Q's for atheists and maybe hardcore agnostics

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

But that is still observation.

True....Feeling is an observation. As is seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting.

And observations from different senses can interconnect or be associated together by the brain.

If you hear a fart then smell it, you'd be able to smell it a second time without hearing it to know someone farted again. And if someone were to fart hard enough on a deaf person so that they feel a schockwave, the deaf person would probably know they just observed something truly epic.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

How about you just put a tape recorder in the forest?

observation

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

True....Feeling is an observation. As is seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting.
And observations from different senses can interconnect or be associated together by the brain.

If you hear a fart then smell it, you'd be able to smell it a second time without hearing it to know someone farted again. And if someone were to fart hard enough on a deaf person so that they feel a schockwave, the deaf person would probably know they just observed something truly epic.

wasn't disagreeing.

It is just a fundamental question of quantum mechanics...do things exist without observation?

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

observation

You do realize hearing is nothing more than an observation dont you? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

wasn't disagreeing.
It is just a fundamental question of quantum mechanics...do things exist without observation?

On what scale? Everything that does exist has been observed somewhere at sometime in my mind. But keep in mind there are also things that can be 'observed' incorrectly. So its a thin line.

 

[Banana Balls 5,000+ posts]

Yes it does. The ears work by simply reacting to the sound waves, sending the signal to the brain via a network of nerves, and the brain interprets signal of reaction/vibration of the eardrum as something audible.
If a person lacks eardrums or they just don't work properly, they can still interpret sound by the sound waves exerted on their skin, if the SPL is high enough.

That still does not create sound.

Don't get caught up in semantics. Sound waves are called sound waves because someone thought that would make sense since the waves are used to produce sound. Just because they are called sound waves doesn't mean they are sound.

 

[Banana Balls 5,000+ posts]

On what scale? Everything that does exist has been observed somewhere at sometime in my mind. But keep in mind there are also things that can be 'observed' incorrectly. So its a thin line.

Incorrect how?

Who's to say that when I look at the color red, I see the same thing you do, and if I don't who is to say which one of us is right?

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

Incorrect how?
Who's to say that when I look at the color red, I see the same thing you do, and if I don't who is to say which one of us is right?

Exactly its not black and white. Which was my point. One's perception is their reality. But reality isnt the same for everyone, they only know their reality.

At one time the earth was flat. It was 'observed' that way. Gravity has always been around but wasnt always understood or called 'gravity' The sun was observed as revolving around the earth.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

It is just a fundamental question of quantum mechanics...do things exist without observation?

That's up to each individual to decide, imo.

As logic would have it, if someone suspects something to exist that they haven't yet observed with one or more of the five senses, they go searching for it. Once it's found, they wait a while, replicate the observation to see if they can observe it with the same senses again. If that's successful, it gets labeled with a name/identifier, properly classified, and then usually some kind of instructions on how to observe/understand it so that others may observe it.

If what is suspected to exist can't be observed with one or more of the five senses and passed on so others can observe it in the same manner, then it's a complete waste of time to go around saying that it does exist, imo.

We may not have observed everything there is to observe in the universe that may impact the way something that has been observed yet, but until those "missing links" are found, I prefer to classify them simply as "unknowns" and not write about them in a book as stories I make up to explain them. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[go_go_thrash 10+ year member]

wasn't disagreeing.
It is just a fundamental question of quantum mechanics...do things exist without observation?

Or is a more poignant question, how do we alter properties during the course of observation?

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I think you are taking observation too literally. What I type on this screen exists because it is observed.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

i studied zen buddhism for a ver little while back in 2001. the thing that gets me is stripping desires. if u want to strip desires, isn't that a desire?

that is why they have no desire to get rid of desire. Or at least they're working towards it. They want to be like the river, and flow continuously without obstructions, complete peace of the mind and body.

wasn't disagreeing.
It is just a fundamental question of quantum mechanics...do things exist without observation?

that's my main question, especially if you bring god into science like foxpro did

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

That still does not create sound.
Don't get caught up in semantics. Sound waves are called sound waves because someone thought that would make sense since the waves are used to produce sound. Just because they are called sound waves doesn't mean they are sound.

This is correct. The existance of ears implies sound. And just because humans cannot hear it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. A dog whistle is a good example.

We don't "hear" sound anyway. We "interpret" the tapping interval of waves hitting our ear drum with our brains. A pleasant sound to me might be a horrible one to you.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Or is a more poignant question, how do we alter properties during the course of observation?

we could figure out the impact of our observations ahead of time, it would seem like we could account for them.

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

I think you are taking observation too literally. What I type on this screen exists because it is observed.

But if I dont observe it and someone else does, than does it still exist?