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Tuesday, July 7

21-7 Weekly Poll:

If a tree falls down in the woods and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound?

100% of you voted yes.
It seems like a no brainer, a huge tree falls, of course it makes a sound, right? Well it's really not that simple. We did some research and we've learned that the real answer to this question depends on the definition of sound. Here are some different views,

No: Sound is a subjective interaction with matter. All that sound is, is vibrations through a medium, without humans to perceive it, those vibrations that we call sound, when the tree fell, would only make vibrations, but "sound" as we know it, couldn't exist, since no conscious being was there to interpret those vibrations.

Yes: Sound is mechanical energy. And sound will be created when the tree falls. If no one is there to hear it, that does not negate the fact that the sound was created and radiates out from where the tree fell.

No: According to Merriam-Webster, sound is the sensation perceived by the sense of hearing. So that means that vibrating air is just that, mechanical vibrations of air molecules. When those vibrations are perceived by the sense of hearing, then they become a sensation; the sensation of sound. That is why we have an auditory cortex in the neocortex of the brain that interprets those vibrations as a tree falling, a bird singing, or the wind whistling through the leaves.

Yes: No matter what, whether heard or not, the tree would make a sound. This conclusion would make sense due to the fact that if a tree falls in the forest, and someone IS around to hear it, it WOULD make a sound! The "someone" does not have to be there.

After reading all this, I'm more confused then when I first posted the poll. I thought, duh of course it does. But the vibrations definition makes a whole lot of sense. However, I believe that it does make a sound. If you think about sound as a perception, then no it doesn't make one, but sound is more than perception if you ask me. That vibration creates a sound/noise weather someone hears it or not. update: I think I've changed my mind. Sound really is the effect of the vibration on the person. So if there is no person there, then there is no sound. Sound is what you hear. Key word being you.

more thoughts here

peep the new poll

1 comment:

A-LI$T said...

who knows, it depends on your outlook on life really.

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