They played this on PBS when I was little, and I loved it so much.

I think the most ironic part of it is, that upon first activation Deep Thought already said, that he would only be the second most powerful computer and that the one that was to follow him would be even more powerful. So Deep Thought already calculated what was going to happen even before the question was asked of him and he had to calculate the answer.

@zapkvr

Жыл бұрын

Not irony

@dayegilharno4988

Жыл бұрын

:( Too bad it's simply not possible to give this comment any more likes, for obvious reasons...

@guitarslim56

Жыл бұрын

It's a nod to the Bible, how John Baptist referred to the Savior who would come after him. Just a literary illusion, nothing more.

@whirled_peas

Жыл бұрын

@@guitarslim56 allusion.

@cerealdude890

Жыл бұрын

@@zapkvr it’s dramatic irony

The voice of the computer in the Audiobook is the most brilliant Ive ever heard

There’s a great sci-fi short story - whose name escapes me - where the final insight was that to formulate a question, you already have to know a lot about the answer. The plot was similar to here, folks built (or found) the ultimate computer and kept asking it questions like “what is death” and “what is the meaning of life”. Its answer to the first one was “I can’t explain an anthropomorphism”.

@user-jd3bv3vh8j

Жыл бұрын

"Ask a foolish question" by Robert Sheckley, perhaps?

@magicmulder

Жыл бұрын

@@user-jd3bv3vh8j Thanks so much, I've been looking for that for ages. That is indeed the one. You don't happen to know two more short stories I"ve been searching for? One was called "The Last Weapon" I believe, and was about some scalpers on Mars finding a weapons arsenal the Martians left behind when they died out. The other was some supernatural story where demons declared "God is dead", and the main villain was a demon called Lucifuge Rofocale.

@user-jd3bv3vh8j

Жыл бұрын

@@magicmulder First is indeed Last Weapon by the same author And I don't know anything about second }:c

@magicmulder

Жыл бұрын

@@user-jd3bv3vh8j Man you are saving me today. Thank you so much!

@RIXRADvidz

Жыл бұрын

Asimov wrote ''The Last Question'' over the course of several billions of years life merges with a computer with the ''Last Question'' yet to be answered, no one to tell, the computer demonstrates, ''Let There Be Light'' and a New Universe is Born.

This was the most Pythonesque skit in the story. #2 was the sensitive cops shooting at them.

@jonathanmichaeldavis9394

5 жыл бұрын

I'm in a meeeeean mood!

@davidwise1302

4 жыл бұрын

To my knowledge, Douglas Adams was never directly related to Monty Python. He was a writer and head writer for Doctor Who back in the day (ie, before 1990 and not a part of the 2000's revival). At most, I'd think that he was tapping into the same British humour environment as Monty Python was, shared social experiences and all that, what?

@AlanCanon2222

4 жыл бұрын

@@jonathanmichaeldavis9394 It isn't easy being a cop!

@AlanCanon2222

4 жыл бұрын

@@davidwise1302 He was, however, in the Cambridge Footlights, though way after the Pythons were.

@BraveApollo42

3 жыл бұрын

@@davidwise1302 Douglas Adams was close to Graham Chapman and worked with him on some projects, but these projects were not broadcast ... one of these is a program called "out of the trees" You can search for it on KZread. As for me, I got to know Adams through this program, after that I looked for his work and watched this series. Adams is also credited with writing one of Monty Python episodes. I don’t know how true this is, But I remember reading that on imdb. ** And Excuse the bad language, I'm using Google Translate to help me write this..

These guys look like being from Monty Python.

@hellohovarju

5 жыл бұрын

yes, Eric Idle and Terry Jones, but no

@britishhedgehog

5 жыл бұрын

Not Terry Jones. That's Michael Palin

@stevelane1956

5 жыл бұрын

​@@britishhedgehog Majikthise & Groom Fondle!

@stevelane1956

4 жыл бұрын

@@britishhedgehog Neither Palin or Jones.

