When the spell checker points out our mistakes we say "The computer knows it's spelt wrong" I think this is getting to the distinction between "knowing" and "having information". What's the difference? Obviously the universe is chock full of information about itself. Isn't that suffucient?
Back to the tree in the forest. When the tree falls, information is produced in the form of sound waves but what if there are no ears about to hear the sound? Can the information then be said to really exist?
...apart from the direct effects of us deciding to do things.
Well, if you take that part out of the equation, what's left? Answer: Unobserved reality, and then you have to decide whether unobserved reality is equivalent to observed reality.
It sounds more like that philosophy of how do we know the world exists? We can only perceive things. We might be brains in jars with computers feeding our senses. Totally pointless thing to discuss because it's been thrashed to death and isn't scientific.
I think science and philosophy have always been intertwined and without philosophy how would science know what to study? I don't think any unresolved question is pointless to discuss because if you take that road progress stops.
