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Interesting article in today's Code Project Daily News: "For Math Fans: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Number 42". See For Math Fans: A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Number 42 - Scientific American.
Why is 42 such a big deal for the mathematicians and other so called philosophers? This article takes it all in, almost. What is the answer to: "The Great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything”.
I have always heard the answer as "to die". Then, someone had the intelligence to "two dice", each having one to six dots on each side. Adding up the dots on both dice gives the sum of 42. Maybe not complex math, but overthinking and recontextualizing the problem to get the magic number.
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The only significance of 42 is, that it used in a good book...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Isn't it obvious?
The number 4 corresponds to the letter D in the alphabet and the 2 is a B.
That makes DB, or database.
Meaning the answer to life, the universe and everything is a database.
Ergo, we're a simulation that fills up a database with data.
Whether that data is of use to anyone is a different question 
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No, no, no!
It's the 42nd letter of the Umnian alphabet. 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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I'm not familiar with Pratchett's work 
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You better remove that comment... before they burn you... 
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Too late ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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BURN THE HERETIC!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Don't be like that, I've always considered you as a Brutha
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It's main purpose is to show that a lot of human activity is just plain ridiculous, something it does with great success.
Other than that it is extremely funny and a very good and entertaining read. I have all his works and don't regret it for a second.
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fd9750 wrote: a very good and entertaining read
What makes you think I read?
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When all Douglas actually did was gaze out of his window at home and thought of the number 42 - lots of people have been trying to read something deep and meaningful into it ever since.
"We can't stop here - this is bat country" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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pkfox wrote: When all Douglas actually did was gaze out of his window at home and thought of the number 42 - lots of people have been trying to read something deep and meaningful into it ever since.
Ah, but who (or what) put "42" into his head...
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I read that article. Interesting...
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All these answers so far, and nobody mentions that Douglas Adams himself had apparently said that 42p was simply the cost of a pint at his local pub at the time he wrote the book.
Heard this decades ago. No idea whether it's true or not. Just relaying what I know.
[Edit]
A quick Google search brought back a BBC page from over 12 years ago with someone making the same claim. Of course, that's not any more authoritative than what I just mentioned...
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I thought that it was neat that the ascii code 42 is the star *
What with the book being about galaxies and stuff, and being one of the best books ever, whichever planet you are based on.
Andy
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Sorry to respond to myself, but #42 is the number in Jackie Robinson's Jersey. He was the first black man to play in the white baseball league. The next question is why or how did he get the number 42?
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In the question "What is 7 x 9?" The answer is 42... if you are working to the base 13, not base 10.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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If you haven't heard the original BBC radio play, its well worth a listen. Looks like it's on youtube!
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So, it's been a while since I've been here. Back in the day we had the Soapbox, but it doesn't seem to be around any longer. What happened to it? Also, I have a funny video to share, but it contains the f-bomb so I don't want to post it to the lounge. Where can I post it?
Jeremy Falcon
modified 22-Sep-20 17:39pm.
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It descended into a cesspit of trolling and abusive comments, and despite the management giving considerable warning it refused to behave.
So it was killed, it's head chopped off, a stake hammered through it's rotten black heart, and left out in the sunlight to dry up and blow away like dust.
I doubt it will return from this.
As a result, there is no non-KSS location on the site; no place to post a rude joke; no room for the f-word.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Gotcha, and can't say that surprises me. Isn't the Internet fun?
Jeremy Falcon
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Yep! But full of idiots as well. 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Jeremy Falcon
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