If a tree falls..... What if...

[kermit911]

Question. If a tree falls and no one... blah blah blah We all know the saying. I belive the answer is No, correct? The tree does not make a noise if there is no one there to hear it. I'm not sure where I heard that from. But if that is the case. Couldn't the same be said about us "Humans" in the fact that, I'm at work right now. That is all I can see. Does that mean the rest of the world doesn't excist? Just somthing I though of while sitting here. :-) Thanx all

Dave

[mikeyp]

The answer to this question is relative. Consider the question "what do you mean by sound?". Some people will think that sound is air molecules vibrating. Others will believe that sound is what you hear. Depending on your answer to this question, you will be able to answer whether in your opinion a tree makes a sound if no one hears it. I personally think it obviously does. Just because someone goes deaf, doesn't mean that things around them stop producing a sound.

[Stevee]

If you leave a recording device and the tree fall but there is no one to hear it. What would you expect to hear on the device?

If your at work and you pick up the phone you expect to talk to someone somewhere.

[Ralph]

Of course it makes a sound. Assuming you believe that it needs to be heard to be considered a sound (which I don't) do the ears need to belong to a human? There is bound to be some kind of animal in the vicinity to detect the changes in air pressure. Their ears evolved along the same lines, and for the same reasons as our own, it's just that their brains and thought processes have not. This means that they don't spend a portion of their lives worrying about unanswerable (due to being unprovable) questions!

[LiIIabet]

If a tree falls in the forrest and kills a philosopher, does anyone care?

[PatTheRat]

Of course it makes a sound, just because there are no witnesses to this sound, doesnt mean it didnt occur.....but what if a tree falls in a forest, and no one 'sees' it fall. Does that mean it didnt fall, even though its now lying on the ground?

Seems we need proof before we believe something. And I cant argue with anyone who disagrees cos people can believe what they want.