The ultimate questions....

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Re: The ultimate questions....

Postby thanjee on Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:45 pm

Starmax wrote:If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around, does it make a noise?D


I hate to do this, but I feel like being a bit nit-picky because I enjoy philosophy Smile

The correct question I believe you were trying to ask was:

If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

The answer is NO.

If the question were, does it make a noise, then the answer would be YES. But the question was about sound. Sound implies that the noise has been perceived. Without anyone there to perceive the aural event, it can not be recognized as a sound.

Semantic position aside, you could also argue that the world acts differently when there is no one observing it - atoms do (quantum physics). In which case, the answer is unknown.

either way, this is a good question for discussion, so if anyone wants to continue.......
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Postby Samppa on Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:43 pm

Atoms do a lot of neat stuff but once they start to pair up there are better defined rules that they must follow.

Also, I don't see sound waves being emitted only when there would be a system that recognises them around. It would be too creepy Very Happy
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Postby AresXP on Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:00 pm

Well, there would be moving air, or rather, waves. We perceive those as sound if they're in the right range so... no, no sound.

Ultime question... hum...
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Postby Samppa on Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:06 am

Err, yeah, this moving air and waves are rather commonly referred to as sound waves, not necessarily meaning it is sound.
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