the ultimate question

[rocklobster]

OK, time for the question of the ages: If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound? I say yes.

[mechana2015]

Basic laws of physics say yes, unless this isn't earth we're talking about.

[Peanut]

If a Peanut posts in a thread and no one bothers to read it, did he type any words?

[Sparx00]

A better question would be, if Jimmy cracked corn and nobody cares, then why is there a song about him???

To answer the question I'd say... Almost.

[Rusty Claymore]

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound? Duh. XD
But before that question: If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, did it actually fall? Hmm?
Also, God heard it. God also told it to make a sound when it falls. XP

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

If a tree falls on a mime in a forest, does anyone care?

[Okami]

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

To OP's question, yes, I think so. xD

[Mr. SmartyPants]

The answer, according to science, is actually no, because sound only exists if there is someone to hear it. Sound is wave vibration that is perceived by the ear and then read by the brain as sound. If there is no ear (and brain), there is no sound.

[Warrior4Christ]

because sound only exists if there is someone to hear it.

According to what science? Quantum physics?
Standard mechanics says a tree is a large mass, which is falling against a large uncushioned mass (the ground), which will cause movement in the air particles, which is sound.

[Nate]

Standard mechanics says a tree is a large mass, which is falling against a large uncushioned mass (the ground), which will cause movement in the air particles, which is sound.

WRONG. Sound is those vibrations stimulating the eardrum. Without an eardrum, it's just vibration, NOT sound. It can't be a sound unless someone hears it. :p

[Yamamaya]

There is no tree. There is the Force.

[Dante]

If a Cat dies in a box from poison gas released by determining the spin of an electron, (with the poison released if the electron is spin up, and not released if it is spin down). But no one opens the box to see if he's dead, is he really dead?

[Midori]

I think most people including me think of air vibrations as sound, not ear vibrations.

[Lynna]

If I blow a super-pitch whistle that no one can hear and there are no dogs cats or birds to hear it, does it make a noise?

[Nate]

I think most people including me think of air vibrations as sound, not ear vibrations.

But then we have the problem Lynna just said, such as dog whistles that are too high-pitched for human ears to hear. They produce air vibrations, but we don't hear them, yes? So does that qualify as a sound if we can't hear it? :p

[Dante]

I think most people including me think of air vibrations as sound, not ear vibrations.

Well... you're both right. We don't call it "the speed of sound" for nothing but... What we "see" isn't really "light", it's an impression our brains create of light, the same with sound. At face value, those experiences don't exist, they only exist because that is the experience our brains give us since we are born. It's no small wonder that we think the images in front of us are "real" as well as the sounds we perceive, but that's just a simplified end user response that our brains give us. It's not "real", the color blue is just one electromagnetic vibration while red is another, actual [color="Red"]this [/color]doesn't actually exist in nature, that's just an experience of the mind in translating electromagnetic vibrations into experience.

But of course, if we wish to define these words by the root of their causes, then we equate our language so that color = light frequency and sound is a vibration in a molecule. In this context, we're not talking about the experiences themselves, but the origins of the experience, which are the real things.

So it all depends upon the context of your language as English just doesn't take a stand.

[Midori]

But then we have the problem Lynna just said, such as dog whistles that are too high-pitched for human ears to hear. They produce air vibrations, but we don't hear them, yes? So does that qualify as a sound if we can't hear it? :p

According to my system yes.

Basically, every sense we have is a measurement of some property of the universe around us. Sight measures light, color measures absorption, touch measures pressure, temperature, etc. And hearing measures vibrations. I call the vibrations sound, but whether you call the hearing or the vibrations sound doesn't change physical reality.

EDIT: Also, what I said "I think most people..." is a famous weasel-phrase. Don't always trust people who say it. :]

[mechana2015]

If air vibrations we can't hear aren't sound, then IR and UV aren't light either, since we can't perceive them.

[MxCake]

God hears it so i said yes muhahahahaha!

[Sparx00]

If a tree falls on a mime in a forest, does anyone care?

If a mime stubs his toe and nobody is around to hear him scream his head off, is he still a mime?

[Tsukuyomi]

Yes. Just becasue no one is there to hear it, doesn't mean it doesn't make a noise ^^ Just as, just because no one was there to witness something happen doesn't mean it didn't happen ^^ Was that what you were getting at? Or, the secret message behind the question ^^?

[Warrior4Christ]

According to my system yes.

Basically, every sense we have is a measurement of some property of the universe around us. Sight measures light, color measures absorption, touch measures pressure, temperature, etc. And hearing measures vibrations. I call the vibrations sound, but whether you call the hearing or the vibrations sound doesn't change physical reality.

EDIT: Also, what I said "I think most people..." is a famous weasel-phrase. Don't always trust people who say it. :]

Exactly.
And "sound" to humans would be defined as vibrations in the range 20-20,000Hz -ish, and a tree falling would create a range of vibrations, some of which are surely in that range.

[Shao Feng-Li]

The little woodland animals it nearly crushed heard it fall.

[Htom Sirveaux]

I think the purpose of the original question has by now been utterly defeated.

The classic "tree falling in the forest" question, like the famous "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", is intended to instill a zen-like state of wonder. Critically examining the question from every possible angle and analyzing the living heck out of it creates the exact opposite effect, distracting the mind by cluttering it with a million questions at once.

But if you must have an answer, how's this:

It doesn't matter.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I think the purpose of the original question has by now been utterly defeated.

The classic "tree falling in the forest" question, like the famous "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", is intended to instill a zen-like state of wonder. Critically examining the question from every possible angle and analyzing the living heck out of it creates the exact opposite effect, distracting the mind by cluttering it with a million questions at once.

But if you must have an answer, how's this:

It doesn't matter.

I have a friend who can make a clapping sound with just one hand.

[Lynna]

I have a friend who can make a clapping sound with just one hand.

I'ts called "snapping your fingures" all though other people I know have their own answers to this question, even if I don't relly understand them

[rocklobster]

If a Cat dies in a box from poison gas released by determining the spin of an electron, (with the poison released if the electron is spin up, and not released if it is spin down). But no one opens the box to see if he's dead, is he really dead?

Did you have to bring Schrodinger's Cat into the mix, Pascal?

[blkmage]

If S is the set of sets that do not contain themselves, is S a member of S?

[Nate]

What happens if Pinocchio says "My nose will grow"?

[Rusty Claymore]

A cretian tells the truth.