If a tree falls in the forest ... ahh, the old conundrum! This cannot be proved. It is a philosophic axiom, not a theorem. You must choose one of three alternatives, and how you choose could be considered an archetypal indicator of the philosophy you hew to: a) yes it does, says Cherri b) no it doesn't, or c) we cannot know. Obviously, some philosophic systems are better than others. Like any set of memes, these will prove "more fit" and propogate, in that most people will prefer one choice over the others, and teach that to their children. Here's a better re-statement of this question, more suited to sailors: If there is a storm on the ocean, and there aren't any boats in the storm, does the wind make that noise? You know that noise, the singing from the stays, the moaning from the sails, the flapping of the leach, the whistling in your ears, the sigh of the waves, the thump of the bow crashing into the waves. As I sit here, I almost don't think I ever experience it as noise or sound at all, but something else, almost like the water and wind having a conversation with my spirit. But that's not quite the right description, either. I guess my answer depends on how transformed I feel while sailing. It's pretty easy to get there in a Montgomery! And just so there's no doubt about how off the wall I feel tonight ... Tolkein wrote in Lord of the Rings, that the High Elves said that the sound of the ocean was the closest sound that corresponded to the songs the gods made when they sung up the vision of the world, and that's why the sound of the ocean is so strangely alluring to us all. After all, we came from the ocean 300 million years ago. And there's that archaelogist woman out there with her theory that 6 or 7 million years ago, we were beach apes, that lived at the margin between the ocean and the forest, and that's why we're hairless compared to the other primates, and we like to swim, etc. And go sailing, of course! Regards, John Fleming M-17: "Star Cross'd" Mark Pavuk wrote:
If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to hear it, it still makes a sound due to the wave patterns set up by the impact. Grammar-challenged or not, I'm sure you have many wonderful character traits, especially if you like Montgomerys. Cherri