" ...If there's a noise in the woods, and there's nobody around to hear it, is it really a noise?"
"Of course it is," she replied calmly.
"How did you reach that conclusion?" Beldin demanded.
"Because there's no such thing as an empty place, uncle. There are always creatures around --wild animals, mice, insects, birds --and they can all hear."
"But what if there weren't? What if the woods are truly empty?"
"Why waste your time talking about an impossibility? "

― David Eddings , Sorceress of Darshiva (The Malloreon, #4)