"Attention all aircraft, information X-Ray is now current"

[coloradobluesky]

Are you sure? How do you define noise? If there are no ears there is no sound, just vibrations in some medium.

Yes I am sure. Sound, noise (same thing) does not depend on being "heard". To argue otherwise is ludicrous. End of discussion.

 

[roncachamp]

Yes I am sure. Sound, noise (same thing) does not depend on being "heard". To argue otherwise is ludicrous. End of discussion.

Your understanding of the meanings of those words is incorrect.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

Your understanding of the meanings of those words is incorrect.

Can you expand on that statement?

To say that sound requires an ear to hear it to be called "sound" is (to me) the same as saying that light requires an eye to see it for it to be called "light."

Sound and light exist regardless of the physical presence of a receptor. Witness the stars.

 

[roncachamp]

Can you expand on that statement?

I thought I had. Sound is the sensation produced by stimulation of the ear by vibrations transmitted through the air and other media. When a tree falls in the woods vibrations are transmitted through it, the ground, the air, etc., but if there are no ears for these vibrations to stimulate there is no sound.

 

[Clark1961]

but if there are no ears for these vibrations to stimulate there is no sound.

But what if there is a microphone and maybe it's attached to a recording device? Would that complicate the conditions slightly? Oh the uncertainty!

 

[TangoWhiskey]

I thought I had. Sound is the sensation produced by stimulation of the ear by vibrations transmitted through the air and other media. When a tree falls in the woods vibrations are transmitted through it, the ground, the air, etc., but if there are no ears for these vibrations to stimulate there is no sound.

I looked up the definition of Sound, and stand corrected! It does indeed require an animal's ear to receive the mechanical radiant energy that is transmitted by longitudinal pressure waves in a material medium (as air) to be classified as sound.

 

[coloradobluesky]

Your understanding of the meanings of those words is incorrect.

You wouldn't happen to LIKE to argue would you?

 

[yhuubert]

In physics, sound does not need a listener.
In physiology (and psychology), it does.
Was the OP's question regarding physics or physiology? The answer differs for those cases. And might be completely different for philosophy or religion.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

In physics, sound does not need a listener.

In physiology (and psychology), it does.

Was the OP's question regarding physics or physiology? The answer differs for those cases. And might be completely different for philosophy or religion.

When roll call "sound off" is called, I'm going to leave.