If a tree falls in the woods....

[Aquadementia]

This question always struck me as bogus is the best question ever!!! But hay, lets see where it goes.

If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around, does it make a sound?

[Zubby]

Yes it does. The sound it makes is the sound of one hand clapping.

[Rocketboy]

Yes, because if a tree falls, then it is bound to make a sound (RHYME!) Even if no one is there to hear it.

[Moto Pete]

The sound echos till someone heres it

[Aquadementia]

Yes it does. The sound it makes is the sound of one hand clapping.Great, now monks can stop amputating their arms trying to figure that one out. They justhave to figure out how to cut down a tree without being there.

Yes, because if a tree falls, then it is bound to make a sound (RHYME!) Even if no one is there to hear it.Even if no clowns are around to listen for sounds that can be found from a tree hitting the ground?

The sound echos till someone heres it
Eventually it's going to die out. Does it make a difference if it's loud enough to distinguished?

[Captain Highwind]

Yes it does. The sound it makes is the sound of one hand clapping.

I never understood this phrase. Just relax your fingers, then strike them against the flat part of your palm.

There. One hand clapping.

[tucsoncoyote]

Of course it does!!!.. Especially when it falls on your Sport Utility Vehicle... (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-19-trees-fall_x.htm)!!! It makes a very loud noise indeed! (Complete with Pictures!)

:coyote:

[Aquadementia]

Of course it does!!!.. Especially when it falls on your Sport Utility Vehicle... (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-19-trees-fall_x.htm)!!! It makes a very loud noise indeed! (Complete with Pictures!)

:coyote:
First, someone was around to hear that one. And second, the story is obviously made up to rip-off the insurance company. No one's ever brought a suv into the woods, ever!

[tucsoncoyote]

First, someone was around to hear that one. And second, the story is obviously made up to rip-off the insurance company. No one's ever brought a suv into the woods, ever!

I hate to burst your bubble here, but it is true... cause if you're saying it's not true, then USA Today made a big boo boo.. but this story was in fact carried by several newspapers and even ended up on Rush Limbaugh... so yes it did happen and we're talking a 200 foot tall sequoia ending up on someone's SUV... I can see it now.. Tree attacks SUV, SUV Loses... Film at 11...

:coyote:

[Jave]

Put a running recorder in the woods, go away until a tree falls, and come back and listen to it. I bet you'll hear something.

[Sampo]

This question always struck me as bogus is the best question ever!!! But hay, lets see where it goes.

If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around, does it make a sound?


Hmm, dunno. Hey this would make an interesting experiment for the Mythbusters Link about the show (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html) that airs on Discovery Channel! It's a fun and entertaining show to watch.

I am not sure if they already did the above, but they did do this. Tree Cannon... Mythbuster's link. (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode_10.html)


...
Episode 6: Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing, Tree Cannon, Beat the Breath Test
In this episode, Jamie and Adam test the limits of a homemade tree cannon. Their interest comes from the story of a small town in Hungary where the inhabitants supposedly built a working cannon out of a tree. Or maybe Jamie and Adam just want to blow things up ... according to the story, the contraption accidentally exploded with deadly results. Then they get jiggy with a Breathalyzer, testing the theory that very drunk people are lucid enough to fool technology. Oh, and can Adam's tongue piercing withstand the electric force of a lightning bolt? We'll see.
...


:D Check your local listings for air times.

[TnAdct1]

I'd say yes, it does make a sound. Sure, humans may not be there to hear the sound, but this question didn't say anything about animals.

[Aquadementia]

I never understood this phrase. Just relax your fingers, then strike them against the flat part of your palm.

There. One hand clapping.Did you learn that from Bart Simpson too? Because that really clears that one up for me.

I hate to burst your bubble here, but it is true... cause if you're saying it's not true, then USA Today made a big boo boo.. but this story was in fact carried by several newspapers and even ended up on Rush Limbaugh... so yes it did happen and we're talking a 200 foot tall sequoia ending up on someone's SUV... I can see it now.. Tree attacks SUV, SUV Loses... Film at 11...
I'm sure it's a true story. It's just that I'm always surprised to see a SUV off the pavement.
Put a running recorder in the woods, go away until a tree falls, and come back and listen to it. I bet you'll hear something.
That seems to be using technology to maintain a presence in the woods.
It sort of gives you an enhanced hearing.
You could probably call it a virtual presence, but it's repeatable and can be analyzed and manipulated. Does that make it any more or less real then it would be to someone who was there and heard the tree crashing down live?

I'd say yes, it does make a sound. Sure, humans may not be there to hear the sound, but this question didn't say anything about animals.So, if squirrels are reliable witnesses, then does that in some way make them equal to humans?
At least wouldn't it mean they count as "some one" and thus not around since the question said no one was there?


Hmm, dunno. Hey this would make an interesting experiment for the Mythbusters Link about the show (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html) that airs on Discovery Channel! It's a fun and entertaining show to watch.

I am not sure if they already did the above, but they did do this. Tree Cannon... Mythbuster's link. (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode_10.html)

:D Check your local listings for air times.Didn't that one blow itself to smithereens?
I'm pretty sure they heard that.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Aquadementia/smile/drip.gifAD

[Gatomon41]

If course it does, as long there is air around the falling tree or another medium for sound to travel through.

[mikestorm]

No. If a tree falls in the woods, the vibration of that action ellicits sound waves. Sound is manufactured by the listener. When those soundwaves approach someone in proximity, it causes the little bones in our eardrum to vibrate. Our brains then interprets the vibrations of varying frequency and registers what we "hear".

[90'sCartoonMan]

Put a running recorder in the woods, go away until a tree falls, and come back and listen to it. I bet you'll hear something.

I've always said that, glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks of that as a possible solution.

