I’d been meaning to read this book for a long time. Recently, I’ve been using the Libby app more and more and discovering how wonderful it is to be able to borrow digital books from the library. This is apparent given all my book posts recently, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and finally making a dent in my reading list.
The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy lived up to it’s reputation. It is hilarious with that dry British wit and thus I had a hard time putting it down. It was a nice change from the usual historical stuff I read and I didn’t know what to expect. Therefore, I don’t have much more to add other than my highlights, not even my usual comments after those quotes. Res ipsa loquitur.
‘The argument goes something like this: “I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.” ‘ “But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.” ‘ “Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.
The computer continued, brash and cheery as if it was selling detergent.
‘Magrathea’s been dead for five million years,’ said Zaphod, ‘of course it’s safe. Even the ghosts will have settled down and raised families by now.’
This reminded me of the idea in Chinese culture where ghosts can die too. I like the idea of ghosts still being present in this plane of existence but eventually fading into a different realm of consciousness. I asked my Chinese friend about this many years ago and she believes the kanji to describe a “dead ghost” is 聻. This kanji is no longer used and thus can most likely only be found in very old Chinese Daoist or supernatural texts. I posted about this many years ago.
‘It is most gratifying,’ it said, ‘that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a courtesy detail. We look forward to your custom in future lives…Thank you.’
The last ever dolphin message was misinterpreted as a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double-backwards-somersault through a hoop whilst whistling the ‘Star Spangled Banner’, but in fact the message was this: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
I’m glad to finally know where the phrase “So long, and thanks for all the fish” comes from. I’ve seen this around in internet forums.
‘And are you not,’ said Fook leaning anxiously forward, ‘a greater analyst than the Googleplex Star Thinker in the Seventh Galaxy of Light and Ingenuity which can calculate the trajectory of every single dust particle throughout a five-week Dangrabad Beta sand blizzard?’
Scarcely pausing for breath, Vroomfondel shouted, ‘We don’t demand solid facts! What we demand is a total absence of solid facts. I demand that I may or may not be Vroomfondel!’ ‘But who the devil are you?’ exclaimed an outraged Fook. ‘We,’ said Majikthise, ‘are Philosophers.’
The British making fun of philosophers. This is hilarious.
‘You just let the machines get on with the adding up,’ warned Majikthise, ‘and we’ll take care of the eternal verities, thank you very much. You want to check your legal position you do, mate. Under law the Quest for Ultimate Truth is quite clearly the inalienable prerogative of your working thinkers. Any bloody machine goes and actually finds it and we’re straight out of a job, aren’t we? I mean what’s the use of our sitting up half the night arguing that there may or may not be a God if this machine only goes and gives you his bleeding phone number the next morning?’ ‘That’s right,’ shouted Vroomfondel, ‘we demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!’
