Age Old Questions
Posted: 9 September 2012 Filed under: Mississippi, Observations | Tags: Gulf Coast, Hurricanes, Postaday 2012, Science 6 Comments »Remember in school when you were in science class there were always those questions that the teacher asked knowing the answers but wanted you to think about it before you gave your answer….questions like….should bumble bees be able to fly? The answer to that one is NO….because the physics of flight say that its wings are not big enough for it to carry its weight airborne…..or why do humans have little toes?
But the one that I always liked was……if a tree falls in a forest and there is no one there to hear it does it make a noise? Remember that one?
After pondering this question for decades……I think I now, after all these years, know the answer………It Does Not Make A Noise!
I suppose you would like proof now, right?
The proof is Isaac! I had a 40 or 50 foot Live Oak in my back yard and the winds from Isaac put it on the ground, broke it off about 12 foot up…..and it made NO sound before or after it hit the ground…..the winds were gusting but not enough to hide the sound of a tree breaking off….not even Katrina could cover those sounds……
There you are junior scientists…….an age old question has been answered.
Class dismissed.
Interesting Dr. Chuq. There is a lot of stuff we give form and fancy to that cannot be explained by any two people in the same way. Why shouldn’t the sound of a tree falling be based purely on our interpretation, thus making any sound void if we’re are not there to describe it.
Many people hold that only perception is reality.
Larry, ever watch a show called “Through The Wormhole”?
No, don’t think I have Dr. Chuq.
It is on the Science channel and it covers all sorts of things like…dimensions, wormholes, etc….interesting but only if you call science if not then it is a yawner…LOL
I agree. The answer is No. That’s because the issue really isn’t about sound so much as about hearing. We have five sense gates, six if you cont the mind like the Buddhists do, and hearing is one of the ways we precieve the world around us. If there is no one to hear the tree falling, it makes no noise. Another overly medicated thought
Good question.
Hansi I was there and the tree fell…no sound.