The answer to the great question of

[Guest elija]

the meaning of life, the universe and everything is as we know from thgttg 42. There are many theories to why Douglas Adams chose 42 but no-one knows for sure. Well, Stephen Fry says that he was told the real reason on the condition that he takes it to his grave, so technically, there is one person.

 

It is amazing some of the theories that you find and equally amazing where anti-depressants and tranquillisers will send a mind wandering. I have not found this on the web anywhere I have looked so there is every possibility that this is an original and *ahem* deep thought. Of course I could just be off my tits!

 

Q1. What is 4 x 2?

A1. 8. Which is how many bits there are in a byte. The books were written in the era of 8 bit computing which is interesting.

 

Q2. What is 4 / 2?

A2. 2. And base 2 is binary, the language of computers (if we ignore voltages) and Earth was a computer. Which makes us computer components.

 

Q3. What is 4^2?

A3. 16. Base 16 is hexadecimal. Programmers prefer this number base as it is easier to read than binary.

 

Now hold out both hands in front of you and splay your fingers apart.

 

Q4. Barring accidents, how many digits do you see?

A4. 10

 

Q5. What is 0x10 in decimal?

A5. 16. Which makes sense if we are computer components.

 

That's my theory as to why 42 was chosen. Frankly I think it makes a lot more sense than a base 13 maths joke.

 

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