@JamesKingsleyQPatriotOrg

4 жыл бұрын

its called BEING BRITISH,,

As 42 is the ASCII code for * which is the wildcard for everything and anything... nicely done... :)

@dnomyarnostaw

3 жыл бұрын

As Douglas Adams himself said repeatedly, "42 is NOT significant, I made it up, I f'ing MADE IT UP!"

@trynnallen

2 жыл бұрын

@@dnomyarnostaw Yeah...but being that * is the proverbial "any" key when booting early PC/Amiga/Commodore games and his love of all things computer...it makes sense. Of course if you wanna take it in the vein of the philosophers and keep bickering about it on the chat shows. I'm up for it. We start small, and work our way up to the major networks. It'll either be brilliant or dull as hell.

@dnomyarnostaw

2 жыл бұрын

@@trynnallen It certainly wasn't the "booting" key in IBM PC, Tandy, CPM or DOS controlled computer. And it wasn't on the Amiga or Commodore either! Considering that Douglas should be the expert on the significance of 42, it boggles the mind how people make sh.t up!

@trynnallen

2 жыл бұрын

@@dnomyarnostaw Sure was: LOAD "*" 8,1 used something similar on the Atari 400 & 800 too.

@dnomyarnostaw

2 жыл бұрын

@@trynnallen A command line ascii character is not a boot key .

Even after all these many years, this still cracks me up!

The voice of the computer is Valentine Dyall’s, The Fourth and Fifth Doctor’s enemy, The Dark Guardian.

@ClunkerSlim

4 жыл бұрын

I came to the comments just for this.

@skadoink1736

3 жыл бұрын

I seem to recognise the voice as from the guardian from the Blakes 7 episode City at the Edge of the World/Forever?? not sure - but I think Forever is a Star Trek OS episode tho, so probably Edge of the World /Edit, yup, just checked and it is him, and it is City at the Edge of the World - always like that episode, and ofc Colin Baker in that is also the 6th Doctor

@raksh9

2 жыл бұрын

The BLACK Guardian.

@AlanCanon2222

2 жыл бұрын

He's in The Haunting (1963) too, playing Mr Dudley, the caretaker of Hill House (with a New England accent, though the movie was filmed in England).

Douglas was a huge fan of Monty Python. He wanted to write for them. When you read the dialog with the inflection and timing of the Monty Python boys , it all makes sense, and it’s a lot funnier. Tricky.

@ethanmillward675

Жыл бұрын

He actually did write for Monty Python’s Flying Circus

@nkt1

9 ай бұрын

He wrote Out of the Trees with Graham Chapman. Roger Brierley, the chap on the right, appeared in it.

Harry Potter finds out he’s a wizard on page 42 js

@alloca109

4 жыл бұрын

So?

@swordnoob9402

4 жыл бұрын

Coincidence I think not!

@ShrekWallBee

3 жыл бұрын

PAGE 42 LOL

@Zaminaki

3 жыл бұрын

10 to the power of 6969, against

@tiffygne18

2 жыл бұрын

Lawd

This is waaaay better than the remake that cost 100 million dollars

@MySerpentine

4 жыл бұрын

Weird how that tends to happen.

@Shadowkey392

4 жыл бұрын

Well of course it does, it’s the original. You can’t beat the original, everyone knows that.

@SangTheCryptek

4 жыл бұрын

@F P and the movie comes off as a bastardized hack job that removes all of the spirit and wit of the original books. The best part of the movie were the Guide animations that were taken directly from this show. The show that essentially uses the books as a script.

@esecallum

4 жыл бұрын

@@SangTheCryptek yes it was awful. i was waiting and waiting and waiting for a laugh.....but none came..it was awful

@freedomishealthy1086

3 жыл бұрын

I just came from the clip of this scene from that

Best book I've ever read! The movie does it no justice

Today is my birthday. I am now - (wait for it) - 42!

