Latest news with #TheHitchhiker'sGuidetotheGalaxy
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Posts "No Kings" Message as Protests Rage Against Trump
Late Sunday night, billionaire Elon Musk was seemingly kept awake by the specter of the "No Kings" mass protests across the United States over the weekend. Millions of people took to the streets to counter a controversial — and apparently boring-as-hell — military parade, sponsored by UFC and put on by president Donald Trump, with the striking choice to hold it on his birthday. Musk took to his own social media platform, posting a screenshot of the iconic horror video game "Bioshock," which showed a banner that reads "No Gods or Kings. Only Man." "Anyone else think of this yesterday?" the mercurial CEO pondered. The red banner in the screenshot is encountered by players upon entering what remains of a fictional underwater metropolis called Rapture. The parallels with the modern-day United States aren't exactly hard to grasp: Rapture was founded by an in-game industrialist named Andrew Ryan, who was seeking to escape the political and social constraints of a post-World War II world under the ocean. However, it didn't take long for the utopia to unravel into a horrific run on resources and a massive divide between the haves and the have-nots. Given Trump and Musk's attempts to unravel the government, and surging wealth disparity in the country, the latter's invocation of the "Bioshock" universe certainly feels apropos of the events that took place this weekend. However, whether Musk sees himself as an Andrew Ryan-like character — or is simply taking yet another potshot at Trump, who said last week that he doesn't "feel like a king," last week when asked about the protests, in spite of sharing an AI-generated image of himself as a king — remains unclear at best. Was it a moment of lucidity, with Musk realizing he's been trying his darndest to turn the United States into a dysfunctional oligarchy? Or does Musk somehow see himself — a billionaire hand-picking leadership for a democracy — as the hero of the story? It certainly wouldn't be the first time Musk woefully misinterpreted works of fiction. Case in point, Musk once described Douglas Adams, author of the satirical novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," as his "favorite philosopher," despite representing everything the late novelist scathingly critiqued in his works, including South African apartheid and economic inequality. "Why do these guys keep reading science fiction, which often is a searing social criticism — why are they reading it as a user's manual?" said Harvard historian Jill Lepore during a 2022 podcast appearance. Musk's latest social media post was an oddly brooding missive that came roughly a week after the spectacular and spite-filled escalation of his personal feud with the president. The two became embroiled in a flame war full of threats, mockery, and personal attacks. Things became so heated, Musk even later apologized for taking things "too far." But given his latest post, Musk is still nursing some cryptic wounds. It's also affecting his bottom line: he's massively alienated both Democrats and Republicans following the blowout, and polls have consistently shown his falling popularity over the last year or so. The brouhaha could also cost him lucrative government contracts, which have historically kept his businesses alive. It's unclear what Musk's intention was behind invoking a video game about a dystopian, Ayn Rand-inspired biopunk metropolis. Is he warning about Trump turning the US into the Rapture? Or does he want to speedrun that transition? More on Musk: Musk's Daring Gambit Has Managed to Do Something Remarkable: Alienate Democrats AND Republicans
The National
13-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Should a supercomputer be a top priority amid a housing crisis?
At a very rough and admittedly simplistic calculation – and assuming you could build a decent flat for, say, £100,000 – the almost £1 billion price tag for the supercomputer could have been used to build around 10,000 homes. Politics is all about priorities and supercomputers seem these days to come before homes for our nation's homeless weans. More than 10,000 of them languish in so-call temporary accommodation today and will continue to do so every day for the foreseeable future. READ MORE: 5 things Scots should know from Rachel Reeves' spending review After the announcement I watched a TV interview with a suitably enthusiastic academic from the university who singularly failed to explain the actual (not theoretical) benefits of the supercomputer. In the meantime, Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, took to the press to say the supercomputer investment will have a 'transformative impact on the UK'. He went on to say 'This significant investment will have a profoundly positive impact on the UK's global standing'. Is this whole project primarily about 'the UK's global academic standing'? I am reminded of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a comedy science-fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. The number 42 is especially significant to its many fans because that number is the answer given by a supercomputer called Deep Thought which takes 7.5 million years to finally answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. Perhaps The National could devote some column inches to an article from the university to inform us of the real – not theoretical – benefits of this massively expensive project and explain why it is at the top of the political agenda. Will it be obsolete before it is even switched on? READ MORE: Scottish Government 'short-changed by £1bn by Rachel Reeves' I am sure the academics of Edinburgh University will enjoy their new toy when it eventually does come online. The homeless of weans of Scotland less so. In sharp contrast, on March 28 2021 the then education secretary John Swinney said: 'If we are re-elected in May, the SNP will roll out a new programme to deliver into the hands of every school child in Scotland a laptop, Chromebook or tablet to use in school and at home. It will come with a free internet connection and full technical support. It will be updated when necessary, replaced when needed and upgraded as technology improves. As a child moves through their school life, it will change with them, going from the simpler devices needed at P1 to the more advanced in the senior phase of secondary'. That pledge has since fallen by the political wayside. So it's a supercomputer for academics but no laptops for our school children. Sandra West Dundee TRUMP'S false charge of race