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From: gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: Re: The number 1729.
Message-ID: <1458@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 21:08:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.1458
Posted: Thu Sep 12 21:08:41 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Sep-85 11:49:21 EDT
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> 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?

I can't tell you that, because then the universe would vanish.