# One Hand Clapping **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 31, 2004, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402 "2004-12-31T09:05:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KallieOkami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@KallieOkami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KallieOkami)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/1 "2004-12-31T09:05:14Z")
Yes, i understand these are kind of old collums…i’m sorry… the sound of one hand clapping, is the same as two clapping, basically. my brother can clap with one hand… you just sort of flip your hand in the air while slapping your fingers on your palm. it’s hard to do, but he can do it well (and does it alot) and i did it once… [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_049](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_049) the question wasn’t answered, even though there WAS an answer, so i guess i thought i’d share…? ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/2 "2004-12-31T15:32:55Z")
The answer, it seems to me, isn’t to find an actual sound. The question is a meditation lesson that translates badly to a non-Zen mind-set. (Which is what Cecil alludes to in the follow-up comment about Jim Rockford at the bottom of the column.) We’re not actually supposed to find that sound. IANAZB, but I’ve always seen this as a way to think about what is required to identify the bare essentials of a process. By the way, IANAZB = I am not a Zen Buddhist. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/3 "2005-01-02T17:06:06Z")
> [@KallieOkami](#): > > Yes, i understand these are kind of old collums…i’m sorry… > the sound of one hand clapping, is the same as two clapping, basically. my brother can clap with one hand… you just sort of flip your hand in the air while slapping your fingers on your palm. it’s hard to do, but he can do it well (and does it alot) and i did it once… > > [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_049](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_049) > > the question wasn’t answered, even though there WAS an answer, so i guess i thought i’d share…? Again, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a bad restatement of the proper koan, which goes “When two hands clap, a sound is made. What sound does one hand bring?” ---
**Author:** ![KallieOkami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@KallieOkami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KallieOkami)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/4 "2005-01-02T20:55:41Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > Again, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a bad restatement of the proper koan, which goes “When two hands clap, a sound is made. What sound does one hand bring?” no matter which way you say it, there’s an answer… i did it again last night 'cause i was tired and wanted to get good at doing it too… i did it twice before my hand got tired… ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/5 "2005-01-02T21:30:38Z")
> [@KallieOkami](#): > > no matter which way you say it, there’s an answer… i did it again last night 'cause i was tired and wanted to get good at doing it too… i did it twice before my hand got tired… But slapping your hand against itself is _not_ what happens when two hands clap. What you’re describing is definitely not the answer to the koan, properly posed. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/6 "2005-01-04T01:38:29Z")
It was first mentioned in this previous thread from a post by **Padeye** that Bart Simpson solved this ancient koan. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278858&highlight=one+hand+clapping](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278858&highlight=one+hand+clapping) ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/7 "2005-01-04T03:05:52Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > But slapping your hand against itself is _not_ what happens when two hands clap. But the koan asks for the sound of one hand… which is easily demonstratable. > [@Mathochist](#): > > What you’re describing is definitely not the answer to the koan, properly posed. That may be, but: 1. Then somebody ought to properly pose it if they expect it to not be answerable. 2. The koan as popularly worded is definitely already answered, which is what most people refer to anyway. 3. Wait for it… hi, Opal! ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hand-clapping/282402/8 "2005-01-04T09:34:39Z")
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