discrimination by the South African government against white farmers and offering them refuge in the US is an act of hostility against South Africa. Since South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice charging it with genocide, the US has ramped up its actions against South Africa. Trump's presidential order 'Addressing the Egregious Actions of South Africa' promoted the re-settlement of Afrikaners in the US and stated that South Africa had taken aggressive positions towards the United States including 'accusing Israel of genocide'. READ MORE: David Pratt: Donald Trump is reshaping democracy for authoritarians It added, 'The United States cannot support the government of South Africa in its undermining United States foreign policy which poses national security threats to our nation … and our interests.' It concluded that 'the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa.' It could not be made clearer that if you disagree with US support for Israel's actions then you will be punished. In South Africa's colonial and apartheid past, land distribution was grossly unequal on the basis of race. This remains the case. Whites own 70% of the land while being only 7% of the population. South Africa in addressing this issue passed the Land Expropriation Act. Land can be expropriated without compensation only in strictly defined circumstances. READ MORE: Donald Trump ambushes South African president with false 'white genocide' claims The United States intervention, making false claims about the act and what is happening to white farmers, whilst offering fast-tracked refuge to Afrikaners, is a disruptive interference in the affairs of a sovereign country. The US actions seem designed to destabilise South Africa and stop its support for the Palestinians. South Africa should be applauded for its humanitarian stance in support of the Palestinians and should also be assisted in its journey to overcome 300 years of colonialism and apartheid. Brian Filling Chair, Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) Scotland (successor organisation of the Anti-Apartheid Movement)
Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
8 books to read if you love Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a masterpiece of absurdist sci-fi, blending cosmic existentialism with sheer, unbridled silliness. Originally conceived as a radio series for BBC Radio 4, it was later published as a series of novels. The book follows the adventures and misadventures of the last surviving Earth man, Arthur Dent, following the demolition of the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is the first in the series and has a huge following across the globe. Besides the original radio series and the novels, the sci-fi series has been adapted for TV, theatre cinema, and even a comic book. If you've finished the series and crave more, here are eight books that will scratch that itch: Imagine Hitchhiker's Guide meets Eurovision (an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union), if losing meant the annihilation of Earth. This novel follows Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes, a washed-up glam-rock band, as they compete in an intergalactic singing contest to prove humanity's sentience. Valente's prose is flamboyant, hilarious, and surprisingly poignant, packed with bizarre alien cultures and biting satire. The book's central thesis— life is beautiful and life is stupid'—could easily be Adams' own. If you love cosmic absurdity with heart, this is a must-read. Based on the cult British sci-fi series, this novel follows the last human in existence (a slob named Lister), his hologram roommate (the endlessly sarcastic Rimmer), a neurotic android, and a creature evolved from Lister's cat. Stranded on the mining ship Red Dwarf, they bumble through time paradoxes, sentient vending machines, and petty arguments about curry. The humour is quintessentially British: dry, absurd, and packed with existential dread. If you love Hitchhiker's blend of sci-fi, this is your next read. This book is Hitchhiker's meets Lovecraftian horror, if Arthur Dent stumbled into a dimension-hopping drug trip. The story follows Dave and John, two slackers who gain the ability to perceive alternate realities after taking a mysterious substance called Soy Sauce. What follows is a chaotic mix of time loops, meat monsters, and existential horror, all delivered with deadpan humour. Wong's writing is as unpredictable as Adams', blending the ridiculous with the profound. If you enjoyed the weirder, darker corners of Hitchhiker's, this is a wild ride. It isn't fiction, but Munroe's book matches Hitchhiker's energy. The creator of xkcd, a serial webcomic created in 2005, applies rigorous science to questions such as: what if you tried to hit a baseball at near-light speed or could you build a jetpack using machine guns. The answers are hilarious, hyper-literal, and often terrifying. If you loved the Guide's footnotes and pseudo-scientific tangents, this is the perfect nonfiction companion. If you haven't read Adams' other great series, you're missing out. Dirk Gently swaps space for time travel, ghosts, and a detective who believes in the 'fundamental interconnectedness of all things.' The plot involves an electric monk (a device resembling a human being and created for the purpose of believing things), a time-traveling professor, and a sofa stuck in a staircase. It is just as witty and bizarre as Hitchhiker's. Essential reading for Adams fans. This genre-bending novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world where reality itself has been warped by 'Go Away Bombs', weapons that erase things from existence. The narrator, a martial artist and former government operative, recounts his life in a world where unwritten things can suddenly manifest. Harkaway's writing is dense, philosophical, and laugh-out-loud funny, with Adams-esque tangents and a deeply weird sense of humor. If you like sci-fi that's both smart and ridiculous, this is a gem. If you've only read Hitchhiker's Guide (Book 1), stop everything and read this sequel. The novel doubles down on the absurdity, featuring a five-star eatery at the literal end of time, the worst poet in the universe, and the revelation that Earth was actually a supercomputer designed to find the Ultimate Question. Marvin the Paranoid Android gets even more hilariously depressed, and Zaphod's ego reaches new heights. It's peak Adams, irreverent, clever, and endlessly quotable. Other books you could check out include, The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, All Systems Red by Martha Wells and Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.
