Poll: If a Tree falls in a forest...
- Thread starter almaster88
- Start date
lol, like in that weird ass movie "The fountain" with hugh jackman? the tree floating through space?
I have always hated this question. If the tree falls, it is going to make noise, it is a simple fact. Whether or not anyone one is there to hear it has no bearing on physical reality.
Dude read the other posts, sound by definition is vibrations in the air being perceived by humans. Maybe you should have taken the red pill, or the blue one, either way wake up in ur bed and forget you met morpheous
There is no physical reality if it is not known to humans.I_LIKE_CAKE said:
We define sound as a certain energy that we can perceive with our ears, according to Uexküll.
Sound only exists because we define it as such.Clashero said:
The energy is there, but it's not necessarily sound.
Every species has its own way of perceiving energy. Our ears perceive the movement of air, as sound. But if there is no human to catch the 'sound', it does NOT exist.
This is an odd reflection of the escapist community as a whole. The majority of us are very science minded and therefore use the scientific definition of sound, while a few are more philosophy oriented and go for a more perception based definition. On top of that the science based members seem to get sick of this argument very quickly, leaving the philosophers to try and convince the next batch of scientists.
I hope everyone realizes that this question bears a less literal meaning than anyone seems to see. The point is to determine if you think literally or philosophically, the distinction has been made through this community. On top of that the debate that has ensued is a very apt representation of religion Vs. science. An interesting event indeed.
I hope everyone realizes that this question bears a less literal meaning than anyone seems to see. The point is to determine if you think literally or philosophically, the distinction has been made through this community. On top of that the debate that has ensued is a very apt representation of religion Vs. science. An interesting event indeed.
The laws of physics state that it must create soundwaves, even if they don't get heard. Soundwaves are vibrations in the air. The presence of a cochlea to recieve these sounds is not a factor.
Also, there's probably plenty of wildlife around to hear this tree fall.
Also, there's probably plenty of wildlife around to hear this tree fall.
Again, wildlife do not know what sound is. How can you know that what a dog hears, is the same as what a human hears. Actually, we already know that dogs hear different frequencies.The Eaten Cake said:
Another example is... uhm... the smell of a flower. To a human, it's a soothing smell. To a bee, it's "opium". Not just a smell. Do they even have a nose that functions the same way as the human nose? They just catch the particles of a flower that we catch with our ears and recognize as a flower's smell. For bees, it's something completely different.