Question The Answers

"There are two different types of people in the world, those who want to know, and those who want to believe."                                                                                                                                                           Friedrich Nietzsche

When it comes to finding answers, the human mind becomes restless especially around uncertainty and ambiguity. Consequently, when seeking clarity to troublesome questions, one response is to spontaneously generate plausible explanations. Once generated, we then tend to hold onto these invented explanations, in a way of making them become real. Once we have them, we really don’t like to let them go. Consequently we can eliminate the distress of the unknown and achieve ‘cognitive closure’ (Kruglanski, A. 1996).

In 1972, the psychologist Jerome Kagan, in (1972) suggested this ‘uncertainty resolution’ was one of the foremost determinants of human behaviour. Therefore, when we struggle to immediately gratify our desire to know the answer, we become highly motivated to find solutions to develop some kind of firm explanation. The ‘motivation principle’ in this hypothesis, remains central to many of our common motives: achievement, affiliation, recognition etc.

As unique individuals we tend to interpret the world around us, continuously. If we are not able to understand something, it scares us. Having answers to questions allows us to make sense of our surroundings, thereby giving us a sense of safety and security, a recognise core needs when we consider Maslow’s hierarchy. The human brain, more specifically the ‘amygdala’ becomes active in the face of ambiguity. Our drive to gather factual, biographical data in the hippocampus drives our conscious thoughts to find the right information, whereas the amygdala deals with the emotional responses to situations, therefore why we become restless in the face of uncertainty. 

In conclusion, when faced with heightened ambiguity and a lack of clarity of answers, our need to know—as quickly as possible becomes paramount.

 

 

Considering this concept of the need for answers, I wanted to share with you an abridged excerpt from one of the most bizarre but ultimately most creative authors in science fiction. Douglas Adams most famous piece of literary success has got to be the first novel in a five book trilogy (I said he was bizarre), The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Towards the end of the book there begins a monumental story of how a race of ‘hyperintelligent pandimentional beings’ decided to build a computer to find out if there was such an answer to the question of the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Without wanting to spoil the outcome I have included the important passages (in Douglas’s original words) to help explain a little more.

The Following Passages are taken from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams.
There are of course many problems connected with life, of which some of the most popular are, Why are people born? Why do they die? Why do they want to spend so much of the intervening time wearing digital watches? Many many millions of years ago a race of hyperintelligent pandimensional beings (whose physical manifestation in their own pan-dimensional universe is not dissimilar to our own) got so fed up with the constant bickering about the meaning of life which used to interrupt their favourite pastime of Brockian Ultra Cricket (a curious game which involved suddenly hitting people for no readily apparent reason and then running away) that they decided to sit down and solve their problems once and for all. And to this end they built themselves a stupendous super computer which was so amazingly intelligent that even before the data banks had been connected up it had started from I think therefore I am and got as far as the existence of rice pudding and income tax before anyone managed to turn it off.

On the day of the Great On-Turning two soberly dressed programmers with brief cases arrived and were shown discreetly into the office. They were aware that this day they would represent their entire race in its greatest moment, but they conducted themselves calmly and quietly as they seated themselves deferentially before the desk, opened their brief cases and took out their leather-bound notebooks. Their names were Lunkwill and Fook.

Fook composed himself. ”O Deep Thought Computer,” he said, ”the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us ...” he paused, ”...the Answer!” ”The answer?” said Deep Thought. ”The answer to what?” ”Life!” urged Fook. ”The Universe!” said Lunkwill. ”Everything!” they said in chorus. Deep Thought paused for a moment’s reflection. ”Tricky,” he said finally. ”But can you do it?” Again, a significant pause. ”Yes,” said Deep Thought, ”I can do it.” ”There is an answer?” said Fook with breathless excitement.” ”A simple answer?” added Lunkwill. ”Yes,” said Deep Thought. ”Life, the Universe, and Everything. There is an answer. But,” he added, ”I’ll have to think about it.”

