QuoteProject
But what about the End of the Universe? We'll miss the big moment." I've seen it. It's rubbish," said Zaphod,"nothing but a gnab gib." A what?" Opposite of a big bang. Come on, let's get zappy.
Douglas Adams
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the nature of existential events and the often anticlimactic nature of significant moments.

In this quote from Douglas Adams, Zaphod Beeblebrox humorously dismisses the importance of the End of the Universe, suggesting that monumental events can be underwhelming and trivial. The phrase 'gnab gib' captures the essence of an anticlimactic conclusion, contrasting with the grandiosity often associated with the concept of a 'big bang.' This reflects a philosophical viewpoint on how people perceive and value significant cosmic events.

Themes

UniverseEndExistenceMomentPhilosophyHumor

In practice

Example use cases

During a talk about the universe's fate at a science conference.

More from Douglas Adams

Listen, three eyes," he said, "don't you try to outweird me, I get stranger things than you free with my breakfast cereal.
Douglas AdamsRead
"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."
Douglas AdamsRead
Protect me from knowing what I don't need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don't know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen. [...] Lord, lord, lord. Protect me from the consequences of the above prayer.
Douglas AdamsRead
Computers are still technology because we are still wrestling with it: it's still being invented; we're still trying to work out how it works. There's a world of game interaction to come that you or I wouldn't recognise. It's time for the machines to disappear. The computer's got to disappear into all of the things we use.
Douglas AdamsRead
What the computer in virtual reality enables us to do is to recalibrate ourselves so that we can start seeing those pieces of information that are invisible to us but have become important for us to understand.
Douglas AdamsRead
We are stuck with technology when all we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognize something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual.
Douglas AdamsRead

Similar quotes

The only certainty is that nothing is certain.
Pliny The ElderRead
In the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and the revelry above may cause us to forget their existence.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.
Terence MckennaRead
Blow the candle out, I don't need to see what my thoughts look like.
Emile ZolaRead
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
Mahatma GandhiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.