Yanny or Laurel: What do you hear? Listen to the audio that's divided the world like the historic dress debate

The internet is having a meltdown. Again.
Chloe Chaplain19 May 2018

The internet has been thrown into a collective meltdown over an audio clip which is dividing the opinions of listeners.

The clip - which has gone viral online - leaves some people convinced they have heard the word “Yanny”, while others are adamant that it says “Laurel”.

The original recording was shared by Reddit user RolandCamry who asked people what they could hear in the clip - and there began the furious debate of Laurel vs Yanny.

The debate is reminiscent of one which raged over the colour of a blue and black/white and gold dress in 2015.

Twitter has been awash with baffled listeners who hear one or the other and the argument has split people down the middle.

Colleagues, friends and even spouses hear different sounds. And it's making people panic.

And there are, of course, those who say they can here both words.

Some have argued the discrepancy could be dependent on the volume or type of speakers or headphones that people are using to listen to the sound.

So they have suggested that by adjusting the bass or pitch levels could change how the word sounds.

One Reddit user wrote: “If you turn the volume very low, there will be practically no bass and you will hear Yanny.

"Turn the volume up and play it on some speakers that have actual bass response (AKA not your phone) and you will hear Laurel.”

Others have said that it is an ambiguous sound and, because the words Yanny and Laurel are said with similar intonation, it could be simply to do with the mechanics of your ear an which one you are predisposed to hear.

University of Sydney’s Professor David Alais told the Guardian: “They can be seen in two ways, and often the mind flips back and forth between the two interpretations. This happens because the brain can’t decide on a definitive interpretation,” Alais says.

“If there is little ambiguity, the brain locks on to a single perceptual interpretation. Here, the Yanny/Laurel sound is meant to be ambiguous because each sound has a similar timing and energy content – so in principle it’s confusable.”

Either way, it's putting the internet to good use.

Which do you hear?

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