42 ~= 137 / ((pi * e)/phi^2) (phi = golden ratio)
Hey, that's true:
https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=137+%2F+%28%28pi+*+e%2...
It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
71–80 of 133 posts
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#72Seen a few Ask HNs where people asked that question: `What is the meaning of life?`. Well one thing I believe is: `The meaning of life is to find meaning in life ` Another quote I live by is, by Bukowski: “Find what you love and let it kill you” – Charles Bukowski I mean it makes sense right? Many people just haven't found their passion and go round like headless chickens!
The older I get the more I feel that the point of living is experience, not meaning. The stories we make up inside our fish bowls most likely have very little to do with reality.
> The older I get the more I feel that the point of living is experience
On the flip side I think the very modern take on "life = experience" can be badly interpreted. The trend is more about consuming experiences and destinations rather the living experiences, you could describe them as commercialized experiences (Disneyland, holiday resorts in very touristic countries, &c.)
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#73I was 9 when he published Hitchhiker's guide. I'd just started reading and would go on to spend my teens reading ANYTHING I managed to lay my hands on. And throughout my teens everyone went on and on about Hitchhiker's Guide, and it just didn't... push me to read it. I eventually read it after being consrcipted. And it left me feeling as ambivalent as I felt before reading it.
As the comments here evidence, people read much into it, and the number 42. This is great. I felt books like The Ugly American [0], Honey Badger (Robert Ruark) and King Rat [1] had more to offer. My opinion hasn't much changed - but I feel the problem lies with me, in that depth and meaning are what I value.
Is humour the entirety of the draw for Hitchhiker's Guide, or (probably more likely) have I missed something?
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#74I was 9 when he published Hitchhiker's guide. I'd just started reading and would go on to spend my teens reading ANYTHING I managed to lay my hands on. And throughout my teens everyone went on and on about Hitchhiker's Guide, and it just didn't... push me to read it. I eventually read it after being consrcipted. And it left me feeling as ambivalent as I felt before reading it. As the comments here evidence, people re…
You statement that "in that depth and meaning are what I value" is an explicit argument that there is no depth or meaning in what other people here value.
Your question can't be taken in good faith when that's the ground you plant your feet on.
My opinion is that much of what Adams was getting across is that meaning is where and when you find it. Something that means nothing to others can mean the world to you, and vice versa. Other's in this conversation have said much the same thing.
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#75I was 9 when he published Hitchhiker's guide. I'd just started reading and would go on to spend my teens reading ANYTHING I managed to lay my hands on. And throughout my teens everyone went on and on about Hitchhiker's Guide, and it just didn't... push me to read it. I eventually read it after being consrcipted. And it left me feeling as ambivalent as I felt before reading it. As the comments here evidence, people re…
Well, I suppose not everyone can understand everything, so, yes, it seems you’ve missed something. Both the humor and the depth.
But that’s ok as I’m sure you like books that others don’t. And you understand things that others don’t.
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#76After hitting my 42nd birthday this year, I thought for a while that Douglas Adams had layered the joke with a bit of truth: at 42, a man is more or less confident in his skin, having lived through enough to feel somewhat unflappable; he's probably raised kids, bought a home, got a decent job, and can pretty much choose what he wants to do for the rest of his life. Hence "the answer" - the answer is to be 42. ... Ala…
You sought for meaning where there was none, and you found it. Then you lost it when you realized it was never there to begin with. I'm sure there is a lesson to be had here.
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#77I was 9 when he published Hitchhiker's guide. I'd just started reading and would go on to spend my teens reading ANYTHING I managed to lay my hands on. And throughout my teens everyone went on and on about Hitchhiker's Guide, and it just didn't... push me to read it. I eventually read it after being consrcipted. And it left me feeling as ambivalent as I felt before reading it. As the comments here evidence, people re…
You statement that "in that depth and meaning are what I value" is an explicit argument that there is no depth or meaning in what other people here value. Your question can't be taken in good faith when that's the ground you plant your feet on. My opinion is that much of what Adams was getting across is that meaning is where and when you find it. Something that means nothing to others can mean the world to you, and v…
Maybe you're right. Maybe our understanding of "depth and meaning" is not quite the same. Some of us like apples, others oranges. Diversitry makes humanity awesome.
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
You sought for meaning where there was none, and you found it. Then you lost it when you realized it was never there to begin with. I'm sure there is a lesson to be had here.
Always trust your gut even when you have irrefutable proof it’s wrong
Always trust your gut when you have abdominal pain
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
The older I get the more I feel that the point of living is experience, not meaning. The stories we make up inside our fish bowls most likely have very little to do with reality.
> The older I get the more I feel that the point of living is experience On the flip side I think the very modern take on "life = experience" can be badly interpreted. The trend is more about consuming experiences and destinations rather the living experiences, you could describe them as commercialized experiences (Disneyland, holiday resorts in very touristic countries, &c.)
Yup, exactly. My current take is that "pursue experiences instead of things" is primarily a meme that's being spread by countless businesses that want recurring revenue. Experiences are fleeting, so you have to keep buying them all over again - where a well-chosen thing is something you buy once, and it keeps yielding value (including, possibly, experiences) for a long time.
Re: It's been 42 years since 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' answered the ultimate question
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
You statement that "in that depth and meaning are what I value" is an explicit argument that there is no depth or meaning in what other people here value. Your question can't be taken in good faith when that's the ground you plant your feet on. My opinion is that much of what Adams was getting across is that meaning is where and when you find it. Something that means nothing to others can mean the world to you, and v…
Maybe you're right. Maybe our understanding of "depth and meaning" is not quite the same. Some of us like apples, others oranges. Diversitry makes humanity awesome.
Human life could be defined as a search for depth and meaning which truncates at some point.