08-25-2011 The Ultimate Answer

day 457

today i bring you something special. something that has boggled the mind since the dawn of man. i have the answer to the meaning of life. and it all came to me like most things usually do; a moment of the convergence of the cosmos and karma. in other words, i stumbled upon it.

let's start with the obvious starting point: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.

in this novel, there is a large computer called Deep Thought, and it was built for the sole purpose to ascertain the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question about life, the Universe and Everything.

after computing every scenario for 7 1/2 million years, Deep Thought spits out the Ultimate Answer...which is the very bland answer of 42.

so, the answer to the meaning of life is 42. Great.

now there has been years of speculation about how Douglas Adams came about with that answer and why he wrote it. some think it's a math joke, some think it's a pun, some just think it's a random occurrence.

i tell you now, i know the secret.

last night, i was in need of a bathroom book [you know what i mean :]] for a quick but non-committed read. i happen to find a book that my daughter has called "you can't scare me: a guide to the strange and supernatural" i peruse the large picture paperback, which talks about everything from vampires, werewolves, magic, aliens and everything in between.

so, i read for a bit, and i come across this one passage:

"Car 42, Where Are you?

the first Grand Prix to be held in Japan after World War II was in 1963 at the Suzuka Circuit in Nagoya. The favorite was Masao Asano driving a can emblazoned with the number 42. During the race, Asano's car went out of control and he suffered a fatal crash. In Japanese, the number 42 translates as Shi Ni , which means "to die". Racing officials afterward banned the use of the number 42, but in the following year's Grand Prix event, marshals checking the cars as they passed notices that a car bearing the number 42 was seen in eight of the 25 laps."

now, that's a really neat story, but the key phrase that is important to take out of that is this:

In Japanese, the number 42 translates as Shi Ni , which means "to die".

so if the meaning of life is 42, and 42 means "to die", then the meaning of life is to die.

wow, that's pretty bleak. no wonder they kept it a secret for that long.

a little levity for you today. stay awesome.

MK