@leonardjanke2855

4 жыл бұрын

Thats impossible you wouldv be older than the universe if that were true

@LeftLib

4 жыл бұрын

But what does that mean?

@bruceappleby6222

4 жыл бұрын

ROTFLOL

@HugeK

4 жыл бұрын

he's a time traveller

@CraigKostelecky

4 жыл бұрын

42! = 1.4 x 10^51

Eric Idle gave so much sass when he asked what the question was lol.

@kramrollin69

Жыл бұрын

I think you will find that is definitely Not Eric Idle, It is just another British actor of the period. In fact, the sketch is very pythonish....Well, the Chinese and blacks do say all white people look the same.....except the blonde ones, the brown haired ones, the red head ones, the tall ones, the short ones, etc etc. 😆

LIFE IS THE ANSWER ITSELF, YOU ARE LIVING IT!

I think this is actually really deep, Douglas Adam’s being a programmer he would have known the ASCII character for 42 was the ‘*’. And since the start of programming it’s basically been the thing that denotes everything and has no meaning unless you give it one…

@LtPowers

Жыл бұрын

Adams thought that interpretation was clever but insisted he picked 42 only because it was funny.

@52flyingbicycles

Жыл бұрын

He picked it at random

@nicholaskehler9169

Жыл бұрын

If you do the mathematical equation life the universe and everything substituting the number of characters for the words in the equation and treating 'the' as a separation between terms and treating 'and' as a term of addition you get (life=4)(universe=8)+(everything=10) following order of operations 4*8+10 4*8=32 32+10=42 Technically speaking the only question, the computer had was the mathematical one it could infer, and it just happens that the answer to that is 42.

@sidneymonteiro3670

Жыл бұрын

You really didn't read the book, did you? It is 42 in base 13.

@LtPowers

Жыл бұрын

@@sidneymonteiro3670 What do you mean? Adams has specifically stated he didn't know that when he came up with the number.

If the voice of Deep Thought sounds familiar it's the voice of Valentine Dyall who also played The Black Guardian on Dr. Who

@leebennett1821

4 жыл бұрын

Yes that's him

@joshuawilson3388

4 жыл бұрын

He was the best villain

It shall be called "The Earth!" Oh, what a dull name?

love how the computer is 42 degree prisim that create life based on energy of a computer lol which entails 7 layers inside of it by the 3 bottom , 3 middle and 1 roof boxes during the building go back in time 7 blocks

I miss Douglas Adams.

@alamandrax

7 жыл бұрын

Dlee645 you just need a better scope.

@johnnyfavorite1194

6 жыл бұрын

Dlee645 You hardly knew him, Mate.

@SleepyNose3141

6 жыл бұрын

Dlee645 I dont care

@fatdude2763

5 жыл бұрын

Jeez, its a lil harsh, dont you think?

@bestbotreview

5 жыл бұрын

Eve n I know what he means by that

If you stand in a mirror and make the binary number 4, 0100, on your left hand with fingers up for 1, folded for zero, and 2, 0010 on your right hand, the meaning of this computers answer will make total sense.

@jayrat321

6 жыл бұрын

what really makes sense is " the celsius temperature of the perfect cup of tea"

@duncanthomson5564

4 жыл бұрын

@@jayrat321 Luke-warm tea! Disgusting!

@normanlumhee

4 жыл бұрын

(booming voice of Deep Thought) " ...it will make total sense ...but you're not going to like it" 😆😆

@Quid34zip

4 жыл бұрын

agreed

@firstupbestdressed9568

4 жыл бұрын

Ha ha ha...wonderful.x

The greatest story ever told.

@guitarslim56

Жыл бұрын

"Ishtar"?

Over two decade ago, there was a very long web page of references to 42 -- I printed it out at the time and it was well over 20 printed pages long. What they left out was: 1. On the X-Files, Fox Muldar's apartment number was 42. 2. Fox Muldar had watched "Plan 9 From Outer Space" 42 times. And it's been so long a time that I forget the rest. Though more than two decades ago there was a newspaper article that the Hubble Constant (which apparently is difficult to nail down) had at one point come up as ... 42.

