The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams · 1979
Lindy Score
47 yrs
Age
8
Endorsers
Why it endured
The comic masterpiece of the 20th century. Arthur Dent is rescued from Earth's destruction by his alien friend Ford Prefect, and together they hitchhike across the universe. Adams' satire of human civilization — and the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42 — has delighted generations of readers.
What they're saying
8 people recommend this book
“Adams was the funniest philosopher who ever lived. The Hitchhiker's Guide taught me that the universe is absurd and that's okay.”
Interview
“Douglas Adams showed us that science fiction could be philosophy disguised as comedy. 42 is still the answer.”
“Adams was a genius. The Hitchhiker's Guide is one of the most original things ever written.”
“Matt Ridley, Neal Stephenson, Taleb, Borges, Ted Chiang, Anthony DeMello, Osho, J Krishnamurti, Harari, Asimov, Bradbury, Greg Egan, Feynman, Schrödinger, Bohr, Chris Alexander, the Durants, Darwin, Adam Smith, David Deutsch, Karl Popper, Douglas Hofstader, Douglas Adams”
“I read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and basically what Douglas Adams was saying is: we don't really know what the right questions are to ask. The question is not "What's the meaning of life?" [...] In that book, which is really sort of an existential philosophy book disguised as as humor, they come to the conclusion that the real problem is trying to formulate the question. And to really have the right question you need a much bigger computer than earth. I think one way of characterizing this would be: The universe is the answer. What are the questions? The more we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness the better we can understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe. The more we expand consciousness to become a multi-planet species and ultimately a multi-stellar species, the more we have a chance of figuring out what the hell is going on.”
“The geek classic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy even explains the founding of our planet as a reaction against salesmen.”