In a world where there are many questions we can take solace from the knowledge that the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42. Seriously? Well, sort of.
The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, 1979
This now timeless joke began on a radio show in 1979 and was then published in a book of the same name, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, presented by the author as a “trilogy of six books.” Needless to say, a canny, modern reader will see the fallacy in what is presented and find truth elsewhere. Or perhaps not.
In a world with many questions we also find a world with many experts. Opinions come cheap and the barriers to sharing said opinions are low. Henceforth, we find ourselves in a world where everyone is an expert, even without the burden of proof or expertise.
Why 42 is such a perfect answer is confirmed in the source; a supercomputer named Deep Thought who, according to the novelist, took 7.5 million years to compute the answer to which no-one truly knew what the question was. However, the answer still remains at 42.
Are you already dead, or just numb?
If you’re not spending time contemplating the meaning of life, the universe and everything else you may well already be dead, or at the very least, numb. We just can’t help ourselves, which is why we humans embrace anything we can that might present an answer — even if the question is pointless.
Adam and Eve fell for this trap, which shows how old the problem is of mankind attending to the wrong questions! When the serpent asked them, “Did God really say?”, they considered the question and, in doing so, fell into deception.
Today, the modern human uses the internet to find answers, not knowing that the internet only shows you what you already believe. False confirmation leads to false reality, and so the downward spiral of intelligent life goes.
The disciples of Jesus whom he referred to as ‘The Sons of Thunder’ asked Jesus if he would delight in them calling fire from heaven to consume unclean, unhelpful Samaritans. Clearly this was the wrong question to ask and a rebuke followed. Then and now, we just don’t see things the way we should.
Wrong answers come from wrong questions
False confirmation leads to false reality, and so the downward spiral of intelligent life goes.
Perhaps the reason we have the wrong answer is because we are asking the wrong question.
Facing Pontius Pilate, Jesus remained peaceful and unflinching. Frustrated and confused, the Governor asked Jesus the wrong question; “Don’t you know I have the authority to release you and to crucify you?” Only Jesus can give an answer that frees Pilate of the burden of sin.
I recently posted a blog titled “Without Jesus We’re Stuffed”, in which I spent time presenting scripture as the answer worth considering. You might enjoy reading it to find fresh insight, or you could put your hope in the answer calculated by Deep Thought. Choosing not to accept the answer God gave to us, found in Jesus, might well mean your best option is the number 42.
This article was originally published in Te Awamutu News, 25 November 2021.