@guitarslim56

Жыл бұрын

I lost 42 seconds of my life reading that post.

RIP Magic Thighs and Broomfondle. They got us where we are today.

Knowing your infinite & eternal nature while gathering new information from a different dimension & relaying that information to the supreme being, is why we have taken these rather restrictive bodies.

I really hope some large streaming service turns all 5 books into a great series. Take Martin Sheen again, let Sir Ian McKellen play Slartibartfast, David Tennant as Ford, Ben Stiller as Zaphod… a dream.

Can't believe you guys uploaded this, where can I watch the full episode?

@Albert_Herring

5 жыл бұрын

On daylimotion

I saw "The Hitchhiker's Guide..." a few years ago and I believe Dame Helen Mirren was the voice of Deep Thought in the movie. I didn't know what a phenomenon Douglas Adams' work was: I probably still don't appreciate how popular it is. Started as a radio program? Am familiar with a KZread channel, "Thoughty Two," on which I recently viewed a segment on why we gravitate toward conspiracy theories. Good segment. And for some reason I woke up pondering the name "Thoughty Two" and wondering if it was somehow related to the "Adams Answer." I didn't think "32" was the answer, so I came a-searching. Interestingly, "42" was the number Jackie Robinson wore as the African-American who "broke" the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Don't know why I didn't make that connection before. In honor of Robinson's achievement and distinguished career, Baseball retired his number on all 30 current teams. Also, the "Numberphile" channel does a good treatment of "42." Odd, the things that occupy our minds....

Valentile Dyall performs the Deep Thought voice with sooooo much relish

46 now went insane about 2015 or so dont remember exactly when it started but 2015 was when things started to get really weird

Douglas Adams wrote a few episodes of Classic Doctor Who.

Douglas was a genius. Between Deep Thought and Marvin we have a glimpse of the near future. Of course there's a good chance we will see Arnold Schwarzenegger too.

I was looking at these two actors and I was just envisioning Eric Idle and Terry Jones doing this.

I feel the need to reiterate for anyone reading these comments: 42 has no significance whatsoever. Douglas Adams chose the number at random. Likely, he chose a number that just sounded the funniest.

Starring: Simon Jones , David Dixon, Mark Wing-Davey, Sandra Dickinson, David Learner, Stephen Moore. Narrated by: Peter Jones

I love that both the costumes and most of the set are made of cheap silver mylar.

Loved it.

'Though I don't think you're going to like it..." 0:54 Bwahaha! :)

How many roads must a man walk down, before they call him a man? The answer is 42. Thank you Peter, Paul and Mary. Thank you so very much!

“THE EARTH!!!” *(first note of Freebird plays)*

It has now been 42 years since the original radio drama first aired. 10/12/1979-10/12/2021

Valentine Dyall does an excellent job in this role!

Love this tv series 🎉

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is.

@mysteryturtle9291

7 жыл бұрын

waliur rashid no one remembers the question

@fuzimuf

7 жыл бұрын

waliur rashid, what question?

@mysteryturtle9291

7 жыл бұрын

fuzimuf the question the answer is for

@fuzimuf

7 жыл бұрын

To

@lebroy1196

7 жыл бұрын

What do you get if you multiply 6 times 7?

1:06 “constable,” she said, “But be gentle.”

I don't know, look like they when back time to explore. The scene with the space ship or rocket ship and two actors; was really educational and having a great school. Kia

Could it be that this scene was staged in allusion to the audience scene in in "Wizard of Oz"? The green gleam, the dust, trembling of the ground (is there one in WoO ?), the powerful voice and the subservient questioners?

3:18: "A computer that can calculate the answer to the ultimate question"? Shouldn it be "the question to the ultimate answer" as they just got the answer as 42?

@Elso310

5 жыл бұрын

i noticed that

@Akario3

5 жыл бұрын

Because it can calculate it,it means it also knows the question or finds it by going backwards.

