If A Tree Falls

When a tree falls, it makes sound. To say otherwise is just plain goofy.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Did a tree fall just now?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Yes.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

If a tree falls, who the fuck cares.

 

Apparently a lot of people

http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=58276&highlight=Dumb Question

 

jees, i wonder how many times this came up.

NO, it don't make no sound dude if thar ain't noone there.

 

Sure it does, Leo. It creates sound waves - compressions and ratifications in the air. Just because there is no one around to hear those waves, they are still present. They rustle other leaves, create disturbance on the surface of any water present, can be measured by a seismic device, etc., etc.

Would you say that subsonic and ultrasonic sound doesn't exist just because we can't hear them? Try telling that to OB/GYNs (and other doctors) who order ultrasonic tests.

 

the tree creates the waves,the sound is created in your brain.

 

Then what are sound waves ?
The sound you hear is just a representation of these waves.

 

No, the sound you hear is an interpretation of those sound waves.

A breakdown in any part of the process would affect that interpretation. You may even hear sounds that do not exist, as in auditory hallucinations.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Semantics..
To have a representation of something you first need to interpret it.

Yea, but we are not talking about auditory hallucinations now. Besides, that only shows how the nervous system works.

 

Its not semantics. Do all people hear the same sound in response to the same stimulus?

The fact that you can hear sounds which do not exist means that you can hear a tree fall even if one did not.

 

exactly.
no one denies the tree creates what is called sound waves.
you interpret those waves as sound, that interpretation comes from your brain.

 

It's a personal representation of course. It's not like different representations of the same thing are unheard of in everyday life, they're pretty common..
To represent something you first need to interpret it.

So what ?

 

Then what does 'the speed of sound' mean ? Oh wait.. you call them 'sound waves'

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

The waves are the sound, what you hear is your brains representation or interpretation (who cares) of these sound waves stimulating the hairs in your inner ear.

 

So sounds can be independent of sound waves. ie they are a distinct phenomenon.

When a tree falls in the forest, there is no interpretation if there is no one to interpret.

So, there is no sound.

There are actual differences in hearing

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14669708

 

That is not sound. It's braincells misfiring because of something going wrong in the brain.

Correct.

Wrong. The tree still creates sound waves, doesn't it ?

 

So what ???

 

Assuming that they are firing normally in representing sound. If you hear a landslide, is it a tree falling?

Well you heard it and there is no tree. :shrug:

 

If a blindfolded person in the middle of the woods turns on a flashlight, does it produce light ?