Quote Originally Posted by afghooey
Actually, until it comes into contact with and is interpreted by an eardrum, it would simply be a vibration, and not technically a sound, right?

Point being, the cause of a sound is irrelevant. The fact that it's heard is what makes it a sound.
you are BOTH getting the Koan wrong!!!

"if a tree falls, and no body is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

it is simply a metaphor of existance...it says that if we dont exist, nothing is able to exist

and this not only applies to us, but everything else

light cannot be without dark, love without hate, et cetera et cetera
if you where never initiated into creation, would there be an existance you are missing out on?

instead...all that you need to know about philosophy, penguin, is this:

philosophy is science applied in all directions, as science is philosophy around one general idea