It seems a year out to me. The original radio series was broadcast in 1978, so 42 is now 43.
--Spoiler alert-- And the answer 42 turned out to be "What do you get if you multiply six by nine" in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
--Spoiler alert-- And the answer 42 turned out to be "What do you get if you multiply six by nine" in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Marvin talking to the mattress: “I’m roughly a billion times smarter than you. For example, pick a number. Any number.” Mattress: “Ummmm…seven?” Marvin: “Wrong. You see?”
Arthur, while aboard the Heart of Gold, says, “I’m disappointed we never figured out that Ultimate Question business.” Eddie the ship’s computer immediately after says, “Pick a number, any number!”
Given the abilities of each of those characters, it’s a plausible theory. It’s also how the author chose the Answer, so at least at a meta level it is true.
Adams alluded elsewhere to how the march of technology had brought about galactic scale advances in miniaturisation and exponential growth in the capability of technology.
When deep mind designed the earth she probably used the state of the art for that time however many billions of years ago, but Marvin being a more modern device is far more powerful and can do the same calculations trivially.
Furthermore he always claims to be depressed because despite his eminence nobody will listen to what he says, which is indeed ”pick a number any number” which is probably what DNA said to himself when he selected it.
Or to put it another way, how pissed off would you be when you set off to alpha centuri and you arrive to find your bloody grandson vaping and listening to Lil Nas x.
It is infinitely improbable that you would arrive instantly and alive.
Or could just turn to the ol janx spirit ;-)
1) The ultimate question was 6 * 9 = ? and the universe makes no sense at all.
2) The ultimate question was 6 * 7 = ? and the universe has no deeper meaning.
Both are possible, and the ambiguity suggests he wanted to say both.