I will start this post with a  well known  philosophical thought experiment “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Like so many things, this is a hard question to answer definitively and pondering it can lead to stimulating discussion (or make your head hurt).

What is real?

Personally I believe in both reality (definitive, constant and absolute) and perception (subjective, inferred, self determined).  The challenge of course is determining what is what?

A circular variation on the opening puzzle would ask if sound is real if it is not heard or only if it is percieved to be heard whether actually heard or not.

Facts

When you arrive at a stop sign in a motor vehicle you must stop.  Is this a true and real fact or a perception that applies only if you percieve it to be so.  I would propose the latter thinking presents some risk of a creating  bad result (i.e. crash).

Facts, reality, truth must exist  and be accepted for society to operate.  Ergo, within the boxes of our cultures the tree does make a sound, if we say it does.

Of course for the existentialists thinking begins with the individual.  This focus on individual freedom and authenticity leads to a sense of disorientation and confusion within our ordered world.

While I enjoy these philosophical diversions on occassion, my own feet are firmly anchored on the ground (the real ground not the percieved one).