If a tree falls in the woods, the vibration of that action ellicits sound waves. Sound is manufactured by the listener. When those soundwaves approach someone in proximity, it causes the little bones in our eardrum to vibrate. Our brains then interprets the vibrations of varying frequency and registers what we "hear".

The recorder would pick something up despite the fact that it doesn't have an eardrum. Does making a sound only mean its soundwaves processed by the brain? I can hear myself think, does that count as creating sound?

Think about this logically, every time a tree has ever fallen around a human being, they've heard it. Why assume that under almost the exact same circumstances something different would happen? The universe does have order and follow rules. When I leave my house does gravity turn off and all my furniture starts to float just because I'm not around to witness it? I can't say for certain that doesn't happen, but I know what does happen when I'm around, and that's what I base my conclusions on.

[mikestorm]

The recorder would pick something up despite the fact that it doesn't have an eardrum. Does making a sound only mean its soundwaves processed by the brain? I can hear myself think, does that count as creating sound?
Sound is manufactured by the listener.
In your example, the recorder is the listener. Microphones work by soundwaves vibrating a coil or pin in and out of a magnetic field. Sounds an awful lot like a mechanical eardrum doesn't it?

My original point was if there is no listening device (mechanical or biological) at all in proximity of the sound waves, they will simply dissipate as waves.

Besides, at the risk of sounding glib, to follow your analogy, the tree isn't making the sound anymore..the recorder is. :p

[Zubby]

Of course it does!!!.. Especially when it falls on your Sport Utility Vehicle... (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-08-19-trees-fall_x.htm)!!! It makes a very loud noise indeed! (Complete with Pictures!)


SCORE ONE FOR NATURE!!


It's interesting to read the responses here, because most everyone is taking this question (and my response about one hand clapping) as literal. These are supposed to be metaphorical questions, philosophical exersizes meant to engage the mind. They are not meant to be answered literally.

The question about the sound of a tree falling seems really to be about conciousness. What's really being asked is 'does the world exist if no one is there to experience it?'

I have a semi-serious theory that people are becoming increasingly metaphor imapired. Photographer Minor White used to tell his students "Don't photograph objects for what they are. Photograph them for what else they are."
I think we find that harder and harder to do.

[Sampo]

...
It's interesting to read the responses here, because most everyone is taking this question (and my response about one hand clapping) as literal. These are supposed to be metaphorical questions, philosophical exersizes meant to engage the mind. They are not meant to be answered literally.
...


Bah! Tell that to the Mythbusters. They tackled the old proverb, "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss". Episode 31 (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode_05.html) They proved it by creating a contraption that allowed a rock (which had grounded up moss painted on them) to roll for a month. Yup, it gathered* no moss.

*Gathered as in grew. They showed that a rock rolling down a moss covered hill will cause the rock to gather moss... as well as dirt and other debris.


...
The question about the sound of a tree falling seems really to be about conciousness. What's really being asked is 'does the world exist if no one is there to experience it?'

I have a semi-serious theory that people are becoming increasingly metaphor imapired. Photographer Minor White used to tell his students "Don't photograph objects for what they are. Photograph them for what else they are."
I think we find that harder and harder to do.

Double Bah! :) As Bill Nye the Science Guy once said, Science Rules!

[FerrariCake]

I've a question:
If a tree falls in the wood, and theres no one around, but it falls on a mime, does anyone care?

[90'sCartoonMan]

In your example, the recorder is the listener. Microphones work by soundwaves vibrating a coil or pin in and out of a magnetic field. Sounds an awful lot like a mechanical eardrum doesn't it?

My original point was if there is no listening device (mechanical or biological) at all in proximity of the sound waves, they will simply dissipate as waves.

Ah, now I see. I thought you were saying sound doesn't exist if ears don't hear it and a brain doesn't process it.

It's interesting to read the responses here, because most everyone is taking this question (and my response about one hand clapping) as literal. These are supposed to be metaphorical questions, philosophical exersizes meant to engage the mind. They are not meant to be answered literally.

The question about the sound of a tree falling seems really to be about conciousness. What's really being asked is 'does the world exist if no one is there to experience it?'

That's because metaphorical questions are evil. I answered literally because as far as I'm concerned, the world would exist if no one was there to experience it. I didn't stare at a pencil for hours as a kid trying to make it float to think that there's such a thing as mind over matter. Matter > Mind.

I just go with observation, and that's my philosophy :D

[Sampo]

I've a question:
If a tree falls in the wood, and theres no one around, but it falls on a mime, does anyone care?

The Mime would care. Cuz, he/she would have to figure out how to do "I'm in excruciating pain! HELP ME!" in pantomime while being crushed under a tree.

On second thought, I would care. Heck it would be fun watching that happen to a Mime. I'm kidding...

[Captain Highwind]

On second thought, I would care. Heck it would be fun watching that happen to a Mime. I'm kidding...

Too late. I'm sure the mime community is phasing an invisible box around you as we speak.

[Kaoru]

This is a phylosophical and scientific question. All that aside, my guess is that it doesn't make a sound because "sound" is created in ears. It creates a slight wind force.

[Zubby]

Double Bah! :) As Bill Nye the Science Guy once said, Science Rules!

While I do think that these questions are better considered as philosophical exersizes (and I don't think that metaphorical questions are evil, as someone else posted), it is interesting to consider the tree question scientifically, especially in relation to Schrödinger's cat. The discussion involving how tape recorders and the human ear work come pretty close-the claim has been made here that merely by placing a recorder at the scene of the falling tree, the event itself is changed. That's basically the Schrödinger's cat paradox in a nutshell.

[Timmay]

Argh, someone already gave the vibrations answer. I love looking smart saying it when someone asks the question. Although it's more of an answer that relies on a loophole in the question.