Six times nine is ...?
by Volker Weber
I wanted to look up the port that needs to be forwarded on my router to make SubEthaEdit's collaborative editing work and found this little gem in the FAQ:
Version 2.0 introduced a new, more efficient network protocol and therefore changed the port number to port 6942, easily memorable with the help of advanced hypermathematics: "Six times nine is forty-two".
My brain fails on this hypermathematics. It says "Six times nine is fifty-four". But it is all explained here.
Comments
Well, 42 is like _The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything_, 6 times 9 is 54 as it is 42 ;)
Well 6x9=54 sounds more like basic mathematics to me. I don't know exactly what hypermathematics is supposed to be exactly, but from what I could find out using Google and Wikipedia, it stems from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy(which is absolutely no surprise, 42 gave it away already).
I don't have the book at hand now, but the Ultra-Complete Index to the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy mentions the pages where it should be explained.
I wouldn't be surprised if everything results in 42 in hypermathematics, after all 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything.
If you are really, really, REALLY into it, you might check this out. This paper contains a section on hypermathematics, but from a more serious and scientific point of view than Douglas Adams's, I guess ;-).
Be warned though, this is not light Saturday Night entertainment stuff!
Ahem. Engaging THGTTG anorak mode.
You may recall that the computer program to find the question to the ultimate answer of life, the universe and everything (which was already known to be 42) was to have been run on a giant supercomputer called Earth on behalf of the mice. Earth was sadly destroyed by the Vogons.
Some 2 million years previously, that program had already been compromised when the B ark from Golgafrincham crash landed. As Arthur Dent was there at the time, he was able (accidentally) to ascertain the extent of the damage when attempting to prise the question from native ape men using scrabble letters randomly drawn from a bag. The question was:
W H A T D O Y O U G E T I F Y O U M U L T I P L Y S I X B Y N I N E
Anorak mode ends. Sorry people.
If I was a mathematician, I'd just define '6 x 9 = 42' and that'd be the end of the story.
Great starting point for bad jokes about mathematic(ian)s ;)
*holding the book n my hands*
Damn, I knew there was a connection, but could not remeber why/where. Thanks a bunch Chris ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/answer.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/gallery/images/1024/babel1.html
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