The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Michael Hanlon

Book Overview

Like all good science fiction, much of the cult classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series drew on scientific fact. Douglas Adams was a science and technology enthusiast and his books were... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1403945772
• ISBN13: 9781403945778
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: MacMillan
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Yet More Spin-Offs from "The Guide"

Douglas Adams is still sorely missed, five years after his untimely death, and more than forty years since we first met as young schoolboys in England. This book was obviously aimed to coincide with the release of the movie, and to appeal to people who can never get enough of one of the funniest and most profound series of books of the last quarter century. The book veers between the very general (his discussion about the prospects for a real Babel-fish), to the more specific, as when he talks about computing. If you like the kind of articles that they run in Discover magazine or New Scientist, and if you get the allusions to The Guide, you will find a lot in here to enjoy.

A most entertaining and thought-provoking companion to Adams' immortal sci-fi comedy

Michael Hanlon, one of Britain's most successful and respected science writers, presents The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a fascinating and completely serious overview of the real science nestled between the witty humor Douglas Adams' classic science fiction novel, now a major motion picture. From discussions about alien life to the possibility of time travel, teleportation, theories behind parallel worlds, contemplations concerning the existence of God, The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reviews some of the most popular knowledge conundrums with a lighthearted wit and snappy satire worthy of its title. Written to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds - even those who have yet to page through The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a most entertaining and thought-provoking companion to Adams' immortal sci-fi comedy.

There IS a Scientific Basis for a Lot of the Story

If you realize that the answer to all of life, the universe and everything else is '42' then you are well on your way to understanding everything there is to know. Certainly you will realize that this is the answer that the computer Deep Thought came up with after seeking the answer for seven and a half million years. And 42 is the answer to the ultimate question, but unfortunately we don't know what the ultimate question is. It may have something to do with the fact that 6 x 9 = 42 if you're doing your arithmetic with a base of 13. If you've followed this, you're a Douglas Adams fan. (Do a Google search on 42 and you come up with about 143,000,000 references to 42.) This book though isn't about 42 (well not very much), it's about the real science behind what Douglas Adams was writing about. He was a science writer, and at the time he was starting the series new information about the Big Bang, dark holes, multiple universes, quantum weirdness and serious debates on alien life first took on a real understanding. Mr. Adams used these theories and more, adjusted with a great deal of wit, to provide some basis for his stories. Mr. Hanlon is less witty, but gives the real science behind Mr. Adams stories. It's fascinating reading.