*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).
The co-founder of satire site The Onion is hitting back against Tesla CEO Elon Musk for poaching his staff writers. In his new book "Welcome to the Future: Which is Mine By Not Elon Musk," Scott Dikkers shares what he believes goes on in Musk's mind... and throws in a few jabs like only an Onion writer can.
Ro, originally known as Roman, recently raised $88 million in funding which it intends to use to expand into the new business. The "Zero" brand offers a nicotine gum and an app to help people quit smoking. Co-Founder and CRO Rob Schutz said the product comes at a comparable price to others on the market.
Facebook and Twitter have gotten the brunt of questions from the government, but so far Reddit has largely escaped scrutiny, despite seeing significant outside meddling on its platform. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, author of "We Are the Nerds" documenting the history of Reddit, said the site has seen Russian influence before, during, and after the election, and the fight to prevent it has been an uphill battle.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Bloomberg published a report on Thursday that the Chinese government placed microchips in Apple and Amazon servers to gain access to intellectual property and trade secrets. Both tech giants, chip maker Super Micro, and Beijing all strongly denied the report.
In the age of the internet, even comics have gone online.
Tapas Media works with over 34 thousand creators to bring their comics to life on its open platform. Chang Kim, CEO and founder of Tapas Media joins Cheddar to discuss how his site has reached 3 billion views.
The actress's mother, Leslie Cockburn, is an award-winning journalist who is turning her focus to the people of Virginia's fifth district. Wilde is hosting a rally at UVA with her fiancé Jason Sudeikis on Oct. 14.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Dipayan Ghosh, fellow at the Shorenstein Center and a former adviser to both Facebook and the Obama White House, said that big tech has been ignoring "the little guy" for a long time and putting tech users and their privacy at risk.
Performix, a fitness supplement brand, has opened an ultra-exclusive luxury gym called Performix House in Manhattan's Union Square, where membership fees get as high as $900 per month. Founder Matt Hesse says it's actually cheap for what it offers.
