*By Alisha Haridasani*
It’s the most divisive question since the blue and black dress (or was it white and gold?!): Do you hear Yanny or Laurel?
Technically, the answer is "Laurel." But some people swear it's "Yanny."
The question, which is ripping the internet apart, revolves around an audio clip [reportedly](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/science/yanny-laurel.html) posted on Reddit by a student who found it on a vocabulary website when researching a school project under the word "laurel." The clip went viral, leaving many listeners questioning what they heard ー and maybe their sanity.
The discrepancy in what people hear could be due to circumstance, said Brad Story, professor of speech, language, and hearing at the University of Arizona.
“It really is going to depend on the information that you have in terms of your bias toward listening to it at that moment in time," said Story. "That’s what we call ‘top-down information’ ー trying to make sense of any kind of pattern that's present.”
The two words share very similar acoustic characteristics that your brain could selectively hear it one way or the other, he said.
The bass, frequency, and volume of the audio clip can also influence what someone hears. Some people posted videos on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JFLivesay/status/996585941241401346) where the audio levels were adjusted, changing how the clip could be heard.
So, whatever the *technical* answer to the question is, in reality, it can be both.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yanny-vs-laurel).
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
ParaDocs Worldwide, a provider of on-site medical facilities for big events, had to switch gears as the coronavirus pandemic practically eradicated large gatherings overnight.
Kanye West is bringing his Yeezy brand to Gap. The rap superstar will design adult and kids clothing that will be sold at Gap next year.
Jill and Carlo end the week discussing the explosion in COVID cases in the south, and why young people are fueling the surge. Plus, Facebook's problems grow, Amazon solves climate change & Love, Hate, Ate because it's Friday.
The daily U.S. count of new coronavirus cases stood near an all-time high Thursday.
Marking another milestone in France's recovery from coronavirus lockdown, the Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors Thursday after its longest-ever closure in peace time: 104 days.
As nightly fireworks displays have been disrupting and confounding residents across the country, it's explicitly clear that sellers of the popular incendiaries have been seeing a massive bump in their sales.
A grim milestone as the U.S. breaks its two-month-old record for new daily COVID-19 cases. The Marshal service is called in to protect monuments. Joe Biden opens a commanding lead in the presidential race. Plus, Apple didn't tell us the most important of its new software updates.
Cheddar's J.D. Durkin shares his experience with COVID-19 and donating plasma it aid in the fight against the pandemic.
Head of Google for startups, Jewel Burke Solomon and head of Google startup developer ecosystems, Jason Scott talk about the company's plan to invest long-term as well as its dedication to diversity.
