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See the original image at blog.ted.com —

The answer was there all along

blog.ted.com — Physicist Stephen Hawking asks Big Questions about life, the universe and everything. His talk was recorded at Cambridge, in a borrowed classroom -- whose well-used blackboard happens to contain the Answer to life, the universe and everything. It's visible in the upper-right-hand corner

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  • MortalynFlux, on 04/05/2008, -5/+112But what is the question?
    • albel65, on 04/05/2008, -39/+4Physicist Stephen Hawking asks Big Questions about life, the universe and everything. His talk was recorded at Cambridge, in a borrowed classroom -- whose well-used blackboard happens to contain the Answer to life, the universe and everything. It's visible in the upper-right-hand corner
      • LJRod82, on 04/05/2008, -2/+24sigh
        • itsthebrod, on 04/05/2008, -3/+4Physicist Shirley Temple asks Big Questions about life, the universe and non-alcoholic drinks. Her talk was recorded at Cambridge, in a borrowed theater -- whose well-used blackboard happens to contain the Answer to life, the universe and tap-dancing. It's visible in the upper-right-hand corner

          We're playing telephone right?
      • BetterOffEd, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2Hmm... Somebody doesn't get it.
    • LJRod82, on 04/05/2008, -2/+11We'll know in 10 million more years.
    • imran7, on 04/05/2008, -8/+136x9 ?
      • yacks, on 04/05/2008, -9/+2i think it's '6x9-12?'
      • daxsymbiont, on 04/05/2008, -0/+146x9 came from the unfinished version of earth. it could be wrong.
        • Arramol, on 04/05/2008, -2/+2Although I can't say it'd surprise me if that was it. It'd be just like the Hitchhiker's trilogy and its five books to have an answer that didn't fit the question, especially considering that if they have a literary point to make, it's the absurdity of the universe.
      • BelXul, on 04/05/2008, -4/+126 x 9 does actually equal 42, but not in the base 10 numerical system that we all use every day, in which it comes out to 54. Instead, use a base 13 numerical system when you try to multiply it. It would look something like this: ...10, 11, 12, 13, 1-1,1-2,1-3, 1-4... 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 1-12, 1-13, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3... By the time you have it all figured out, your answer would be 4-2, or forty-two.
      • jasz, on 04/05/2008, -5/+6Fools.. the answer is 46 & 2.
    • dsmx, on 04/05/2008, -5/+3We will never know the knowledge of one means the other can never be known.
    • daxsymbiont, on 04/05/2008, -1/+8just answer the question claire.
    • IronPwnage, on 04/05/2008, -5/+6What is Six Multiplied by Nine?
      • ophello, on 04/05/2008, -1/+10What is The Point in Capitalizing Everything?
      • AmICoolNow, on 04/05/2008, -0/+6Obviously it's the title of a new movie.
    • daEvan, on 04/05/2008, -1/+12How many roads must a man walk down?
    • palpacino, on 04/05/2008, -2/+3To be or not to be? That is the question?
    • lazydrumhead, on 04/05/2008, -0/+5"What do you get when you multiply six by nine?"

      There.
    • mishaco, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2101010
    • BetterOffEd, on 04/05/2008, -0/+5Is this your homework Larry?
    • BGog, on 04/05/2008, -2/+5I hereby REVOKE your geek card. Give it back. Go to a library and read some british sci-fi fiction.
      You don't have to go home but you can't stay here.
    • Tatsumi2, on 04/05/2008, -0/+343-1?
  • tugger, on 04/05/2008, -2/+77Don't panic!
  • sgtcaboose, on 04/05/2008, -31/+9the answer to life the universe and everything = 42
    • GDOG5, on 04/05/2008, -6/+31No *****. You've read the article and have seen hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. Thanks for pointing it out for all of us who cant read or count.
    • had3l, on 04/05/2008, -1/+5Aren't you the hoopy frood? NOT.
    • vladin, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1OH wait.. he has a towel over his head.
    • wkpower, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2for some reason i thought of the "X" button when it said the upper right hand corner.
  • mr5150, on 04/05/2008, -18/+3And to think I always thought the univerally binding number was 23....."slap to the back of the head"...when all along it was 42!

