If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it...

 
Elai
| Gay Tupac
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Prehistoric
IP: Logged

18,968 posts
male, he/him

dracula can eat my whole ass!
...does it make a sound?

Classic thought experiment.



My gut tells me yes.


 
Ender
| Mythic Inconceivable!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: EnderWolf1013
IP: Logged

10,296 posts
 
Yeah, it falling still causes vibrations


 
cxfhvxgkcf-56:7
| Marty Inconceivable!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: SoporificSlash
IP: Logged

15,656 posts
 
This user has been blacklisted from posting on the forums. Until the blacklist is lifted, all posts made by this user have been hidden and require a Sep7agon® SecondClass Premium Membership to view.
Last Edit: October 05, 2015, 03:48:41 PM by SoporificSlash


Doctor Doom | Mythic Invincible!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Lord Keksworth
IP: Logged

7,368 posts
the one true God is Doctor Doom and we should all be worshiping him.
I would hear it. I hear everything.


 
Elai
| Gay Tupac
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Prehistoric
IP: Logged

18,968 posts
male, he/him

dracula can eat my whole ass!
Yeah, it falling still causes vibrations

Well, not being able to hear it = no tangible effects of its fall, in this context.

Meaning it cannot be observed.
Last Edit: October 05, 2015, 11:38:12 AM by Minuano


Septy | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
more |
XBL: DarkestSeptagon
PSN: Fallfav
Steam:
ID: Septy
IP: Logged

12,027 posts
See you Cowgirl,
Someday, somewhere


 
Verbatim
| Komm, süßer Tod
 
more |
XBL:
PSN: Verbatim-1
Steam: Jaco230
ID: Verbatim
IP: Logged

48,048 posts
❧
Of course it does. Solipsism is stupid.


Mordo | Mythic Invincible!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Madman Mordo
IP: Logged

7,247 posts
emigrate or degenerate. the choice is yours
Sound is just a human sensory input. The stimulus from a tree falling would be entirely different depending on the subject experiencing it.

We can quantifiably gauge sound though, so the effects of a tree falling within the environment are categorically objective. The only subjectivity involved is how we process the effects, i.e. a tree falling for a human would be remarkably different to a tree falling for an insect.


eggsalad | Heroic Unstoppable!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam: eggsalad
ID: eggsalad
IP: Logged

2,495 posts
 
something something justified true belief or something blah blah


PSU | Legendary Invincible!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: PSU
IP: Logged

6,089 posts
 
No it doesn't. The definition of a sound is "vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear."


 
Elai
| Gay Tupac
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Prehistoric
IP: Logged

18,968 posts
male, he/him

dracula can eat my whole ass!
No it doesn't. The definition of a sound is "vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear."

Well, those vibrations can be heard, they just weren't. If someone were there to hear them, they would, obviously, hear them.


Winy | Legendary Invincible!
 
more |
XBL: Phasenectar
PSN:
Steam:
ID: Winy
IP: Logged

3,164 posts
 
I think? I mean I guess you could argue that it's not a "Sound" unless it's heard, but everything that's kind of dumb reasoning.


R o c k e t | Mythic Smash Master
 
more |
XBL: Rocketman287
PSN:
Steam: Rocketman287
ID: Rocketman287
IP: Logged

22,970 posts
I neither fear, nor despise.
I can't believe people still think this is a hard question to answer.


XBL:
PSN: ModernLocust
Steam:
ID: SecondClass
IP: Logged

30,019 posts
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
β€”Judge Aaron Satie
β€”β€”Carmen
No it doesn't. The definition of a sound is "vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear."
This is what I was taught in middle school, but I don't know if it's still accurate.


Mad Max | Mythic Invincible!
 
more |
XBL:
PSN:
Steam: madmax0808
ID: Mad Max
IP: Logged

7,519 posts
 
Yes.


Turkey | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
more |
XBL: Viva Redemption
PSN: HurtfulTurkey
Steam: HurtfulTurkey
ID: HurtfulTurkey
IP: Logged

8,077 posts
 
They create sound waves, but if you go by the definition that sound is a sound wave that is heard by an animal then no, it doesn't.


 
Verbatim
| Komm, süßer Tod
 
more |
XBL:
PSN: Verbatim-1
Steam: Jaco230
ID: Verbatim
IP: Logged

48,048 posts
❧
They create sound waves, but if you go by the definition that sound is a sound wave that is heard by an animal then no, it doesn't.
That seems really silly, doesn't it?... And circular.


XBL:
PSN:
Steam:
ID: TrussingDoor
IP: Logged

7,667 posts
"A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, 'You are mad, you are not like us'."
-Saint Anthony the Great
This user has been blacklisted from posting on the forums. Until the blacklist is lifted, all posts made by this user have been hidden and require a Sep7agon® SecondClass Premium Membership to view.


Turkey | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
more |
XBL: Viva Redemption
PSN: HurtfulTurkey
Steam: HurtfulTurkey
ID: HurtfulTurkey
IP: Logged

8,077 posts
 
They create sound waves, but if you go by the definition that sound is a sound wave that is heard by an animal then no, it doesn't.
That seems really silly, doesn't it?... And circular.

Well yeah, it is silly. It's extremely pedantic and pointless. Of course that tree makes a sound.