Wait, why 42?

[[-Mandark-]]

Ollaolas

Douglas Adams

The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought '42 will do'. I typed it out. End of story.

3nodding

Wow.
It all seems so simple...
I feel a little bit cheerier.
3nodding

 

[BriarMorganRose]

Here's the true answer--Douglas Adams knew a lot aboutcomputers, and if you multiply 6 by 9 in binary, it equals 42. SERIOUSLY!!!! My friend told me about this, cuz he works with binary. He can also count to 31 on one hand. I finally managed it yesterday, then forot as soon as I did it.....  

[wingnut the improbable]

Suke_Kawamoto

Here's the true answer--Douglas Adams knew a lot aboutcomputers, and if you multiply 6 by 9 in binary, it equals 42. SERIOUSLY!!!! My friend told me about this, cuz he works with binary. He can also count to 31 on one hand. I finally managed it yesterday, then forot as soon as I did it.....

I thought 6 by 9 was 42 in base thirteen. You can't even get 42 in binary. Well you can, but it doesn't look like 42; it looks like 101010.  

[BriarMorganRose]

no, he got it in binary. I have no idea how. not good with that....  

[[.Adolescence.]]

Well, if the Earth took 10 million (was it? I'm too lazy to pick up the book) years to come up with the answer, I guess Mr. Adams couldn't know it so promptly.^^  

[Nephthys Assyria]

Suke_Kawamoto

no, he got it in binary. I have no idea how. not good with that....

It works in Base 13, Binary and the original C-program language (Not C++ though!). I've tried it (*mutters* such a freak). Just one of the many reasons I love a school that teaches comp. programming! Apparently, however, it works for different reasons in each. O_o Does anybody think that's a bit too coincidental?  

[BriarMorganRose]

Nephthys Assyria

Suke_Kawamoto

no, he got it in binary. I have no idea how. not good with that....

It works in Base 13, Binary and the original C-program language (Not C++ though!). I've tried it (*mutters* such a freak). Just one of the many reasons I love a school that teaches comp. programming! Apparently, however, it works for different reasons in each. O_o Does anybody think that's a bit too coincidental?

no, but you actually did that?! eek okay......I thought i got bored....  

[Akky the Terrible]

Kychan Daisuke

Ollaolas

Douglas Adams

The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought '42 will do'. I typed it out. End of story.

3nodding

Wow.
It all seems so simple...
I feel a little bit cheerier.
3nodding

::happy nod::
The universe makes a bit more sense now.
Not much, but it's a start.

 

[Hermione-Samara_Potter]

Though this isn't exactly Hitch Hiker related, 42 is one of the jinxed numbers on Lost.  

[Appoggiatura]

Nephthys Assyria

Suke_Kawamoto

no, he got it in binary. I have no idea how. not good with that....

It works in Base 13, Binary and the original C-program language (Not C++ though!). I've tried it (*mutters* such a freak). Just one of the many reasons I love a school that teaches comp. programming! Apparently, however, it works for different reasons in each. O_o Does anybody think that's a bit too coincidental?

Base 13 and binary are coincidences, as far as I know. the C-program language was put in as a joke by the people who designed it. Specifically, the code goes something like this:

SIX*NINE=42
Where SIX=1+5 and NINE=8+1
Therefore SIX*NINE=1+5*8+1=1+40+1=42.

Found that on Wikipedia. 3nodding  

[74ch1k0m4]

I think the bit about Adams staring out the window and just picking it is fundamentally true. But I love the reasoning behind THAT. I mean, the random number 42....Doesn't that just sum up our universe so well?^_^ "Why ___?" "Why not?"  

[The Incorrigible Thalimon]

I get it now... 42... it's so perfect. It's smallish, It's slightly comical, and the parts are exactly double and half. Even and everything... It's the absolute perfect number, and it fits a slightly biblican number as well... Wow... It's just perfect...

I get it now... It's all comming into perfect focus. That's the reason he'd have chose it. It's perfectly random. Nothing significant but everything that one has to know... I get it...  

[alsoknownasak]

Suke_Kawamoto

Here's the true answer--Douglas Adams knew a lot aboutcomputers, and if you multiply 6 by 9 in binary, it equals 42. SERIOUSLY!!!! My friend told me about this, cuz he works with binary. He can also count to 31 on one hand. I finally managed it yesterday, then forot as soon as I did it.....

K, he says right on the special features for the TV show, and other sources, he just picked a random number. It's been said before in this thread, you think they just made it up? He picked 42 because he thought it sounded funny.

Douglas Adams wouldn't lie to us. xd  

[Xeno Zen Neptune]

Ollaolas

Douglas Adams

The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought '42 will do'. I typed it out. End of story.

3nodding

Oo incredible

Brother

of the

Sky

Explosivo!

 

[Lidaby]

EVERYONE READ THIS!!!!

42 and the question, 6 times 9?

6 times 9 in base 14 equals 42!! But apparantly Douglas Adams said it was a coincodence. 'I may be lame, but I don't make jokes in base 14.'