A tree falls in a forest and makes a sound? What tree?

This has probably been posted before but wanted to hear some of your guys opinions.

If a tree falls in a forest and there is not a single person around does it really make a sound?

To me I think that of course it makes a sound but I am still pretty unsure.

Does the tree make vibrations since ears are needed for sound?

If noone is around then is there really a tree?

Post your thoughts and opinions.

(If this topic is not aloud for any reason etc. Delete it or pm me and ill delete/lock it, thank you)

 

Sure, I mean animals hear it and such, sound waves can carry and you can even track them if you wanted to. If you put a cell phone next to a tree, go 50 miles away, and it falls down, you will hear it...I always considered to be this to be a dumb question.

 

Yea this question is kind of like a riddle in a way.

Obiously if you put a object that records sound next to the fallen tree you could in deed hear it. But if not a thing is around then nothing is there to hear the sound.

So if no one is there then I guess there's no tree<--don't believe this

 

So the question is more like, if something happens that can't be proved to have happened, did it actually happen? Most theists will say yes

 

Heh yea pretty much.

 

If no ones around to hear the sound, It still makes a sound.. this is kinda stupid thread..

 

Sound waves are produced, during the impact of the tree whilst hitting the ground.

 

Sound are just waves in the air, moving at a certain frequency. It doesn't matter if somebody is around, those waves will always be there if a tree falls.

I think this is a stupid question in general.

 

Yes, there are animals in the forest. Even if there were no organisms around to hear it, it would still make a sound just no one would witness it.

 

yea it makes a sound, just cuz you dont hear it doesnt mean its not there... its like saying just cuz i dont see Try and run, he doesnt exist.

 

oak tree?? Pine tree?

 

a. Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.
b. Transmitted vibrations of any frequency.
c. The sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by such vibrations in the air or other medium.
d. Such sensations considered as a group.

Example: Tree falls over, sound as we know it is created, yet there are no human organs of hearing around to hear it, which technically means it is not sound.

You could say yes/no, there's two strong arguments.

 

agreeed. if makes a sound just no one hears to because NOBODY IS THERE !

 

That makes no sense whatsoever, sound doesn't occur only when ears can hear it, they do not rely on ears, they simply just make sound. Of course a tree makes sound, just because no one is around to hear it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 

yeah!!! just cuz u dont hear it dont make it so it dont make sound!!!!!! just cuz i talk rite here and u cant here me doesnt mean i dont make sound!

 

Alright, what if somebody turned on a stereo in the middle of a forest and walked away. There is nobody else around to hear it. Does the radio stops making a sound? NO!

You don't need ears for sound, your ears only capture sound and sends it to your brain.

Those vibrations are also called sound, or soundwaves.

 

ITS A METAPHOR. this is a philosophical riddle.

This is based on George Berkeley's theory that states objects cease to exist once there was nobody around to perceive them.

"The answer to this riddle can either be "yes" or "no," due to the varying nature of the question. Hypothetically speaking, sound is always in existence, even if we cannot hear it. So anything said to create vibrations has sound, so the fallen tree would make a sound.

However, critics could argue that sound is perceived only when the beholder knows what the sound is, so the answer could also theoretically be no.

It all depends on the way you view a concept."

Edit: Im suprised NO one has actually heard of this before...

 

It's much like the question "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" It all very much depends on your way of thinking. I think that the tree makes a sound you just can't hear it. Also on the note of "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" I believe that the chicken came first.

My support of the tree making a sound is,
The tree will still make vibrations that will travel through the air, ground, and surrounding mediums, thus creating acoustic vibrations in the air, making, you guessed it a sound. Just because you can't hear it does not mean it doesn't happen. Think of it this way, if a deaf man screams in the forest and no one is around to hear him (keep in mind he himself cannot hear), does he make a sound? Why of course he does. Just think of a tree as a screaming deaf man.

My support of the chicken coming first,
I myself believe that their is no God, and I believe the Bible to be a best selling fiction book =). So in that case I believe that all the creatures of the Earth are a product of evolution from bacteria that were on earth, I therefore believe that a chicken (one of those creatures of Earth I was talking about) came around through evolution and laid eggs. Think of it this way, how did mammals come around? No eggs are laid in that process, the mammal just came.

I hope that this is more than sufficient evidence to answer your questions, and I apologies for going off topic with the "Chicken or the egg" bit.

 

I think I about summed up this argument, am I wrong?