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Douglas Adams

Author

1952–2001

Biography

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was a British author and humorist best known for his science fiction series *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it evolved into a bestselling series of five books, selling over 15 million copies. His other notable work includes *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency* (1987) and its sequel, *The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul* (1988). Adams also contributed to the *Doctor Who* series, scripting several episodes. He was an early advocate of technology and environmentalism, reflected in his work on the interactive fiction game *Starship Titanic*. Adams passed away in 2001 from a heart attack at the age of 49.

About

Born March 11, 1952

Died May 11, 2001

Birthplace Cambridge, England

Nationality British

Education Bachelor of Arts in English Literature

School St John's College, Cambridge

Resting Place Highgate Cemetery, London, England

Popular Quotes

"A common mistake is assuming that civilization will consistently advance in productive ways without considering the role of human nature and unpredictability in influencing progress."

Human nature Productivity Progress Influence

"It is known that despite seeing indications that reality is where we exist, it is also clear that not everything here makes sense in a linear fashion with perfect logic."

Philosophy Perception Understanding Existence

"Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose."

Humor Critical thinking Paradox Irony

"The Electric Monk was a labor-saving device, like a dishwasher."

Humor Technology Satire Science fiction

"There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

Philosophy Science fiction Determinism Time travel

"I'd far rather be happy than right any day. And are you? No. That's where it all falls down of course."

Personal growth Self-awareness Happiness Inner peace

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."

Philosophy Perspective Humor Nature

"He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."

Philosophy Hope Existentialism Paradox

"The history of every major galactic civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of survival, inquiry, and sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases."

Survival Inquiry Science fiction Douglas adams

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."

Creativity Humor Inspirational Time management

"In order to fly, all one must do is simply miss the ground."

Motivation Inspiration Philosophy Mindfulness

"The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos."

Unity Complexity Creation Chaos

"The story so far In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

Humor Literature Existentialism Universe

"One of the most interesting and harmful delusions to which men and nations can be subjected is that of imagining that there is some sort of ground rule applied to the universe by which final triumph if you are strong enough, and the ultimate success of virtue if you are good enough, is inevitable."

Philosophy Success Human nature Strength

"He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it."

Philosophy Life Identity Introspection