@JustDoIt12131

4 жыл бұрын

It wouldn't make sense anyway. If he doesn't know the question how could he know the answer? xD Just nonsense.

@nmatavka

4 жыл бұрын

@@JustDoIt12131 Just ask the quantum computer nerds that. You can totally have the answer, but not the question that the answer actually answers.

@JustDoIt12131

4 жыл бұрын

@@nmatavka You can have infinite answers for infinite questions, but you cannot know which one of those is the answer to the "ultimate question" if you don't know what the "ultimate question" is. Furthermore, the idea "ultimate" in that concept is subjective and therefore there are as many "ultimate questions" as thinkers.

"AND IT SHALL BE CALLED...THE EARTH!" "...What a dull name."

I'm as old as Douglas Adams' novel, which was published 42 years ago. Coincidence? I think not! 🤣

I just turned 42 right now as for 55 minutes ago, so I came here to get the url to post on my fb.

Love the early 80s graphics, the same style you see in the Jackson's video for Can You Feel It.

The thing about the Sinclair ZX Spectrum is that it didn't attempt to answer questions it couldn't really comprehend the meaning of. If you'd asked it what the answer to life, the universe and everything was it would've just displayed "Syntax error" on your TV screen.

@K-o-R

6 жыл бұрын

"Syntax error" isn't actually a ZX Spectrum error message though. You'd get a flashing ? cursor, or a red flashing cursor if you were in 128K mode. Maybe "A Invalid argument, 40:2" if it was part of a program.

@Loganberrybunny

5 жыл бұрын

Given this is a BBC series, a BBC Micro would do the trick. Though it's surprisingly tricky to get a "Syntax error" message if you don't know the computer. Just typing gibberish simply returns "Mistake". (Mind you, this is a machine that has "Silly" as a genuine error message.)

@philipdalton1000s

2 жыл бұрын

@@K-o-R I used to have a 16K Spectrum and "Syntax error" used to come up on the TV screen if you made an error in programming. I think basically the idea behind the story of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is that no matter how advanced computers become they can never be expected to work something out that a human wouldn't be able to.

this is extremely deep and meaningful. does anybody know the truth? like, the psychedelic truth? is this computer... god? is reality as we know it, a dream? a program?

The computer is the Earth, whattttt. I've heard that our time on Earth is Heaven. It's already super dope to live and to appreciate all that you have, when you appreciate everything everything becomes perfect like in Heaven.

was watching thoughty2 but when the guy introduces himself he says 42 made me think of this movie.

wait a minute, so there was a Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy before The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy ??

@only257

Жыл бұрын

❤this was a short lived tv series came out in 1981 only lasted 6 episodes 😊

In Japanese culture, the number 42 is considered unlucky because the numerals when pronounced separately-shi ni (four two)-sound like the word "dying" like a Latin word "mori". The Sutra of 42 Sections is a Buddhist scripture.

The question is: What do you get when you multiply six by nine? 54... And there you have it. The universe is fundamentally flawed.

@peNdantry

4 жыл бұрын

... now try it in base 13 ;)

Funny thing, that number. It was my first post box number, my mother's rural address scheme number and Fox Mulder's apartment number. I didn't know about 42 being ASCII for * (thanks Alexandre), just goes to show really...

I like this better then the movie's adaption of the scene.

@KingdomHeartsBrawler

3 жыл бұрын

Same. It's so much grander and thought-provoking while also being funnier.

The psychiatrists didn't want the program to complete, because if the galaxy had both the ultimate question and answer to life, the universe and everything, no one would need them any more (same as the philosophers that tried to stop the answer from being given). That's why the Vogon captain's psychiatrist encouraged him to destroy the Earth just before the program completed. They got more into that in the books than the TV show.

The answer has been in front of each throughout life.

Well, just everything, you know, everything

My dad named our cat Ford Prefect in 1988. He handed down his collection to me

@magicmulder

3 жыл бұрын

A good friend of mine named her cat Random Frequentflier Dent, or “Randy” for those in her family who don’t get it.

