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Lauren Poon's picture

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm so glad you posted this! I like your UV example because its something we cannot sense even though it's proven in other ways to be there. Your post got me thinking about the tree in the woods problem.

I am still uneasy with the statement of a tree not making a sound if there is no nervous system around to hear it. 1) There will always be a nervous system somewhere around the tree. If there were none, then we would have to conclude that all organisms with brains no longer inhabit the Earth. 2) When a tree falls, there are sound waves that are carried long distances in the air. It depends on the sensitivity of the nervous system hearing the sound. For example, dogs have extremely sensitive ears and could hear the tree falling from a distance. On the other hand, humans do not and would not hear the falling tree. To the humans, the tree does not make a sound but to dogs it does.

One of the things I've learned from this class is how limited our nervous system. What we perceive is only within our range of understanding. Despite slight differences among humans, we can only sense so much. Now this concept seems obvious but before this class I had trouble putting into words the capacity of our nervous system.

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