In Java, why must equals() and hashCode() be consistent?

Question

If I override either method on a class, it must make sure that if A.equals(B) == true then A.hashCode() == B.hashCode must also be true.

Can

Answer 1

The idea behind this is that two objects are "equal" if all of their fields have equal values. If all of fields have equal values, the two objects should have the same hash value.