I searched this whole sub for "ADHD" and got not one result. Weird. I've heard my whole life that Douglas Adams had ADHD. I'm VERY ADHD and my fiction writing is similarly structured to his; yes there's a bit of influence from him, but my point here is that his/my style of writing is largely resultant from a specific brain type. Here's another thread discussing this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HitchHikersGuide/comments/l6a2ju/apparently_douglas_adams_might_have_had_adhd/

I guess to spark a specific discussion, I'd ask if anybody can theorize about quantifying any specific literary mechanisms Adams' used, in relation to how those would be easier written by an ADHD person? In short, WHY does ADHD result in Hitchhikers? I'm at a loss to actually explain any of this in psychology or literary terms. I only know balls to bones that it's a vital connection.

I'm also on a mission to help specialize the world for divergent brain-types, so if you're particularly thoughtful, how do you theorize an ADHD student in high school or college, for example, should be specifically taught to write in a way that's comfortable for their brain, such as giving them hitchhikers right off the bat in kindergarten, saying "this is for YOU especially to study"!

Preface: I'm new here, apologies if this has been discussed before...

We know ZZ9PluralZAlpha is where Zaphod picked up Trillian (i.e. Earth). And we know it's where Ford & Arthur were picked up by the infinite improbability drive. But. They weren't picked up near Earth - they were picked up near Barnard's star, 6 light years away from earth. (Vogon ship > hyperspace > Arthur's quote in the air lock "...It’s now just after four in the afternoon and I’m already being thrown out of an alien spaceship six light-years from the smoking remains of the Earth!..."). So, ZZ9PluralZAlpha is at least 6 light years across - seems pretty big for a galactic postcode doesn't it?

The real reason is obvious and boring - but I'm wondering if anyone has an in-universe / headcannon explanation for how the galactic sector system works?

Douglas is my number one, but I can't keep reading his work over and over! I need authors that scratch a similar itch. Obviously Vonnegut and Pratchett resonate, but is there anyone else that you adore?

Dunno how people around here feel about AI, I guess feel free to downvote this topic if you hate AI.

I asked ChatGPT to pretend to be a supercomputer in the universe of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy dedicated to calculating the ultimate question of life the universe and everything, and the question it spat out was pretty good in my opinion. It did beep and boop roleplaying as a preamble and then eventually came up with this:

“What is the most wildly incorrect thing a civilization could build their meaning around?”

Answer: 42

I like this a lot, for one thing if the mice went back to their dimension with this question they still would've been lynched, for another thing it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy since the mice's civilization did end up basing their whole meaning around 42, and wasting seventeen and a half million years on the whole endeavor.

It feels like the kind of thing Adams might've come up with if he ever intended to reveal what the question was.

I recently re-read the entire Hitchhiker’s series. I LOVED these books as a kid. I made this track as a tribute to Douglas Adams. So bummed we don’t get more content from him, but grateful for what he gave us.

https://soundcloud.com/myerzman/infinite-probability-heart-of-gold

There are many other episode but on top of those, it explains a lot about the relationship between arthur and ford. Novel makes us wonder why Ford takes Arthur for a sidekick not liking him much. Many jokes and friendly conversations between the two have been removed in novel version. In radio version, Arthur is not just a whiney earth-obsessed man but quite an easygoing man that matches with ford's vibe well. I strongly recommend it!

“The President in particular is very much a figurehead — he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had — he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud.” ~ Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

Feels especially poignant given certain things occurring in the world, I hope everyone stays safe 💕💕💕

“It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”

I have no doubt that 42 is consistent with the standard model of cosmology. I have little to no doubt that this standard model is correct, the universe started 13.5 billion years ago with the big band. Most likely they played at some point Tea for Two and forty-two is the necessary deterministic conclusion of "tea for two and two for tea" and this may be the beginning of the deterministic mechanics of our universe, which would possibly mean that you can theoretically calculate every subsequent event from 42. My problem is, this is only true if the non-deterministic quantum-state of the universe collapsed at the same moment completely. That is not necessarily true. Some people even think, that quantum events still exist and the universe isn't deterministic. They claim only then a free will would be possible. And well, now I see mistake. If doubting 42 makes something as ridiculous as free will possible, we shouldn't doubt 42. Sorry I had to waste your time.

Oh freddled gruntbuggly, Thy micturations are to me, As plurdled gabbleblotchits, in midsummer morning On a lurgid bee, That mordiously hath blurted out, Its earted jurtles, grumbling Into a rancid festering confectious organ squealer. Now the jurpling slayjid agrocrustles, Are slurping hagrilly up the axlegrurts, And living glupules frart and stipulate, Like jowling meated liverslime, Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes, And hooptiously drangle me, With crinkly bindlewurdles,mashurbitries. Or else I shall rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon, See if I don't!

So… given what is said about knowing both the answer & the question in the same universe, maybe the ultimate question to life, the universe, & everything is Doctor Who? After all, it was said that that is the first question, & must never be answered. What better answer to it than the ultimate answer, which must never be questioned?