If you've had me for a class, and managed to stay awake for a least a minute or two, you probably have heard the number 42 mentioned a time or two. The number comes from a book called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" written by Douglas Adams in 1979. In the book, 42 was the answer given by Deep Thought (a computer) as the answer to the "ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything." Seven and a half million years of computation led to "42" as the answer to the question. The problem was that after all that time, the exact question had been forgotten so 42 wasn't exactly a helpful response. (42: Dictionary.com)

So what's the "cause" you ask? I've spent most of my life trying to encourage mostly young (but some not so young) minds to think. In my Object Oriented Programming class, I always say "you can't write the program to solve the problem, unless you understand the problem." The problem is like the question that Deep Thought answered with "42" -- we might have the answer, but we don't undertand what the problem really is.

So my cause is trying to get you to think -- think about your classwork, sure, but also about life. Sometimes when you honestly think you have the answer, you just really don't know the question. Another way of saying it is that it isn't the always answer that is important, but the long, winding road that you took to get to it. I think this has become much more important in the era of Artificial Intelligence. Learning comes from solving the problem, not just knowing the answer. --KS

More information here: For Math Fans - A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Number 42 - Scientific American