Lee Nixon
badgermcbadgerface.bsky.social
Lee Nixon
@badgermcbadgerface.bsky.social
Socialist, Artist, Writer, Birder, Astronomer, Cloud watcher, Dog walker, cat and doglover. No unsolicited DMs.
Reposted by Lee Nixon
…speaking of the speed of light, also watch this: vimeo.com/117815404/de...
Riding Light
In our terrestrial view of things, the speed of light seems incredibly fast. But as soon as you view it against the vast distances of the universe, it's unfortunately…
vimeo.com
January 21, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Stop wasting my time with your childish nonsense.
January 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I specifically defined sound as that which is heard. That is not the only definition, but it is a perfectly acceptable one and not at all contentious. You are losing yourself in semantics and your determination to resist that as a viable definition is nonsensical and bordering on trolling.
January 6, 2025 at 9:02 PM
And I used it for a reason, because it is the nature of the interface between what is outside our heads and what is inside that is the point of interest I have been discussing here.
January 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Nothing in that contradicts my post and comments. I clearly defined "sound" as that which we hear, not as the vibrations that give rise to it. If you and others wish to define sound as the vibrations themselves, that's perfectly fine, but I made it clear that it is the proximal definition I used.
January 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Electromagnetic radiation and vibrations are simply data. Without hardware and software to interpret them, they remain invisible and inaudible. That is basic physics and biology. But I can see that you don't get it, so I won't waste any more time on trying to enlighten you (pun intended).
January 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
No, it's the fact that they are true that makes them true. If the universe were devoid of life, it would be dark and silent, but full of vibrations and electromagnetic radiation. We make things visible in the same way that a telescope makes the infra red observable.
January 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Just as we can ignore, on a day to day basis, the fact that light and colour is an internal construct built from invisible electromagnetism. You can ignore it and get on with the business of using it, but that doesn't stop it being the basic fact behind it.
January 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
If you are a philosopher of perception, I'm surprised you are unaware that sound is an internal artefact and the rest is an illusion. The fact that it is so good effective means it can be ignored in favour of the convenient shorthand you use. But that is clearly not the point of this post.
January 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The vibrating guitar string doesn't create a sound. It creates a vibration in the air, and the amplifier creates a more significant vibration in the air. Neither makes a sound. Our ear-brain combo converts the vibration at our ear drum into something that our brain electrically turns into sound.
January 6, 2025 at 1:03 PM
I fundamentally disagree. Sound does not exist until it is heard. An amplifier received signals from a vibrating guitar string and produces a more powerful, representative vibration of the air at the speaker interface. It is not sound until an ear-brain system interprets it as such
January 6, 2025 at 11:45 AM
It isn't a sound event. It's a vibration event.
January 6, 2025 at 11:39 AM
You can see a dog barking using your eye-brain system, but that is not sound. To hear sound you need an ear-brain system. I don't know of anyone that defines sound as the visible physical consequences of a vibration event (like a shock wave from a sonic boom). Unless you hear it, it isn't sound.
January 6, 2025 at 11:38 AM
What would you define as "objects of auditory experience"?
January 6, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I don't think it's contentious to define sound as something we "hear" rather than something we feel. What we hear is derived from vibrations which are silent if we don't have an ear-brain system. Ask someone whose ear-brain system isn't functioning.
January 6, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I would argue that shape is different, as it exists independently of us, though the ability to feel shapes is dependent on us having a nervous system that can supply the necessary data. Of course, it can be argued that nothing exists in any meaningful sense if nothing is able to perceive it
January 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
The same does indeed apply to colour - and light in general. Electromagnetic waves are intrinsically invisible. Our ability to interpret them as light and colour is a product of our eye-brain system and exists only in the heads of those creatures that have evolved such a system.
January 6, 2025 at 10:03 AM