What is the sound made by one hand clapping?

Answer 1

This is called a loaded question. Loaded questions contain false or questionable assumptions. The classic example is "Do you still beat your dog?" This question assumes that the person owns a dog and that the dog has been beaten. If either of these assumptions are false the question cannot be answered with "yes" or "no", correct answers expose the false assumptions contained within the question. Answers might be "I do not own a dog" or "I have never beaten my dog."

In our question the assumption is that one hand can clap and thereby make a sound. The answer to this question will be determined by how we define "clapping," which will then determine if the assumption it contains is true or false.

If we define clapping as "two hands slapping together, thereby producing a sound," then the assumption that one hand can clap is false and the answer should then expose the false assumption. The answer would then be "one hand cannot clap."

However, if we define clapping as "one hand slapping another object, thereby producing a sound," then the assumption is true, clapping only requires one hand, and the answer to the question is simply "a clapping sound".