A tree falls in the forest ,does it make a sound if no one hears it ?  

heheheh...I've always loved questions like these. My interpretation is this. ALL senses are mere interpretations of the brain. Touch, taste, sight, smell and sound are all captured from the external world, converted into bio-electrical signals and then interpreted by your individual brain. Therefore, I personally say "no"...if there is no ear to capture and convert the external stimuli to electrical impulses, and a brain to interpret it, then for all intents and purposes, there is no "sound". I have an interesting video posted on my blog which somewhat goes into this. Though it's spiritually oriented, I think it fits (http://tinyurl.com/6w7by7) Check it out and tell me what you think ;-). Good luck and don't get too stressed over these philosophical questions...at the end of the day, do they really matter?

RM Gray
http://www.GrowThyself.org

Don't get a headache, the point is it does make a noise.it is that no one is around to hear it. Bombs are going off all over the world and just because I don't hear it from where I am .does not mean to say it did not happen.If you see what I mean,now I am getting a headache.

It means that if no one is there to hear the sound that the tree makes, then it does not make a sound. This is how I have always thought of this quote.

Interesting..In reality it makes a sound but no one is there to hear it. When no one is there to hear it does it make it not real... Hmm... Things happen outside your senses boundaries but you can not deny the fact that they do happen. Like hunger, death, war, love.

It makes a sound. When the tree falls, a part of a habitat is lost, the cycle of life is broken, it make then turn into furniture. While you may not be there to hear it the consequences are witnessed and to this extent the falling affects everyone to a degree. Whilst physically it cannot be heard due to distance from the actual falling, the global effects affect everyone personally. I.e poverty, war, death, abuse, littering, making a wrong decision.

this question can be cracked by philosophical reasoning...lets take a simple example ..i have never gone to USA but i believe that it exists, i have never been bitten by a cobra but i believe that the experience would be very painful..so the things that we know are the things that we believe ...it is a thought supporting another thought...when a thought doesnt have a supporting thought or a evidence our mind rejects it ..and it rarely happens...beacuse mind has the tendency to interlink thoughts so that we believe in what we see,hear,feel etc..so going by this logic the tree falling and making a sound is our believe and nothing else ..and beliefs are never true...:-)

Perhaps it does not make a sound if no one hears it...

Because a sound is basically made up two components:
- a field of space and time-variant compression and expansion of air ....
- and an audible perception from someone etc...

Perhaps the second requirement is not meant...
Perhaps there is no sound... unless perhaps "sound" is defined differently

In which case, will someone please enlightened me :) Cheers

I've often wondered about that statement. We all know that it's true. It does make a sound. Logical thinking says that it does. It's like saying if you have a radio on in the house and you're outside, does it still run. Well of course it does.