For those of you who were unaware or simply caught within the throes of indifference, May 11, 2002 marked the one-year anniversary of Douglas Adams' death. A footnote, perhaps, in our history as a species, but an important one. Mr. Adams wrote a book titled The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, which is a wholly remarkable book about a book that contained all the answers/advice you would ever need (and the destruction of Earth, but that's a minor point). Even if said answers/advice was appallingly inaccurate it was, well, something.
This site is the closest thing to the Guide of lore. The brainchild of Mr. Adams (subsequently taken over by the BBC), it allows carbon-based life forms to share our knowledge. Well, the ones with opposable thumbs, anyway. And maybe a couple of mice, but that's irrelevant at this point. What is relevant, to quote the virtual tour, is that "h2g2 is written by visitors to the Web site – people like you – and already it has thousands of entries on all sorts of subjects. The result is a living, breathing guide that's constantly being updated and revised, driven forward by the very people who use it."
That's right, you can be a researcher for the Guide. And you don't have to jump in blindly; there is a fully interactive community already in place. One that is more than willing to offer advice, a critique or a nice cup of tea for when you're feeling a bit down. Anything you could possibly wish to learn (and even some stuff you might not) is covered by the three major categories (Life, The Universe and Everything), each broken down into more useful subheadings. Add new facts or even just your thoughts. This is the collective wisdom of our world. So what if it's not always right? It's a start. Go read. Figure it out. And remember your towel.
-Patrick J. Graney
This article appears in May 22-28, 2002.