    Thanks Stephen
  • crazychild, on 04/05/2008, -7/+1hence everything in the world is good now
  • DanInAUSTRALIA, on 04/05/2008, -5/+18i think the real question is... has anyone seen the tv remote?
    • lickmylovepump, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1you mean, "has anyone seen the ***** bookmark?"
  • callinthelaw69, on 04/05/2008, -11/+242
    :)
    • panteradactyl, on 04/05/2008, -0/+3how did you ever manage that??

      and dont seem so pleased to have gotten that right
  • peterjmag, on 04/05/2008, -10/+31WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU MULTIPLY SIX BY NINE?
    • Avocadoes, on 04/05/2008, -17/+4Uhm, 54.
    • Seth024, on 04/05/2008, -17/+454 ?
    • lekahe, on 04/05/2008, -16/+454 :)
    • xerexes1, on 04/05/2008, -4/+2542 in base 13 - at least according to the wikipedia page.
      • FrogKermit, on 04/05/2008, -0/+8According to Douglas Adams, "No one writes jokes in base 13." lol.
    • peterjmag, on 04/05/2008, -4/+33Some of you desperately need to read the Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy..."
    • aladrin, on 04/05/2008, -1/+9Anyone who doesn't get this question hasn't read THHGTTG far enough.
    • daxsymbiont, on 04/05/2008, -0/+4from an unfinished version of earth. it could be wrong.
    • ophello, on 04/05/2008, -10/+17x6, retard
      • panteradactyl, on 04/05/2008, -0/+11wow, nice touch with the "retard". that proved your dominance
      • Lunarbunny, on 04/05/2008, -0/+5How about reading all 5 books [of the trilogy] of h2g2 before you go dissing people?
    • iolo2007, on 04/05/2008, -1/+1Don't be silly, they're 2 completely different numbers
    • whitenerdy92, on 04/05/2008, -1/+269
    • H1tchh1k3r, on 04/05/2008, -1/+1what do you think? forty two
  • OutAndAbout, on 04/05/2008, -5/+24Google "42" and hit the I'm feeling lucky button instead of search,
    and
    search Google with "answer to life, the universe, and everything". Old tricks but goodies. :)
  • lekahe, on 04/05/2008, -11/+4For those who don't get the joke:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Gu ...
    • BigKoi, on 04/05/2008, -3/+1I have always wondered if HitchHiker's guide was inspired by 42 from Buckminster Fuller's 42 hour long lectures regarding every thing he knew....

      http://www.realitysandwich.com/node/208

      • iamafatguy, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1Douglas Adams stated:

        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.

        Best,

        Douglas Adams
        London, UK | d...@dadams.demon.co.uk (dormant)
        Currently in Santa Fe, NM | ada...@nic.cerf.net (current)

        http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.douglas-ada ...
    • deadnoob, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1if you dont know, then you shouldnt know.
  • sagien, on 04/05/2008, -2/+18Video of the talk:

    http://digg.com/general_sciences/Stephen_Hawking_A ...
  • renagadex2, on 04/05/2008, -7/+1Cute...
  • roadhog481, on 04/05/2008, -7/+1Now, where what was that question
  • thephuckphase, on 04/05/2008, -12/+2you guys wanna hear something freaky? George W. Bush also happens to be the 42nd president of the united states. Someone call up Jim Carry to make a sequel to The Number 23!
    • fultron89, on 04/05/2008, -0/+0ummm... no Bush jr. is the 43rd President.
      but this isn interesting: Bush Sr = 41st pres., Bush Jr. = 43rd pres.
      41+43 = 84. Nonsense. The USA has ALWAYS been at war with Iraq.
  • Dystisis, on 04/05/2008, -10/+1No, the universally binding number (ie. everything) is 1. =)
  • cbeach, on 04/05/2008, -17/+3Douglas Adams fans rejoice.

    Meh. Anyone else getting tired of this "meaning of life = 42" joke?
    • dev3, on 04/05/2008, -2/+1It's not a joke!
    • grimward, on 04/05/2008, -1/+3Actually Cbeach, it's about as plausible as any other theories that are out there. I think what Douglas Adams was trying to say was "we may think we know, but we really don't"
    • panteradactyl, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2nope
    • bagboyrebel, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1Well I had a CS teacher whos only joke was saying the number 42, and he said it every day of class. But on digg it's not even close to being overused.
  • sakuraz, on 04/05/2008, -10/+4Towel
  • Millsee, on 04/05/2008, -8/+2Insert Hitchhiker's quote here
  • aladrin, on 04/05/2008, -9/+14Dugg for Hawking still being cool.

