If a tree falls in the forest…
This month’s issue of the Annals of Improbable Research answers the question of whether a tree falling in the forest will make a sound if no one is around to hear it. The answer is yes (Melchior 2010). Moreover, the bigger the tree, the louder the sound.
What I like about this article is that it pokes fun at the format and style of many scientific articles:
- Unrelated facts that are important to the author are included for no reason.
- Acronyms and jargon are just thrown in for no apparent reason.
- Problems with Excel for data analysis and plotting are exposed.
- A wandering discussion section closes the paper.
Melchior, M., 2010: The sound-ness of tree falls. Annals of Improbable Research, 16 (3), 12–13.
(Image from maloneyonmarketing.com)
A “sound” is created by the interaction between something producing sound waves and something coming in contact with said sound waves. This question is to encourage the student to gain an understanding of the oneness of the universe. The answer above is incorrect.