The world's most mind boggling question. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around does it make a noise

Question

Back up your answer. Tell me why. Include if you believe in God or not. Age and gender too, it is a study for my psychiatry class.

Answer 1

If a spouse cheats on their mate and the mate is not around - did that spouse make a noise or better yet - did it really happen?

Does the use of a shot gun jealous fit - prove it happen?

If you come home and find that your house burnt down did it make some noise as it caved in?

Does no one being around to have seen the fire, mean there was no fire or that it did not happen?

There is nothing mind boggling about your question other than if you really believe that it is mind boggling.

Mind boggling is this - go out in the middle of no where at night - outside city limits where there is no light, so you can see as many stars as possible.

Then stare at them...and think - if there was nothing - where did it come from or when did it start? (Don't cop out using God as an excuse...He is not going to be upset if you ponder that...He will be upset if every damn time you are faced with a challenge you use Him as a excuse. Get some balls and ponder that. <---in reference only to those who cop out and say, but Jesus Blah, Blah, Blah as the answer or response. Hi Ho ridem cowboy I am all for religion, but not ignorance.)

Answer 2

Now this is a very interesting question. The obvious is yes, of course it does. A tree falls and whether anyone is around or not, it is a piece of matter with great mass crashing into the ground. When it hits the ground it has to release all that energy. That releases effect is a shift in the ground where it hit and the sound we hear, which depends on what it fell on.

Now by "around", I assume you mean within eyesight because whether we can hear it is undefined already so we only have vision to go on here.

I am laying down in a meadow with my eyes closed and then suddenly hear the noise of something crashing. I open my eyes and walk in the direction where the sound came from. I see a tree fallen over the path I just walked on to get to the meadow I was at. Does that mean the answer to your question is yes? Or we still don't know for sure.

I believe in a higher power that created this world. I do not believe in Jesus or the Christian God though. I am a 21 year old male.

Answer 3

Ok....Yes I believe in God. I'm a 16 year old male. Now I think one of the determining factors would be the definition of noise. Noise is merely a sound of any kind. The dictionary says nothing about being there to hear it or not. Your presence when the tree falls does not make the tree make a noise. You have absolutely nothing to do with the sound the falling tree makes. Therefore whether you are there or not has nothing to do with whether the tree makes nosie when it falls.The tree and nature make the noise on their own. Another example is snoring. If you snore you yourself can't hear it, because you are asleep, but does that mean you are NOT snoring.? I should think not!
P.S What if a tape recorder is there when it falls, and the noise of the falling tree is recorded. What would happen then? No one is actually there to hear the tree fall...

Answer 4

Honestly, I don't understand which part of the question is so mind-boggling... Being around when the tree falls is irrelevant to its making any noise or not. Sound doesn't need the existence of a consciousness close to its source in order to be produced. What's the point of making such kind of "philosophical" questions anyway? I understand that you need our answers for your study, but frankly we all know that the tree falling does make noise even if we are trying to play it philosophical and say that we can never be sure because we aren't there to witness the event. Correct me if I am wrong, but where is the love for wisdom in this futile searching?

Answer 5

Yes, it makes a noise. A noise is the generation of sound waves caused by the movement and/or collision of material(s). Whether a person is there to perceive it or not, there is sound generated.

If by asking whether we believe in God you're addressing the theory that there is always a noise because even if no person hears the noise, God "hears" it, then for clarification that is not why I think there is a noise. I do not believe in God strictly according to the definition that Western religious traditions offer. I believe that there is a noise because very often tested and re-verified physics tells us that when things crash together, they make noise.

Age 23, female.

Answer 6

male 17...

The tree will make noise. But no one will be present to hear that noise. If an old man who lives in a house in the forest pass away...and no one knows of his death. Is he really dead? I think yea, but the rest of the world may not be aware of it. Will his body not rot because no one knows of it...nope...he will still rot and stink. So if a tree falls and no one hears it, that does not change the fact, it fell and sound was released.


To test this hypothesis..you can get you some video camera's that have sound..leave it in the forest and wait patiently for a tree to fall (while in a distant place)..come back and plug the camera tape it, and see if any sound was given off.

Answer 7

well, it depends on your perspective

do you belive that anything that happens, happens, or that it must be observed to have happened. if you belive that whatever happens happens no matter what, then the natural consequence of a tree falling is for it to make a noise. if you think that nothing can happen without being observed, then the tree could not possibly make a sound because no one was around to hear it.

however, i really belive that the basis of this question is
is humanity important enough for things to happen just for it, and if humanity cannot witness it then there is no point for it to happen?

now, this pokes into religion and if you belive that Man is a godly creation than Man is certainly important, however, if you are atheist or another religion, you may belive that Man is just another life form and people are no more important than, say, rabbits.

Answer 8

won't help. without unsleeping observer around, there will be no noise to set off the existence Alert. So, you extra useful equip all lonely wood with a cat to function like Schrodinger's cat. I have not got any theory what i'm taking approximately. My concepts is fried, and a good number of of quantum physicists are petitioning to have me dedicated.

Answer 9

Some people are so low in awareness that they are only aware of what they see. Others are aware of much more. Not only of the noise trees make when they fall when no one is around but many other things. Poor is the fellow that can only see with his eyes.
Male 38 Scientologist, of course I believe in God.

Answer 10

Age: 17
Gender: Male
God: Definitely not.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, by scientific standards it would still make sound. However, if no one is around to hear it then realistically does not make noise at all. If no one is capable of hearing the sound then it does not exist in any being's perception, and does therefor not exist.