    Almost buried for all the diggers that have obviously never read THHGTTG... Especially the ones that pretend to get the '42' joke but don't know any of the other stuff that goes with it, like 'What is six times nine?'
    • assasin, on 04/05/2008, -15/+2Buried to spare you the embarrassment of anyone seeing your Epic math fail.
      • markthegoth, on 04/05/2008, -0/+8that's the point, read The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams, that's what this thread is all about.
      • bukdez, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2Don't read it, listen to it! The best and original form of the story is the BBC Radio show, the books came later, as did the BBC TV version and eventually that piece of tripe movie that came out in the last few years...
        • markthegoth, on 04/08/2008, -0/+1actually I concur. The Radio Plays are indeed fantastic.
    • danjohadley, on 04/05/2008, -0/+4*WHOOOSH*
    • koopertrooper, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1its funny though " ah ha 42 means everything"
    • B3000, on 04/05/2008, -3/+5Hey dick, sorry I don't remember the six times nine bit. Some of us read the books 20 years ago.
      • lickmylovepump, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1true, cause since the movie came out, everybody and their hillbilly aunt (the one that can read) has read 1 or more books. now it's cool to be a DA fan.
    • JesusHatesYou, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1I can't believe Hawking cheated on his wife with his nurse. I can't believe he even gets sex!!!
  • spamcrusher, on 04/05/2008, -10/+5Ironically when I saw this story on the front page there were 42 comments.
    • crossmr, on 04/05/2008, -2/+12That's not irony but thank you for continuing to spread the ignorance.
    • B3000, on 04/05/2008, -0/+7I think you mean "coincidentally".
  • NewYorkMantle, on 04/05/2008, -3/+3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GUV7zz-8Oc
  • banido, on 04/05/2008, -2/+6Ahhh! Woooh! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I?
  • ramong, on 04/05/2008, -7/+2Don`t get it......
    • hellosaysme, on 04/05/2008, -1/+3READ THHGTTGT!!!!!!!!! DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!
  • nstong, on 04/05/2008, -4/+0Its easy, just write 42!/41!
  • bermudianguy, on 04/05/2008, -1/+4hurray for Douglas Adams , figuring it out first !
  • CrudeDarkness, on 04/05/2008, -8/+3I googled 42 a few times just for fun and found this verse from the quran 42:42 : "The error is upon those who oppress the people, and they aggress in the land without cause. For these will be a painful retribution"
    • Voxxov, on 04/05/2008, -1/+3And this is relevant how?
      • CrudeDarkness, on 04/05/2008, -1/+1it's just a random verse which I picked trying to find the meaning of life. here is for example another verse 24:42 : "And to Allâh belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and to Allâh is the return (of all)."
        • lickmylovepump, on 04/05/2008, -1/+1so the biblical comparison would probably be the 42nd book, followed by the sixth chapter and the ninth verse, or Luke 6:9 --- "Then Jesus said to them, 'I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?'"
          See? That doesn't have much to do with the question either.
      • drgmdp, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2not relevant, just related
    • dhVyse, on 04/05/2008, -2/+1PLEASE do yourself a favor and go read or watch A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I prefer the book but the movie was decent.
  • xombiefarts, on 04/05/2008, -5/+2The dark armies then will come
    When the sum is 41!
    • rendereduseless, on 04/05/2008, -0/+2OK. Lets grow up and listen to some real music.
  • soundofmind, on 04/05/2008, -3/+4In large, flaming letters:

    Sorry for the inconvenience.
  • TheIinLive, on 04/05/2008, -3/+1zadsf
  • brendonsmall, on 04/05/2008, -7/+1666 diggs. creeeepy. :)
    • bdogm, on 04/05/2008, -0/+3All submissions with 667 diggs or more have had 666 diggs.
  • pruppert, on 04/05/2008, -4/+1Anyone know where I can get a Stephen Hawking voice emulator?
  • skabyss, on 04/05/2008, -3/+6*looks in upper-right hand corner to see an 'x'*
    Right theres the answer! Close the window and go outside, it is a beautiful day!
  • dhVyse, on 04/05/2008, -4/+1"42"!!??!?! Got my digg.
  • davharrington, on 04/05/2008, -3/+1Definately gets a digg from me on this one
  • OneBagel, on 04/05/2008, -4/+1A= 43-1

    43-1 = 42!!!

    STEPHEN HAWKINGS HAS HUMOR!!!!

    brilliant man.
  • oldcyborg, on 04/05/2008, -3/+1 digg anything that is pro Hawkings!!! Someone asked for people to name a hero scientist, and not one of them mentioned Hawkings!! I was appalled!! Go Steve!!!!!
    Cyborg
  • Val451, on 04/05/2008, -1/+2>: 4 8 15 16 23 42
  • vikingkory, on 04/05/2008, -1/+2dugg for Hitchhikers guide to the universe reference
  • Midnighthawk, on 04/05/2008, -2/+0"...and they were resplendent in their black-jeweled battle shorts."
  • kaosethema, on 04/05/2008, -2/+1Buried for the ignorance!!
  • haotj, on 04/06/2008, -2/+0Who said it was in base10?
    Why is this on the front page anyways?
  • jaydoj, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1sorry but does anyone else want to make a reference to the guy on Family Guy?
  • smek2, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1Rest in peace, DNA.
  • mdcraig62, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1Thanks for all the Fish....
  • Theod48, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1it was a seemingly normal day for Arthur dent....
  • stump88, on 04/06/2008, -0/+0Oh Deep Thought! Why do you give me such a STooPID answer to life, the universe and everything?!? This Ultimate Answer is pointless to me...PLEASE! Shoot me with the Point-of-view gun! I want to act like an idiot monkey!
  •  

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