*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).
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The celebratory feeling among shoppers on Sunday mirrored that of lawmakers and activists, but the state is facing shortages that can be traced back to licensing decisions made in the medical marijuana program.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who is hosting a cannabis summit on December 11, told Cheddar on Tuesday he is bringing together legislators and experts in an effort to push forward his calls for reform.
CEO Carolyn Miles told Cheddar that millennials still have limited awareness of the day. Save the Children is trying to leverage its relationships with brands and celebrities to spread the word on its social media account.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Cyber Monday has grown to become one of the most critical shopping events of the year for retailers. In 2019, Adobe Analytics is predicting consumers are on track to spend $9.4 billion ー 19 percent year-over-year growth.
Mathew Knowles just dropped 15 never-before-heard tracks from his daughter's days with Girls Tyme, the pre-Destiny's Child act that featured Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.
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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.