@arwelp

7 ай бұрын

A Ford Prefect actually was our family car in the 1960s…

You could overanalyze the answer and think of 42 and fortytwo which is only a little bit off from "fortitude" - strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.

I think the meaning of life:42 (/64) is the answer. The simple statement allows one to perceive their own meaning. What first came to my mind (after the confusion) was that '42' gave me everything and nothing at the same time. And then it clicked. Everything and nothing arises many questions and answers but also absolutely nothing at the same time. And this is so intricate. The meaning of life is what the human mind perceives this '42' to be. To me this means the meaning of life, the universe and everything else is everything and nothing at the same time. That the meaning of life is so complex and intricate, that it gives us so many answers, questions but nothing at all the Same time is what makes the meaning of life, existence . What we perceive the statement and answer '42' to be reveals to us what the underlying subconscious answers are

"I speak of none but the computer that is to come after me, a computer whose merest operational parameters I am not worthy to calculate". This is a biblical allusion to the Gospel of Mark. John the Baptist speaks about Jesus as follows: "After me is coming someone more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie".

@carminemurray6624

3 жыл бұрын

Believe it or not, many others actually knew 🤔 that was a messianic reference or did you think you were the only one to realize this 🤔 ?

@reginaldperiwinkle

3 жыл бұрын

@@carminemurray6624 I figure most people didn't catch the reference, but that some people did.

@chasecollins3263

2 жыл бұрын

Never knew that, thanks for the cool fact

I’m 42 years old now and mad things are going on in my universe!! What on earth?!!

This is so much better than the remake, they should have never made a remake.

42 is indeed an asterisk in ASCII, but if you interpret it as hexadecimal, "42" becomes the capital letter B. Perhaps the Ultimate Question is multiple choice.

@BigZ971

Жыл бұрын

In binary 42 is also 101010

@MrGreensweightHist

7 ай бұрын

In another of the books, Adams goes on to explain that if the universe were ever understood, it would cease to exist and be replaced by something even more bizarre. There is no question for 42. That's the point of 42. To illustrate that even bothering to question it is irrational and futile

@MrGreensweightHist

7 ай бұрын

@@BigZ971 No it isn't. 1010 = 10 You're missing a 10... 101010 = 42

@BigZ971

7 ай бұрын

@@MrGreensweightHist yes you're correct

"What a dull name" You have to wonder what DA was on when he wrote this amazing stuff lol

Valentine Dyall is also famous as the voice of the Black Guardian.

@garethhayes3470

4 жыл бұрын

Mark Konzerowsky he started off as “the man in Black” on BBC radio back in the ‘50’s . And did ALL sorts of stuff over his long & distinguished career

@Super_Mario128

4 жыл бұрын

Mark Konzerowsky Norl in Blake's 7 too.

Randomly watching this video exactly 42 minutes away from a conference call this morning.

Ultimate

Got it on the recommended in 4:24pm

Much better than the newer film

Legend days that if the Ultimate Question and it's Answer were to exist in the same space-time the Galaxy would collapse and Life would cease to exist...

You can only know one or the other. Knowledge of one precludes the knowledge of the other.

I didn't see it in the comments. The question is 'What is 9c6?' Before you say 54 though, understand the universe is base 13. Therefore 54 becomes (4x13)+(2x1) = 42.

I think Deep Thought is actually Marvin in disguise!

in an infinite universe it makes sense to catch solar wind - infinite acceleration as opening sequence of an infinite universe where planets are fed with solar wind and stars and galaxies are fed with cosmic radiation (to surrect planets is how to live in a universe - life as center of the universe )

@replica1052

Жыл бұрын

to surrect planets involves all dimensions - explore our talents

It's still offered as a secluded temple open only to initiates of a certain rank.

Am I the only one getting mad at everyone for not listening more to Marvin since he is the smartest being and computer in the universe and therefore know the question and the answer?