"... majority view of the quantum mechanics community then and arguably to this day is that existence in the absence of an observer is at best a conjecture"
"Observer" is the most unfortunate word physicists could have chosen, though. It gets people all confused about observation mistakenly having something to do with thinking or perception. "Interacter" would have been a more accurate term, but it doesn't sound as sexy.
To wit, yes, the tree makes a sound because the tree is there to hear it.
