bonanova

Nice job. I couldn't resist the temptation to having the baby diaper stop the show, nor imagine how anything could follow it. Specious or inconsistent clue.

Interesting puzzle.

. The premise is that a tree falls in the forest.Whether there was a sound was not stated, it was asked."no one is there to hear" does not suppose there is sound.. Otherwise everyone who walks in a forest and who is not deaf perceives a sound.

Clue 8 appears to be inconsistent with the others.

Yes. This is precisely Alex's position. Without anyone present to verify, you say there is a tree. Without anyone present to witness, you say the tree fell. Without anyone present to hear, I say it made a sound. All statements stand on equal logical and philosophical footing. Nice one!

He's giving the sum, as asked.

Good point. "Older than" would need clarification beyond the OP to rule this answer out. In that sense, it's next to impossible for even twins to be the same age. Ouch!

So no forest is devoid of people. You're on the right track. Can you take it a little farther?

"Can." Agreed. But what about "Did"? Without someone to hear, "did" did not happen. So [1] "no sound," that "can't" be heard, and [2] "sound," which "can be, but wasn't," heard still have not been distinguished.

"We know from past experience" translates to "in the past we have attended events of falling trees, and in each case we heard a sound." The question in the OP could equally ask - in those cases, would a sound have been made if you had not been there?

Hmmm .. bring it on? [first spoiler] But that's the puzzle. Affirmation of the result is not proof: it's circular reasoning. How's that.

Actually, it is that simple.

Good observation. Is the question logically consistent? Can we derive a logically consistent yes or no answer?

Peter Winkler's charming puzzle of the lost boarding pass, recently posted admits to an interesting generalization, which follows. Same setup - 100 seats, 100 passengers. First passenger to board, for whatever reason, sits in a randomly chosen seat. Subsequent passengers take their assigned seats if they are available, else choose other seats, also chosen at random. How well does this process do in placing passengers in their correct seats? We know the answer for the last [100th] passenger to board. What about the others? In general, if we don't know where Bob is in the boarding line, only that he's not the first to board, what is his expectation for getting his assigned seat? Related question: What is the expected number of passengers [out of 100] that will end up in their assigned seats?

Hints: Use code tags. . Or, use courier font [it's monospace] with dots to force spaces, as you did. But then color the dots the lightest available color, so they blend into the background. Like the dot that inserted a blank line between items 1 and 2 in this list. Ctl-A to see it.

Dictionary doesn't support the notion that sound is the perception of something. While it mentions that one can perceive it, it is the it, not the perception, that is the sound. onelook.com for example gives this: Quick definitions from Macmillan sound noun ▸ something that you can hear more... ▸ energy that travels through air or water and that a human ear can hear more... ▸ the music, talking, and other noises that come from a radio, television, movie, etc. more... ▸ the loudness of a radio, television, etc. more... ▸ the particular musical style of a person, band, or place more... ▸ a long narrow area of water that connects two larger areas of water more...

If I'm wrong, its because I had a drink too many. You know, I did kind of wake up with a headache this morning...

Go figure ... ?

It's been a while from our last visit to Mortys. Last night the discussion waxed philosophical. And Alex, the resident guru of all things logical, and who usually loves to hear himself pontificate, was a different person. This time Alex minced no words. He never used many on incompetents. It's OK to insult an incompetent, he often would say, sometimes it's the only way to get rid of them. But when they pose as scholars, they've gone way too far! Jamie and Davey had spotted him on the way in, and Ian was now joining the group at Alex's favorite table, in the far back corner. Wondering what was on his mind this time, they waited patiently, as one would sit quietly at the feet of his master, to learn the lesson of the evening. Well, I'd heard the question posed many a time, he began, but I never thought anyone took it seriously. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear, does it make a sound? But last night I heard these two intellectuals, they called 'em, actually debating the thing! Not sure if that was a signal to speak, they continued to listen. But that was it. Nothing else. So after only a brief pause, Davey ventured, So? Alex raised an eyebrow. So? you say? Well mateys, there is only one answer. And it's so logical and clear I would have thought even you all would have it. And once you understand, it really can't be debated, now, can it? But this time they didn't understand. No one ventured an answer; although Davey, as always, did stroke his beard. What was Alex's answer to this age-old question, and what was his insight, based only on logic, that gives it undebatable certainty?