ABOUT two weeks ago, people on the internet went crazy over an auditory illusion. An audio clip was uploaded on social media where it supposedly featured a person saying the name “Laurel.”
Or at least, that’s what almost half of those who are active on the internet thought they heard.
The other half, however, documented in ways of online polls, said they heard the name “Yanny” said instead.
Similar to the image of a dress that went viral in February 2015 (where people on the internet debated whether it was black and blue or white and gold), the Yanny or Laurel audio illusion sparked a playful debate among family, friends, colleagues and online acquaintances.
For my experience, I discovered that I could hear both: When my headphones were securely snugged and on my head—totally covering my ears—I heard Laurel. When I took out my headphones as the audio still kept playing, I could hear Yanny faint in the background.
Then and there I deduced that bass frequencies (and perhaps good audio quality that depended on your internet connection responsible for streaming the file, and the kind of speaker you used to listen to the audio) solidified the original track as Laurel. The lack of body, or low end, could lead some to hear the word Yanny instead.
I did some quick research to verify my suspicions and true enough, frequencies mattered—how they were produced, delivered and received.
How about you? What did you hear?