Local France
05-06-2025
- Local France
French Phrase of the Day: Faire du stop
Why do I need to know faire du stop? Because this isn't an instruction. What does it mean? Faire du stop - roughly pronounced fair do stop - might sound like a command, but in reality, this combination of French and English means 'to hitchhike'. The official word for hitchhiking in French is l'autostop , which originated in the early 1940s, combining the prefix auto (for cars) with the English word 'stop'. A hitchhiker would thus be an autostoppeur (or autostoppeuse ), though the French translators of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' opted instead for Le Guide du voyageur galactique (The traveller's guide to the galaxy ). Advertisement However, faire du stop is the colloquial phrase you are more likely to hear if you ever find yourself on the side of the road with your thumb up. There are several different ways to talk about hitchhiking in French. You can also say lever le pouce (to raise the thumb), and if you visit Quebec in Canada, you would say faire du pouce (to do the thumb). Hitchhiking emerged in France in the late 1930s, at a time when only one in every 20 people had a vehicle. The practice was a popular option for people who could not afford bus or train tickets. Like in other countries, the practice also became popular, particularly in the 1950s, amongst young people either looking to run off or travel. While hitchhiking has declined in France, it is still something you will see from time to time, especially if you visit a ski area where free navettes (buses) run from the town up to the station. There's also the more modern version - the French start-up Bla Bla Car is a way of arranging a ride share in advance from someone who is driving to your destination, although in this case you will be contributing petrol money. Use it like this Ce n'est pas grave si on rate le bus, on peut faire du stop. - It doesn't matter if we miss the bus. We can just hitchhike. J'ai fait du stop de Marseille à Paris. C'était un voyage formidable, mais parfois un peu angoissant. - I hitchhiked from Marseille to Paris. It was a great trip, but a bit anxiety-inducing at times.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
An attempt at understanding dolphin language is being made — will people listen?
Since it was first published in 1979, Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has seen generations of the philosophically minded expand on some of its themes. The series of books is comical, of course, as it satirises ontology, metaphysics, the pomposity of politicians, the dreadful diatribes of bureaucrats. But in all the fun of puns, Adams often stumbled into, perhaps knowingly, profound questions. The most popular of these is the Babel Fish argument — based on a creature that, by eliminating all boundaries to interspecies communication across the galaxy, caused the most dreadful wars of all. And then there's the enigma of dolphins. As the Earth is about to be destroyed in the first book, they leave the planet, leaving behind a one-line message: 'So long, and thanks for all the fish.' Now, as AI models threaten and promise to make the fears and fortunes of sci-fi worlds a reality, Adams's questions might just be answered. This year, the Coller-Dolittle Prize — given for research into two-way inter-species communication — was awarded to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. It has used non-invasive methodologies to study the various vocalisations and body language of bottlenose dolphins for about 40 years. This data can be used to train AI models that can potentially uncover the layers of meaning in non-human language. The dolphins in Hitchhiker's were smarter than human beings. And perhaps, for a given definition of intelligence, life can imitate art. For a long time, human beings have ignored the personhood of intelligent animals. Elephants, higher primates, dolphins and whales — there are several species that have language and heritage, that laugh and cry and grieve, have a sense of family, self and community. Perhaps AI can translate their realities in a way humans can understand them, and learn from them. But then, given that people are so adept at treating people as things, what chance does a dolphin have?
