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From: chas@gtss.UUCP (Charles Cleveland)
Newsgroups: net.math,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: The number 1729. (Actually 42)
Message-ID: <140@gtss.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 10:45:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: gtss.140
Posted: Thu Sep 12 10:45:56 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Sep-85 04:26:21 EDT
References: <693@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: chas@gtss.UUCP (Charles Cleveland)
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Organization: Georgia Tech Surface Studies
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Xref: watmath net.math:2252 net.sf-lovers:10030

In article <693@tpvax.fluke.UUCP> inc@fluke.UUCP (Gary Benson) writes:
>One last thing, while I'm on the topic of numbers: someone told me once that
>the number 42 has some special mathematical significance, but I forget what
>it is. It is the answer a computer named "Deep Thought" gave to the
>question, "What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?" in the
>novel _Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_. Does anyone know why the author
>chose this number? Or what it's mathematical significance might be?

Am I correct in supposing that Gary has just asked what the question
is to which 42 is the answer? (:-)  Readers of Hitchhiker's Guide may be
amused.

Anyway, at least one of these questions might find answerers faster in
net.sf-lovers.
-- 
Charles Cleveland			 Georgia Tech Surface Studies
Georgia Tech School of Physics
Atlanta, GA 30332
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