Star Trek often refers to 47 and Star Trek made a sport out of finding real or imagined references to 47. Why did Douglas Adams pick 42 as the ultimate answer in the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy?
asked Jan 12, 2011 at 13:56
3 Answers
According to Douglas Adams himself:
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.
Source: Wikipedia article
answered Jan 12, 2011 at 13:59
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23I've also read interviews where Douglas said he had it down to one of several numbers, but that he found 42 the funniest.– NelliusJan 12, 2011 at 14:03
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1I heard at one point that the answer was, "Count the dots on a pair of dice." Honestly, I find that rather believable.– TangoMay 19, 2011 at 4:04
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4120? And you wanted this to stay at 42? LOL - that is why humanity can't have nice things.– flqMar 14, 2013 at 19:16
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3Many artists prefer not to explain away the "hiddden meanings" within their work. Asking them about their reasons behind specific elements very often gets answers like that, especially if they don't think the subject deserves a lot of thought.– Misha RAug 16, 2014 at 14:51
On a day when he was less tired of the question than when he gave the quote in @GoranJovic’s answer, Douglas Adams went into more detail about how he chose 42:
I wanted a nice, ordinary number, one that you wouldn’t mind taking home and introducing to your parents.
Yes, the answer to the universe really is 42, The Independent
The joke, like much of Adams’ humour, aims for bathos (“an abrupt, unintended transition in style from the exalted to the commonplace”), so the number has to feel utterly ordinary, to contrast with the grandiose idea of a meaning to existence.
Here’s an extract from M. J. Simpson’s Douglas Adams biography (on a Procul Harum fan site, of all places) that discusses his thought process in more detail:
What is the most ordinary, workaday number you can find? I don’t want fractions on the end of it. I don’t even want it to be a prime number. And I guess it mustn’t even be an odd number. There is something slightly more reassuring about even numbers. So I just wanted an ordinary, workaday number, and chose 42.
Procol-oriented extracts from MJ Simpson's authoritative book
Procol Harum - Beyond the Pale
Personally, I think the rhythm of the syllables, and the soporific “or” sound in ”forty”, help to create this “workaday” quality. Forty-two, dum-de-dum. It sounds frumpy.
Also, the second digit (2) is half of the first digit (4) and has half the syllables, which I think adds to the sense of quiet anticlimax.
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6+1 for bathos, which I've not heard before but must now use. One more vote to go until it's this answer’s turn to be in the Goldilocks position while it lasts. Aug 13, 2015 at 22:14
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@JanusBahsJacquet: it’s a bit like pathos, and if you add in Aramis you’ve got all three Muskateers. Ah, so close. (Plus I would also like to note that this is the right answer.) Aug 13, 2015 at 22:18
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@PaulD.Waite - Oops I didnt mean to communtiy wiki it, feel free to roll it back, maybe that will revert it? Aug 13, 2015 at 23:12
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@MarkRogers: oh no don’t worry about that, I accidentally made it community wiki years ago by repeatedly editing it in an attempt to grab attention. Your linking is definitely an improvement. Aug 14, 2015 at 7:54
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1@RyanVeeder: well, I guess unintended by the characters delivering the lines, as opposed to unintended by the author. Aug 15, 2015 at 11:22
As some people remarked, it's possible that Adams had deeper reasons for choosing 42, but was disinclined to share them. Personally, I don't believe this is the case, and I believe Paul D. Waite's answer is the correct one. However, there is a quote by Stephen Fry that I think is worth mentioning in this thread:
"Of course, it would be unfair for me to comment," he confides. "Douglas told me in the strictest confidence exactly why 42. The answer is fascinating, extraordinary and, when you think hard about it, completely obvious. Nonetheless amazing for that.
"Remarkable really. But sadly I cannot share it with anyone and the secret must go with me to the grave. Pity, because it explains so much beyond the books. It really does explain the secret of life, the universe, and everything."
(From here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7283155.stm)
Personally, I'm certain that Fry was pulling our leg. But like I said, I still think it's worth mentioning here, and that it's a relevant answer to this question, so there you have it.
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3Doesn't deserve a downvote, but I think in that quote Stephen Fry is being as wryly British as Douglas Adams was when he chose the number. The last two sentences especially of Fry's quote make that clearer. Or in other words, both Adams and Fry were doing what we today would call trolling, in the typically subtle British style. Jun 19, 2021 at 0:43
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@Prometheus 100% agree with you, I'm certain this is the case. I just felt it's important to mention this, somehow, in case anyone thinks differently, and just for "completeness".– WadeJun 19, 2021 at 7:53
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1@Prometheus That's weird, I don't remember writing this! I wonder if it's a typo. Since I've always been sure that Adams simply chose the "funniest" number he could think of, and that his real explanation was that he "just wanted an ordinary, workaday number, and chose 42". Thanks!– WadeJun 20, 2021 at 11:25
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2Two things Arthur Dent had in his brain: tea, and 42. What do you get when you put them together? "Tea for two"! So what's the Answer? Life is best shared with others! Jan 21, 2022 at 0:35
6 * 9.