42 (answer)

The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything

42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Hitchhiker’s Ultimate Guide to the Galaxy books. It was thought up by Deep Thought, the second greatest computer ever. The descendants of Deep Thought's creators are upset by the oddness of the answer, not understanding what to do with it or what to tell the people who had asked for the 7.5-million year project.

When asked to find the meaning of The Ultimate Question to go with the answer "42", Deep Thought admits it is not able to come up with that itself, but that it can help to design an even more powerful computer which can. The new computer would use living beings in order to come up with it and would run for ten million years, the new computer being Earth.

Biblical Symbolism

The number 42 has become widely recognized in popular culture as a symbolic answer to questions concerning life, existence, and the universe. Some religious interpretations also examine the number through biblical symbolism.

One framework observes that 42 is the product of 7 and 6. In biblical tradition, the number 7 is commonly associated with divine completeness, perfection, and God’s established order, particularly through the seven days of creation described in Genesis. The number 6 is associated with humanity, including the reference in Revelation 13:18 describing “the number of man.”

From this perspective, the symbolism of 42 points to a fundamental principle of human existence: humanity was created to live in relationship with God. People are therefore called to seek God, involve Him in every aspect of life, obey His commands, and align themselves with His divine purpose. According to this interpretation, true meaning, wisdom, and fulfillment are found not in separation from God, but in faithful communion with Him.