Life, the Universe, and Everything

In the 1979 book, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, a race of super intelligent people decided that they were tired of bickering over the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. So they built a super computer and named it "Deep Thought" to determine that answer. The computer spent many millions of years thinking about the answer. When it was finally ready to reveal the answer to the descendants of the race of super intelligent people, there was a great audience. They announced,

"Never again will we wake up in the morning and think Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Does it really, cosmically speaking, matter if I don't get up and go to work? For today we will finally learn once and for all the plain and simple answer to all these nagging little problems of Life, the Universe, and Everything!"

But when it was time for the big reveal and the people asked if Deep Thought was ready to give the answer, the computer said, "I don't think that you are going to like it." The people didn't care! They wanted the answer!

"All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the Great Question..."

"Yes...!"

"Of Life, the Universe, and Everything..." said Deep Thought.

"Yes...!"

"Is..."

"Yes...!!!...?"

"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm."

I turned 42 today; happy birthday to me! I'm still trying to answer my own Great Question and know I've got a long way to go still, especially since I'm still formulating the question. Perhaps, as Deep Thought tells the people, "...once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." Deep Thought then tells the people that he can design a computer that can calculate the Question to the Ultimate Answer and will call it "the Earth."

If only it were that easy. For now, I'll spend this 42nd year relishing in the fact that I am the same age as the Answer to the Great Question of LIfe, the Universe, and Everything.

~~~~~~~~~
Neat