@kennethamy,
Quote:
Even if no one is at the site when the tree falls, the energy has to dissipate, and that dissipation is what we consider sound, vibration, and everything under the sun.
It is our perception of the vibration that gives us what we consider a sound. The vibration alone does not qualify as sound, it is only a vibration.
If we didn't allow for that distinction, then any vibration, inaudible or not, would be a sound.
I try to defend the less intuitive side of this argument only because as a philosophy major, at every damn family holiday some buzzed relative thinks they can make conversation with me by asking this question.
I find the best response is "If a tree falls in the woods, and nobody is there to hear it, should I give a rats ass?"