Do You Hear ‘Yanny’ or ‘Laurel?’ [AUDIO]
It's "The Dress" all over again!
When I listened to it, I heard "Yanny" right away. There was no question. But apparently, about half of the universe is hearing "Laurel." HOW IN THE WORLD anyone hears "Laurel" is a mystery to me, but apparently there are a few explanations for it. A few news sites recently posted an article with the science behind the Yanny/Laurel debate. A Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing at The University of Arizona told CNN that part of it has to do with the quality of the recording and the device that you're listening to it on. He said, "If you have a low quality of recording, it's not surprising some people would confuse the second and third resonances flipped around, and hear Yanny instead of Laurel," and that, "Most likely the original recording was 'Laurel." He also noted that if you change the pitch of the original recording, you may be able to hear both. When I listened to a recording with the bass altered, I was magically able to hear "Laurel," but when I switched back to the original, it was "Yanny" all over again. Here's the video with the altered bass:
Some people are also suggesting that it may have something to do with age, as well. A principal investigator at the voice perception laboratory at the University of California told the New York Times that there is a lot of speculation right now, but "more analysis would be required to sort out the discrepancy."
So which do you hear - Yanny or Laurel? Share your thoughts in the comments!
[Via CNN/New York Times]