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A sound is a sound is a sound, no?
posted by
vogue
on March 27, 2008 at 11:45 AM
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Of course it makes a sound, UNLESS
you consider a sound something that someone has to have heard and in this case there's no one to hear it!
posted by
Straightforward
on March 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM
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just checking dear...how have you been...haven't heard from you in a while...and i'm glad to hear from you again today dear...hope you're well...
posted by
__Purple_Mermaid11__
on March 15, 2008 at 8:09 PM
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hey good topic
posted by
Samantha39
on March 14, 2008 at 3:24 PM
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Re: EX TURPI
Nautikos:
In my opinion, your reasoning is the most balanced response I have seen so far. It is well thought out and supported. Thanks. I'll wait to see if someone can top that. At least, I hope someone tries.
posted by
EX_TURPI
on March 4, 2008 at 6:22 AM
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EX TURPI
A falling tree causes vibrations, always has and always will. For those some of those vibrations (of a certain range) to be 'heard', some kind of auditory organs have to be present to interpret them as 'sound'. They need not be human; we know that other organisms hear different frequencies. But if there are no such organs, there is no sound.
This morning I read of a landslide or avalanche on Mars. Very interesting. If there had been an instrument (a receiver) present, we could have listened to that event. In its absence, there are vibrations, but no sound.
The Big Bang, the presumed beginning of at least our Universe, some 13.7 billion years ago, was not a 'bang'. It was completely silent...The question'could' it have been heard is meaningless...
posted by
Nautikos
on March 4, 2008 at 5:31 AM
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if a tree falls
Hello, greetings from Africa. Many trees fall here, and we who are not even close, can hear their anguished cries.
posted by
123hayley
on March 3, 2008 at 10:19 PM
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if a tree falls
Hello, greetings from Africa. Many trees fall here, and we who are not even close, can hear their anguished cries.
posted by
123hayley
on March 3, 2008 at 10:19 PM
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very nice
posted by
star4sky5
on March 3, 2008 at 8:02 AM
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I am pleased at the discussion that has resulted from this question. Indeed, it shows how disparate, yet logical, our views are. It makes each of us think about our conclusions and appreciate a little more another's point of view. It forces us to sharpen our intellectual pursuits. I hope the discussion continues. Thanks to each of you who has responded.
posted by
EX_TURPI
on March 3, 2008 at 5:57 AM
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Even when we aren't there to hear it...
...the local wildlife is. If we weren't there when it fell, how do we know that it
fell. It could have always been on it's side.
posted by
metalrat
on March 2, 2008 at 8:54 PM
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I too have thought about this question...
I
believe sound to be an illusion of the senses. Something can only have sound if there is a sound-sensitive creature to hear it. Now, considering that there is almost always some type of sound-sensitive creature around, then there is always sound. However, for the purpose of theory, if there were no sound-sensitive creatures anywhere at any time, then I don't think sound could exist as we understand it.
posted by
Rhetor
on February 29, 2008 at 5:27 PM
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EX_TURPI my dear..........
i dont surely know what i'm up against with here love...(hmmnn may i be excused if i'm wrong?pleaassee?
) let me try...literaly, i'd say if it's a tree to fall whether or not there's someone there i'd like to think it sure is bound to make a sound love...at least for the birds and creatures over there to hear...a little psychoanalysis might say; "what we dont know won't hurt us" would i say be appropriate here somewhere...if anyone made or did something really wrong but been very discrete about it no one will know or the supposed 'recipient' wouldn't know/hear about, then it wouldnt hurt no one... but just like the tree dear..even if we think there's no one to see, someone is sure bound to something about it...sooner or later...like the tree is bound to be found...on the ground. i dont know.....i tried dear....sorry if i dont make sense...or this is silly of me
posted by
__Purple_Mermaid11__
on February 29, 2008 at 5:13 AM
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Is this a trick question? (LOL) um...I'm probably a more literal person and so I would ask back: now how would I know this, if I'm not there to hear? (but my creative mind speaks and believes, well I imagine it does...) Thanks for making me stop and think ~
Elyse
posted by
elysianfields
on February 28, 2008 at 4:56 PM
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Well the way I see it, whether someone is there to hear it or not
I would imagine a tree falling cannot do so in silence; thank you
posted by
mariaki
on February 28, 2008 at 4:14 AM
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Webster's on line - check out # 3.
Thought this might be a fun bit to share:
Noun
1. The particular auditory effect produced by a given cause; "the sound of rain on the roof"; "the beautiful sound of music".
2. The subjective sensation of hearing something; "he strained to hear the faint sounds".
3. Mechanical vibrations transmitted by an elastic medium; "falling trees make a sound in the forest even when no one is there to hear them".
4. The sudden occurrence of an audible event; "the sound awakened them".
5. The audible part of a transmitted signal; "they always raise the audio for commercials".
6. (linguistics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language.
posted by
majesticvisions
on February 28, 2008 at 1:16 AM
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EX_TURPI
The word "sound" has many meanings, so it depends on exactly what is in your mind as you ask for opinions. If you are speaking of "the distance over which something can be heard" or "the sensation stimulated in the organs of hearing by vibrations in the air", then the answer is the falling tree does not make a sound. But, if you are referring to the basic meaning of the word "sound"--"vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid, a liquid or a gas capable of being detected by human organs of hearing", definitely the falling tree makes a noise. The words "capable of" make all the difference in the argument.
posted by
TAPS.
on February 27, 2008 at 2:24 PM
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EX
A sound is a sound whether one is there to hear it or not. The only reason we know that a tree falling makes a sound is because someone has heard a tree fall. So trees have been falling with sound without man hearing it for a very long time
posted by
SEEDLINGS
on February 27, 2008 at 1:59 PM
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Re:
Sam: Thanks. I would really like to discuss the definition of sound. Is sound not there unless someone hears, or is sound inherently sound?
posted by
EX_TURPI
on February 27, 2008 at 1:42 PM
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I think it could sound like a thundering herd of buffalo charging across the plains in the frozen winds of November. Aw, what the heck, it actually got hung up! lol sam
posted by
sam444
on February 27, 2008 at 1:22 PM
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