Time is bonkers

[The Dread Pirate]

Is a red brick still a red brick if there is no-one around to see it?

Yes as the spectrum of light reflected from said brick will still be the same!

 

[Tefal]

Yes as the specrtrum of light reflected from said brick will still be the same!

But if you "zoom" in o n the brick enough you reach a point where light ceases to be useful and the brick no longer has any colour.

 

[Castiel]

It depends on if the tree the air or the vibration even exist if it is not observed.

it's like does everyone cease to exist the moment they leave the room you're in?

You can only know things based on your perception of them, so how can you possibly tell if they really exist or simply creations of your mind?

Well that is Solipsist world-view. For most people it would depend upon what they accept as reality outside of their immediate perception.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

But if you "zoom" in o n the brick enough you reach a point where light ceases to be useful and the brick no longer has any colour.

but then you'd be around to see the brick in which case you could plainly see without zooming that the brick is still red!

You're moving into the realm of questioning the existence of said brick which was not the original question posed.

 

[Vonhelmet]

but then you'd be around to see the brick in which case you could plainly see without zooming that the brick is still red!

But you can't observe it without changing it, so it may now in fact be blue!

 

[Tefal]

Well that is Solipsist world-view. For most people it would depend upon what they accept as reality outside of their immediate perception.

indeed.

And as the question has been around since before the modern English dictionary definition of the word sound you can see why focusing on that for interpretation of the question could be a little strange

 

[The Dread Pirate]

But you can't observe it without changing it, so it may now in fact be blue!

if it was originally red and i put said brick in a dark hole where no light could reach it even though it has no light to reflect it would still be red we just wouldn't be able to observe this as there's no light for it to reflect if I remove said brick from the hole the brick hasn't changed and so it comes out red!

 

[Castiel]

indeed.

And as the question has been around since before the modern English dictionary definition of the word sound you can see why focusing on that for interpretation of the question could be a little strange

Quite, it depends on how you frame the question. Which is really what the question is about, it is intended to make you question your reality rather than attempt to prove it.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Well that is Solipsist world-view. For most people it would depend upon what they accept as reality outside of their immediate perception.

See also: babies learning that things are still there when they can't see them.

 

[Tefal]

if it was originally red and i put said brick in a dark hole where no light could reach it even though it has no light to reflect it would still be red we just wouldn't be able to observe this as there's no light for it to reflect if I remove said brick from the hole the brick hasn't changed and so it comes out red!

How about if you lower the light level as you're looking at the brick till it drops below the level your eyes perceive colour, and the brick becomes grey?


You're now looking at a grey brick but it's a red brick.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

How about if you lower the light level as you're looking at the brick till it drops below the level your eyes perceive colour, and the brick becomes grey?


You're now looking at a grey brick but it's a red brick.

By that point I wouldn't be able to see the brick as it would be in complete darkness which doesn't change the fact that when light is reintoduced to said brick it would still be red! The brick would still be red even if you removed the red spectrum of light it reflects the properties of the brick don't change no matter what you do to the light around it or if you're present or not it will still be red.

 

[LOAM]

now the thread has gone bonkers

 

[Castiel]

How about if you lower the light level as you're looking at the brick till it drops below the level your eyes perceive colour, and the brick becomes grey?


You're now looking at a grey brick but it's a red brick.

Actually it is a Grey Brick, the colour of the Brick is dependent on the available spectrum and intensity of light. It may be a Red Brick again in the morning though, so it depends on how you define the current perception of the Brick.

 

[Tefal]

By that point I wouldn't be able to see the brick as it would be in complete darkness

nope, you lose colour vision before complete darkness.

You will still see the brick it will simply be grey.

 

[Castiel]

By that point I wouldn't be able to see the brick as it would be in complete darkness which doesn't change the fact that when light is reintoduced to said brick it would still be red! The brick would still be red even if you removed the red spectrum of light it reflects the properties of the brick don't change no matter what you do to the light around it or if you're present or not it will still be red.

What if you cannot perceive the wavelengths of light that make the Brick Red? What if no-one could, so that the colour Red did not exist within Human Perception at all?

Would it still be a red brick? It is the same Brick in every way, but is it red?

 

[The Dread Pirate]

nope, you lose colour vision before complete darkness.

You will still see the brick it will simply be grey.

Even so the red reflection properties of the brick still remain and so it's still a red brick it might only have gray light to reflect but it's still red!

 

[Morbius]

An object is not any colour. It will reflect certain wavelengths of light, but can not be described as "being" any colour.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

What if you cannot perceive the wavelengths of light that make the Brick Red? What id no-one could, so that the colour Red did not exist within Human Perception at all?

Would it still be a red brick? It is the same Brick in every way, but is it red?

It would still be red even if we couldn't percieve it another piece of equipment or another lifeform could percieve it It's still red!

 

[Rainmaker]

You're all still missing the point of the koan. A more appropriate answer might be 'I am the tree but I don't exist', or 'The forest is empty but the bird still sings'.

 

[Vonhelmet]

'The forest is empty but the bird still sings'.

"The lights are on but nobody's home"