The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
by Douglas Adams · first published 1980
6% recommend94% neutral
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction "trilogy" by Douglas Adams, and is a sequel. It was originally published by Pan Books as a paperback. The book was inspired by the song "Grand Hotel" by British rock band Procol Harum. The book title refers to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, one of the settings of the book.
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Can't help but think of Douglas Adams' masterpiece "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe": "A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvuntt leader squatting opposite him…
on “Battleshorts, exaptations, and the limits of STAMP” ↗…two odd ones into the mix (which are still great!): "In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." - Douglas Adams 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe' and... "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four Privet Drive were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." - Harry Potter (right below the opening chapter name called "The Boy Who…
on “How to Write an Opening Sentence” ↗…summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem." Douglas Adams, The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe
on “Federal Judge: Albuquerque's Asset Forfeiture is Unconstitutional” ↗What is the source line at the end representing there? I've read The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and while it definitely contains (and I see it as a major cultural anchor for) animals bred to desire being eaten and be able to say so, it doesn't contain that particular scene (at least in the version…
on “I'm Scared About Biological Computing” ↗…Story - Gary Shteyngart 4 Science fiction set in the not too distant future. Main themes include life extension and surveillance. = Mar = The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 4 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams 3 Had never read this series, thought it might be about time. = Apr = What does it all Mean? - Thomas Nagel 2 (though it is kind of meant for people who have never done any Philosophy,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗…summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem” - Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
on “E.O. Wilson on Introversion, the Limits of IQ, and Where Ideas Come From” ↗…are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
on “South Korean President Park Geun-hye's corruption scandal” ↗…ignored semantic markup for decades. How is improving the semantics helping anything if most people don't use it? (aside: Semantics crusaders remind me of Douglas Adams' character Slartibartfast in "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe". In the book, travel through time to change the outcome of historical events has become so rampant that Slartibartfast joins what is called The Capmain for Real Time in order to preserve the "original"…
on “Do we need a new heading element in HTML?” ↗…are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. - Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe) I think the truth in this humor is quite relevant to those in whom you're placing your hope.
on ““I-Cut-You-Choose” Cake-Cutting Protocol Inspires Solution to Gerrymandering” ↗…letting them live or what? I can understand supporting low suffering, but non-existence seems even worse somehow? Easy to wrap yourself in weird arguments and end up in the absurd, a la Douglas Adams Restaurant at the end of the Universe.
on “I got my money back from a scammer by contacting his mom on Facebook (2016)” ↗…why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
on “Subatomic particle seen changing to antiparticle and back for the first time” ↗…acceptable to enslave AI robots AI is largely hypothetical at the moment, and whether such things are ever acceptable or not will depend on the form AI eventually takes, if it ever exists at all. "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" by Douglas Adams includes an animal that has been genetically engineered to want to be eaten [1]. If AI took a form where their personalities could be precisely configured, they could simply be configured…
on “AI expert says that ‘sex robots’ will be mainstream in 10 years” ↗Wait, wasn't this a joke in Douglas Adams's Restaurant at the End of the Universe?
on “An artificial womb successfully grew baby sheep” ↗…why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” — Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
on “Inception movie explained programmatically with C and assembly” ↗…"[...] Who are you?" > "A friend!" Shouted back the man. He ran toward Zaphod. > "Oh yeah?" said Zaphod. "Anyone's friend in particular, or just generally well-disposed to people?" Adams, Douglas. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
on “What's the minimum number of words you'd need to define all other words? (2012)” ↗