If a Tree Falls in Forest...Am I only one here who can see how profound a questi

Question:

If a Tree Falls in Forest...Am I only one here who can see how profound a question this is?

Most people misinterpret the question to mean: "How can you tell if you're not there..?" (ie a detective kind of question) and often answer by putting animals or tape recorders in the forest. But that's not the point at all...
The question is really aimed at making people realize that the sensations they experience are actually products of their own mind...So no mind present, means no sensation. In particular, when the tree falls it produces a compression wave in the air, of course...but no sensation of sound is produced (since sensations are produced by minds)..And "compression wave in air" and "sensation of sound" are NOT the same thing.

Additional Details

5 days ago
redunicorn..I think we are basically saying the same thing.Only difference is that, to be more precise, I use a different term for the "compression wave" and for the "sensation of sound" (whereas you use same word for both). I think my choice is preferable..since it makes it more clear that these are actually two entirely distinct things

5 days ago
to opinionated kitten: Could you provide me with some references to Eastern versions of the question..with analysis of the question?
I'd like to look them up.

5 days ago
to ignoramusthegreat and naniannie: I am actually quite convinced at this point that, as I said, sensations are absolutely produced by the mind and have NO other existence apart from the mind that produced (and also therefore experienced) them. I realize how counterintuitive this seems at first..but if you analyze different types of sensations carefully, it becomes (at least to me) more and more obvious. A good example is the sensation of smell..Nerve cells in our nose recognize certain molecules by their shape..They then respond by firing electrical impulses to our brain...and our mind PRODUCES and experiences a sensation of smell..Obviously the molecule itself has no "smell"..it only has a shape..and thats the only thing the nerve cell responds to...can you see what I am trying to say?

5 days ago
to Bradley: My feeling is that this particular question will one day be recognized as having a an actual answer (in something like the scientific sense...although its clear to me that the question trancends science) and that this answer will profoundly change our view of what Reality is (it will be revealed to be far weirder than ever supposed by science).

5 days ago
Jeff: You are correct..EXCEPT what you say about the eardrum is a physical response to a compression wave in the air...The eardrum (and in fact anything in all of science) doesn't respond to "sensations" at all but only to physical things (such as a compression wave in the air, the shape of a molecule etc) The "compression wave in air" causes the "sensation of sound" to be produced in our mind. These two things ("compression wave" and "sensation of sound" are NOT the same thing..That is the KEY (but admittedly subtle and difficult) point! Please try and think about what I am trying to say.

5 days ago
further response to redunicorn: I agree that the mind "interprets" the COMPRESSION WAVE ("interpreting the sound sensation" is a meaningless statement, though)..If you really think carefully about this I think you will recognize that it is precisely this "interpretation" that we refer to when we talk about the "sensation of sound". That is what I mean by a "product of the mind" (call it "interpretation of the mind" if you prefer, but "product" emphasizes that the mind is actually creating something that wasn't there before!)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: 5 days ago
redunicorn..I think we are basically saying the same thing.Only difference is that, to be more precise, I use a different term for the "compression wave" and for the "sensation of sound" (whereas you use same word for both). I think my choice is preferable..since it makes it more clear that these are actually two entirely distinct things