How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The principle of generating small amounts of finite improbability by simply hooking the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain to an atomic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea) were of course well understood—and such generators were often used to break the ice at parties by making all the molecules in the hostess's undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance with the Theory of Indeterminacy. (10.4)
How long do you think it would take between the invention of a new technology and someone's total misuse of said technology for pranks or jokes? Our guess is 0.01 seconds. That seems to be the case with improbability generators, which can do amazing things. They can also, as we know, be used to move people's underwear as a party trick. Note how Adams mixes scientific ideas like Brownian motion with non-scientific things like tea or small talk at parties. Science may be pretty amazing, but people can be pretty foolish.
Quote #5
If, he thought to himself, such a machine is a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability. So all I have to do in order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that figure into the finite improbability generator, give it a fresh cup of really hot tea ... and turn it on!
He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to create the long sought after golden Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air. (10.8-9)
Like the Babel fish story, this section gives us brain cramp. This student uses the idea that something is impossible to conjure the "Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air." In other words, because it's relatively impossible, it's possible. Oh, our brain. Also, to us, "out of thin air" sounds either absurd or magical, which defines the way a lot of us relate to science: we use a lot of technology that we (non-scientists) don't understand. It would make sense if we stopped to learn about the science, but we're too busy watching cat videos on YouTube.
Quote #6
The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive—you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program. (12.1)
Science and technology march on—but don't mistake "change" for "progress." Sometimes science marches on into a swamp. Sure, radios have more sensitive controls that need less work, but there's a downside too, as Zaphod discovers when he tries to listen to the radio and remain totally still. It's funny to us that the more sophisticated technology becomes in Hitchhiker's Guide, the more you have to simply hope that it will work—like when Arthur turns on the Infinite Improbability Drive as a last resort when the missiles are closing in.