Numbercrunching

...and just maybe some braincrunching too, as I tackle Question 20: "If the answer is 42, what is the question?"


42.

Obviously.

Did you see what I did there?  I answered a question about another question in such a way that the question was in fact the other question too, and therefore arguably the answer to itself.  Confused?  Me too.  Let me break it down for you (and more to the point, for me):

• Q: "If the answer is 42, what is the question?"
• A: "42."
• So the answer is "42", which fulfils the criterion stipulated in the original question.  Therefore, we can now proceed to work out what other question would fit the answer.
• But wait a minute - to get the answer "42", we started out from the question "If the answer is 42, what is the question?" - therefore, the other question that the first question was asking about, must also be "If the answer is 42, what is the question?"
• Therefore, the question is asking about itself.
• GAH!  THE RECURSION HURTS MY BRAINS!

Alternatively, you could save yourself a migraine like so: the other question could just be "What's 6x7?"

Mind you, that's a bit boring by comparison, isn't it?


Statisticcrunching:

• Twenty Questions status: 19 down, just one more to go!
• Days until Root Hill: 2
• Latest book read: Jennings Follows a Clue
• Latest film/TV watched: Red Dwarf 1.6
• Latest music listened to: How to Train Your Dragon OST by John Powell
• Latest edible item eaten: chocolate cookie
• Predominant colour of clothes: blue/grey
• Programs and web pages currently running: Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, Firefox (tabs: MatNav 6.1, twice; Blogspot Create Post)
• Webcomics posted today: Cylinder and Miserable #1339

- The Colclough