"Lostgallifreyan" wrote in message
. ..
Lostgallifreyan wrote in
:

tom wrote in
. net:

Lostgallifreyan wrote:
Actually it comes out during the TV play and at
least one of the books that it's "what is 9 times 6?"

Adams denied what many here should quickly figure out.

tom
K0TAR


I never saw that one.. Read the books, but I don't remember that, at
least not with much meaning. Maybe just to indicate human capacity for
coming up with wrong answers from wrong questions? I doubt he ever
spelled out what the real roots were. A good magician doesn't
deliberately and publicly spoil the illusion (or in his case,
allusion, perhaps). The one thing I'm fairly sure of is that the
references were cultural, colloquial, and that's why so many people
got it. Without that it might have just been another impenetratable
space opera with humour thrown in.

Ok, a hint. 9 times 6 IS 42.

tom
K0TAR


Well, I wondered about non-euclidean geometry for a moment, then
remembered Greg House saying something about working smart, not hard,
and no-one said I couldn't plunder Wikipedia, so....

Actually, before I got there, I wasn't even sure if what Adams had
denied was that "six times nine equals thirteen is wrong", or that he
denied the more interesting case that it was its correctness in base 13
that explained the 'answer'. Apparently he did deny it. Which doesn't
mean it isn't true. But according to Wikipedia's stuff, he chose a
small number that looked ordinary and totally unprofound. Which means
that he let whim, i.e. unconscious conditioning hold sway, without
attempt to mediate it. Given that the English colloquilasm would never
be entirely far from a writer wose native language and culture was
English, I stand by my 'theory'. Though I'd like to know if he was
ever directly questioned about the 'sixes and sevens' thing and denied
it. Even then, he would be telling the truth if it hadn't been
conscious. MUCH more like he was influence ny this that by base 13, no?

Maybe you should get me started on my idea for The Long Dark Teatime Of
The Soul, you might like it. The only thing I'll say about it now,
unprompted, is that in this case the allusion isn't English, it's
French.


I also found this:
"Stephen Fry, a friend of Adams, claims that Adams told him "exactly why
42",
and that the reason is[12] "fascinating, extraordinary and, when you think
hard about it, completely obvious." However, Fry says that he has vowed
not
to tell anyone the secret, and that it must go with him to the grave."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galax
y

I have never met Stephen Fry, and I suspect he wouldn't confirm my idea if
I
did ask him, but it would fit, given the way thoughts run if you ponder it
for a while. Considering the phrase "all at sixes and sevens" in the
context
of the way HHGTTG works is revealing to the point that even if it really
were
the original basis, I wouldn't consider it a spoiler if I'd been told
either
before or after thinking of it for myself.

Can't help wondering when people are going to talk about antennas again.



A 42 metre long, inverted V, fed through an ATU makes for an effective and
cheap all band antenna, although perhaps not the ultimate antenna. :-)
Perhaps an antenna array mounted 42 metres above ground? That would be some
tower system to have in the backyard.

Mike G0ULI