Laurel vs. Yanny: A neuroscientists explains why people disagree [video]

If you spend any amount of time on the internet, you probably picked up on the biggest debate on the internet this week. No, it’s not related to Donald Trump or whether AB de Villiers is human or what his my bok boks chirp means.

No, it’s “The Dress” all over again and this time, it’s auditory.

This week, a clip asking people whether they hear “Yanny” or “Laurel” in an audio clip went viral and things got pretty heated.

Luckily for us, there are people who take these sorts of things pretty seriously.

Wired chatted to a prof who deals with this kinda stuff.

Watch: Neuroscientist explains Laurel vs Yanny

Tyler Perrachione explains some of the differences in frequencies and how, the mechanics of the ear, and how phycological influences such as what you’re expecting to hear plays into the final outcome.

In short: those who hear at higher frequency ranges can hear “Yanny,” while those who hear at lower frequencies can hear “Laurel.”

Where did Yanny vs Laurel start?

The now-infamous audio recording itself originated on the resource website Vocabulary.com, under the entry for “laurel,” defined as a “wreath worn on the head, usually as a symbol of victory.”

On 11 May, Katie Hetzel, a freshman at Flowery Branch High School in Georgia, was studying for her world literature class, where “laurel” was one of her vocabulary words. She looked it up on the website and played the audio. Instead of the word in front of her, she heard “yanny.”

“I asked my friends in my class and we all heard mixed things,” she explained to Wired.

She then posted the audio clip to her Instagram story. Soon, a senior at the same school, Fernando Castro, republished the clip to his Instagram story as a poll.

“She recorded it and put it on her story then I remade the video and posted it,” Castro says. “Katie and I have been going back and forth and we both agree that we had equal credit on it.”

Things sort of snowballed from there.

And, despite what it might sound like, the clip you hear is not computer generated. It’s the voice of an opera singer who recorded more than 36 000 words for the website. It was first recorded back in 2007.