If a tree in a wood falls to the floor and nobodies there does it make a noise?

Answer 1

How many times are people going to ask this question?

Answer 2

I'm not sure it is worth answering this, except as an exercise.

This is a commonly used logic question (although poorly phrased since woods don't have floors (I'll assume you mean "ground") and I'm not sure what "nobodies" are (I'll assume you mean no people are present (or no people with intact hearing?).

It is, by the way similar to "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". (The answer by the way is clearly the egg (since the mother was not a chicken) ... unless you don't believe in evolution (I'm not sure what a creationist would conclude ... not that it matters since they are not logical by defintion.

Your question is usually asked as does it make a sound (not noise), but it doesn't matter because noise is defined (in this context) as sound of any kind.

Sound on the other hand is defined (in part, see link) as:
1. 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.

The question (as asked) can considered in the context all three definitions.

Regarding defintion a) the answer must be yes since based on empirical evidence from trees falling when people are present there would be vibration capable of being heard.

In the more general case of definition b) the answer is clearly yes because definition a was already satisfied (It is possible that definition b could be met but not a).

In regards definition c) the answer is only possibly no, since "nobodies" [Sic] are present -- and therefore no human "organs of hearing" are present. It is "possibly" - rather than definitely - no, since it is highly likely (although unknown) that some animal or insect is present with "organs of hearing" capable of noting the sound.

One can conclude, since the various definitions quoted do not require more than one condition to be met, that since the answer to a) and b) is "yes" there is a sound (and therefore a "noise").

Answer 3

Depends on how you look at it.

Yes, it makes sounds waves. The way we hear (and record) is the diaphram in our ears (ear drums). They vibrate when somebody talks, or something makes noise, it reverberates the air.

For example, the old string between two cans. This childhood toy is a good example of how sound waves work. you speak into the can in a whisper, and the sound travels through the string to the other can... since sound waves travel more easily through solid objects than through air (since the molecules are closer together the waves have less space to travel to vibrate the neighboring molecule).

So, Yes. the tree would make a noise.... or more accurately, the tree would make sound waves.

Answer 4

a bit of a dumb question anybody with some sense knows if a tree falls to THE GROUND it must make a noise whether someone is there or not. Would you not make a noise if you fell to the ground?.ofcourse you would, probably screem.

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

it makes the same noise as one hand clapping at least that's what bart Simpson said

Answer 7

That question is as useless as a bull with titts.

Answer 8

Yes I recorded it once!

Answer 9

How do you know one fell if you werent there?Get a life.

Answer 10

THis is similar to the Scrödingers cat experiment that boffins use to discuss quantum mechanics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger's_cat

Basically its an irrelavent question.

(But can I have the 10 points anyway please?)