A sudden commotion destroyed the moment: the door flew open and two angry men wearing the coarse faded-blue robes and belts of the Cruxwan University burst into the room, thrusting aside the ineffectual flunkies who tried to bar their way. ”We demand admission!” shouted the younger of the two men elbowing a pretty young secretary in the throat. ”Come on,” shouted the older one, ”you can’t keep us out!” He pushed a junior programmer back through the door. ”We demand that you can’t keep us out!” bawled the younger one, though he was now firmly inside the room and no further attempts were being made to stop him. ”Who are you?” said Lunkwill, rising angrily from his seat. ”What do you want?” ”I am Majikthise!” announced the older one. ”And I demand that I am Vroomfondel!” shouted the younger one. Majikthise turned on Vroomfondel. ”It’s alright,” he explained angrily, ”you don’t need to demand that.” ”All right!” bawled Vroomfondel banging on an nearby desk. ”I am Vroomfondel, and that is not a demand, that is a solid fact! What we demand is solid facts!” ”No we don’t!” exclaimed Majikthise in irritation. ”That is precisely what we don’t demand!” Scarcely pausing for breath, Vroomfondel shouted, ”We don’t demand solid facts! What we demand is a total absence of solid facts. I demand that I may or may not be Vroomfondel!” ”But who the devil are you?” exclaimed an outraged Fook. ”We,” said Majikthise, ”are Philosophers.” ”Though we may not be,” said Vroomfondel waving a warning finger at the programmers. ”Yes we are,” insisted Majikthise. ”We are quite definitely here as rep- resentatives of the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons, and we want this machine off, and we want it off now!” ”What’s the problem?” said Lunkwill. ”I’ll tell you what the problem is mate,” said Majikthise, ”demarcation, that’s the problem!” ”We demand,” yelled Vroomfondel, ”that demarcation may or may not be the problem!” ”You just let the machines get on with the adding up,” warned Majikthise, ”and we’ll take care of the eternal verities thank you very much. You want to check your legal position you do mate. Under law the Quest for Ultimate Truth is quite clearly the inalienable prerogative of your working thinkers. Any bloody machine goes and actually finds it and we’re straight out of a job aren’t we? I mean what’s the use of our sitting up half the night arguing that there may or may not be a God if this machine only goes and gives us his bleeding phone number the next morning?” ”That’s right!” shouted Vroomfondel, ”we demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!” Suddenly a stentorian voice boomed across the room. ”Might I make an observation at this point?” inquired Deep Thought. ”We’ll go on strike!” yelled Vroomfondel. ”That’s right!” agreed Majikthise. ”You’ll have a national Philosopher’s strike on your hands!” The hum level in the room suddenly increased as several ancillary bass driver units, mounted in sedately carved and varnished cabinet speakers around the room, cut in to give Deep Thought’s voice a little more power. ”All I wanted to say,” bellowed the computer, ”is that my circuits are now irrevocably committed to calculating the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything –” he paused and satisfied himself that he now had everyone’s attention, before continuing more quietly, ”but the programme will take me a little while to run.” Fook glanced impatiently at his watch. ”How long?” he said. ”Seven and a half million years,” said Deep Thought. Lunkwill and Fook blinked at each other. ”Seven and a half million years ...!” they cried in chorus. ”Yes,” declaimed Deep Thought, ”I said I’d have to think about it, didn’t I? And it occurs to me that running a programme like this is bound to create an enormous amount of popular publicity for the whole area of philosophy in general. Everyone’s going to have their own theories about what answer I’m eventually to come up with, and who better to capitalize on that media market than you yourself? So long as you can keep disagreeing with each other violently enough and slagging each other off in the popular press, you can keep yourself on the gravy train for life. How does that sound?” The two philosophers gaped at him. ”Bloody hell,” said Majikthise, ”now that is what I call thinking. Here Vroomfondel, why do we never think of things like that?” ”Dunno,” said Vroomfondel in an awed whisper, ”think our brains must be too highly trained Majikthise.” So saying, they turned on their heels and walked out of the door and into a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams.    

Seven and a half million years Later…

A man standing on a brightly dressed dais before the building which clearly dominated the square was addressing the crowd over a Tannoy. ”O people waiting in the Shadow of Deep Thought!” he cried out. ”Hon- oured Descendants of Vroomfondel and Majikthise, the Greatest and Most Truly Interesting Pundits the Universe has ever known ...The Time of Waiting is over!” Wild cheers broke out amongst the crowd. Flags, streamers and wolf whistles sailed through the air. The narrower streets looked rather like centipedes rolled over on their backs and frantically waving their legs in the air. ”Seven and a half million years our race has waited for this Great and Hopefully Enlightening Day!” cried the cheer leader. ”The Day of the Answer!” Hurrahs burst from the ecstatic crowd. ”Never again,” cried the man, ”never again will we wake up in the morning and think Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Does it really, cosmically speaking, matter if I don’t get up and go to work? For today we will finally learn once and for all the plain and simple answer to all these nagging little problems of Life, the Universe and Everything!”

”Seventy-five thousand generations ago, our ancestors set this program in motion,” the second man said, ”and in all that time we will be the first to hear the computer speak.” ”An awesome prospect, Phouchg,” agreed the first man, ”We are the ones who will hear,” said Phouchg, ”the answer to the great question of Life ...!” ”The Universe ...!” said Loonquawl. ”And Everything ...!” ”Shhh,” said Loonquawl with a slight gesture, ”I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!” There was a moment’s expectant pause whilst panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel. ”Good morning,” said Deep Thought at last. ”Er ...Good morning, O Deep Thought,” said Loonquawl nervously, ”do you have ...er, that is ...” ”An answer for you?” interrupted Deep Thought majestically. ”Yes. I have.” The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain. ”There really is one?” breathed Phouchg. ”There really is one,” confirmed Deep Thought. ”To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything?” ”Yes.” Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children. ”And you’re ready to give it to us?” urged Loonquawl. ”I am.” ”Now?” ”Now,” said Deep Thought. They both licked their dry lips. ”Though I don’t think,” added Deep Thought, ”that you’re going to like it.” ”Doesn’t matter!” said Phouchg. ”We must know it! Now!” ”Now?” inquired Deep Thought. ”Yes! Now ...” ”All right,” said the computer and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable. ”You’re really not going to like it,” observed Deep Thought. ”Tell us!” ”All right,” said Deep Thought. ”The Answer to the Great Question ...” ”Yes ...!” ”Of Life, the Universe and Everything ...” said Deep Thought. ”Yes ...!” ”Is ...” said Deep Thought, and paused. ”Yes ...!” ”Is ...” ”Yes ...!!!...?” ”Forty-two,” said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.

It was a long time before anyone spoke…

By way of concluding this guest blog on the topic of answers, I thought it would be only right to go back to our opening quote by Nietzsche and offer you my simple limerick that tries to capture the complexity of this subject in five lines. I hope you like it...

Answers
A young philosopher called Nietzsche
Aspired to be a wise teacher.
Exploring answers to the meaning of life
All he found was trouble and strife
So concluded 'we are unfathomable creatures'.

Thanks for reading, Steve McG,