If a tree falls ...

[Willow Oak]

... in a forest and there is no one there to see it fall, does it really fall?



__________________

[Karen]

Ayup! And even if no one is there to hear it, the sound still exists in wave form, and the tree still ends up on the ground!

Of course, given the nature of forests, there's likely somebody - even if it just a bug - living in the tree, so it would feel, hear and see the tree falling!

[Willow Oak]

There was a young man who said "God
Must find it exceedingly odd
To think that the tree
Should continue to be
When there's no one about in the quad."
"Dear Sir: Your astonishment's odd;
I am always about in the quad.
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be
Since observed by, Yours faithfully, God."
--anon

[aTailOf2Kitties]

how do you know it fell unless someone saw it on the ground?

[Willow Oak]

how do you know it fell unless someone saw it on the ground?

Does not knowing that it fell imply that it did not fall?

My error: Not seeing only implies not knowing.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

so, do trees fall just to get attention, since they don't seem to fall when nobody's around? LOL. A single tree in a forest of lookalikes has to do something to stand out from the crowd...like fall down. "Hey, lookit me, I'm the one fallin'!" It's arborial slapstick, I tells ya!

or it could be suicide for depressed trees, gotta go out with a bang ya know?

[Willow Oak]

By the way, I live in the country on 16 acres, 3/4 or which is covered in trees. I use my fireplace often during the winter, and I cut my own firewood from my own trees. I never cut down a live tree -- I harvest dead and fallen trees.

But last summer I noticed a very large oak -- perhaps 125 years old -- that was dead. I live by myself and cut wood by myself, and although I am leery of cutting down a large tree by myself, I sure did want that tree. It was very big and would provide nearly a whole winter's worth of firewood by itself.

All summer I coveted that tree. I would stalk the tree and measure the tree and survey the surroundings. My mind was made up: I was going to cut down that tree even if it killed me. So one day early this past fall I gathered my tree-cutting implements and went into the woods. When I arrived to where the tree was, what is this I see? The tree had fallen in the meantime and was lying on its side!

What a boon! And what a lot of warm winter nights I enjoyed at the largess of such a monstrous prize!

But ..., since I wasn't there when it happened, did the tree actually fall?

[happylabs]

... in a forest and there is no one there to see it fall, does it really fall?



__________________

I don't think so. If there is no one there to prove it, how do we know someone didn't just put it there?

[Randi]

What a boon! And what a lot of warm winter nights I enjoyed at the largess of such a monstrous prize!

And what nice smells it must have been in your house!

A week or so ago, I woke to the sound of a chainsaw and when I looked out of my window, I saw to my horror that some men were cutting one of twelve trees outside our windows. A few hours later, I noticed two persons going around knocking on the remaining trees.

I have now been told that the tree I saw them work on, had fallen on top of a car during the night - we had a storm, so that caused it to fall.

[Catty1]

If a man speaks in the forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

[happylabs]

If a man speaks in the forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

No brainer...of course!

[pomtzu]

But ..., since I wasn't there when it happened, did the tree actually fall?

Probably - since I don't think they can just lay down at will.

[Willow Oak]

Yesterday I mowed a couple of the 16 acres that surround Willow Oak. The rest of the acreage is, except for the 2-acre pond, all, or mostly all, trees. The yard requires a lot of attention, but there is no time to succour its needs. Saturday was a gorgeous day, and springtime at Willow Oak comes alive with dogwood blooms and blackberry vines. Sycamore trees tower over the redbuds underneath, inter-laced here and there with stately cedar and black gum. Century-plus old tulip poplar hover nearby, rubbing elboes with white oak and loblolly pine.

In the early morning the dogs took their turn running around the yard, chasing and being chased; the cats lay around snoozing and being lazy. In the afternoon the dogs joined the cats, spread about on the cool green lawn underneath the massive Willow Oak trees in front of the house.

As I was riding the mower I saw a large tortoise. I nearly ran him over but manage to swerve in time to miss him. I circled around a few times, looking out for the turtle at each turn, but eventually lost contact with him. Hopefully, he found a quiet, cool place to hide out for the duration of the day.

I rode the mower, doing as I often do, allowing my thoughts to wander about, exploring the various rooms of my mind. Among those thoughts were: "If a tree falls ..."

[pomtzu]

If a man speaks in the forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Of course. If there was no one around in the first place, why would he even be silly enough to bother, unless of course, he just likes to hear himself talk.

[Willow Oak]

If a man speaks in the forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Probably. But with no woman around to tell him he would not know it.

Ah! Ignorance is bliss!