Likewise in one of the later books they visit “God’s last message to the universe” or something like that and if I recall correctly it’s “Sorry for the inconvenience”
Great great author.
Comment on Maths
d00ery@lemmy.world 5 months ago
As a fan of both authors I’d just like to point out the quote is from Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
I’ve never really thought about it and I don’t have the vocabulary to describe it, but they have similar humour in the way they look at humans and social interaction.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
CEbbinghaus@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I was listening to the audiobook and had tu de cypher it by writing onto the paper. Almost shat myself laughing when I realize what it said. You will be missed Douglas.
d00phy@lemmy.world 5 months ago
There’s a certain irony in using a Douglas Adams quote to support saying something is reminiscent of Terry Pratchett.
Timecircleline@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
British humour, both lean into the absurd. I love them both, and can admit there are similarities.
watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
I think that person just misremembered the author of the quote.
lunarul@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Those are two different people though. One thought or Terry Pratchett, the other of Douglas Adams.
notabot@lemm.ee 5 months ago
Have you ever seen them both in the same room at the same time? I know I haven’t. :)
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
It does actually attribute the quote to Douglas Adams at the bottom of the image.
ArtificialLink@lemy.lol 5 months ago
[deleted]captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
At least per my copy of The Ultimate Hitchhikers’ Guide Complete And Unabridged (a hardcover with all five books plus the short story Young Zaphod Plays It Safe):
The first book, The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, starts out with the passage that begins “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.” Later in this passage, you find: “Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.”
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe starts with a preface: “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another which states that this has already happened.” The beginning of Chapter 1 reads “The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
I might be one of the very few people under the age of 50 to know THHGttG as a radio play first and a series of books second; All of the above and more in the books comes straight from the radio play, but their places shuffled around.
CompassRed@discuss.tchncs.de 5 months ago
You’re mistaken unfortunately. The books don’t start that way. They start by describing Arthur Dent’s house.
bolexforsoup@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
It says “Douglas Adams” at the bottom just fyi