If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?

I think so.

Smartass 'philosophers' really piss me off. The other night, a tree fell on my car. I wasn't there to see (or hear) it happen - no one was. It still fell on my car. My car is completely fucked. The tree definitely fell. Asshole philosophers...

 

"There was a young man

who said God
Must find it exceedingly odd
If He sees that the tree
Continues to be
When there's no-one about in the quad.

Dear Sir,
Your astonishments odd
I am always about in the quad
So you see that the tree
Will continue to be
For observed by
Yours faithfully,
God."

-Bertrand Russell.

Shame about the car -

 

its pretty hard to think of a definician of "sound" that would require the presence of a human ego to hear it.

the so called question, it seems to me, was about trying to coerce everyone into imagining OUR species was somehow the whole and entire purpose of all of existence, which is just plain utter and absolute nonsense. nothing but collective, baseless ego tripping.

as for cars and trees, well cars and trees happen, the good thing is you weren't in it to get squished in the proccess when it did.

=^^=
.../\...

 

It makes vibrations, but you can't call it a sound, since a sound is something percieved by the human ear.

 

We all know that sounds can be sensed/measured by animals and machines. How, in the twenty-first century, can people be mistaking a zen koan for a statement of empirical fact?

The moral:
I think that the basic history of, and instruction in, philosophy ought to be included in the early school years.

 

oh rly, and who made the human ear god, to be the arbiter of the universe?

the question really is the validity of the colective ego of the human species. and i see no hard compelling evidence for any such validity.

no, sound don't have shit to do with human ears any more then it does with elephant ears or ears of corn.

it is simply a particular frequence range of wave phenominon. the same frequence range that the ears of organic life forms respond to. but it is acoustical radiation, and don't have shit to do with who or what or whether even if anything, hears it.


=^^=
.../\...

 

Ok,

Thanks for your replies...

First, I apologize for the comment about philosophers pissing me off - I was mad about the tree crashing my car.

Anyways, most of the responses don't make much sense to me.

I definitely wasn't trying to co-erce anyone into believing the purpose of existence. I'm not really religious, btw.

I agree with Exposed about the vibrations, but I'm confused about the rebuttals.

I agree that when a tree falls, it makes vibrations. I think eardrums are well equipped to detect those vibrations, regardless of where they came from.

I also think that people are limited to the impulses which they can sense. Touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell.

I don't think people can sense all impulses within the universe.

Let me repose another question altogether:

Let's say dogs evolved and learned how to speak english.
You have a pet dog, - one day he and you start up a conversation.
You say something like "I love it when the sky is blue."

The dog says "WTF is blue?"

You say "The sky is blue."

The dog tilts his head and looks at you, confused.

Although the dog can talk, he still doesn't see color.

Is the dog fucking stupid? No.

The dog doesn't understand your interpretation of blue, because he can't sense it.

My point is this - just because you cannot sense or interpret something, doesn't
mean that it doesn't exist. People are arrogant to think that they can interpret
everything via science. Some things are not measurable.

 

Philosophy is all bullshit its all there to make you think. The megalomaniacs will try to say that whatever your answer is its wrong, aka zen masters. i can answer almost all the zen koans and maybe all if i gave it enough time, their all stupid but i understand the point. There is a rational way to explain the answer and the zen way and i can say both. i would love to meet a zen master cause after i tell him whats up and he strikes me with the cane i will take it from him and strike him back and he will know i am his equal and not fooled by silly jibbidy jabber, aka conditioning or brainwashing. It might not make since to yall but why he strikes you and why you would strike him back is the definition of reality. If he doesnt get it he is not a zen master, but then again you cant strike out of anger but understanding.