Yanni or Laurel? The secret of audio illusion is revealed, because of which the entire Internet argues

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Only one name is the only correct one, and the second is just a side effect of our brain.

The audio version of the dress of discord is being actively discussed on the Internet. An audio recording has appeared, after listening to which some people hear the name Yanny, and others - Laurel. Who is right?

Many have already tried to change the sound of an audio recording by boosting bass and volume, but in reality this does not lead to anything. It sounds different, but people will still hear the same name.

In fact, the record contains only one name - Laurel, and the other is just an illusion, a kind of side effect of the work of our hearing aids and the brain.

Professor Brad Story of the University of Arizona, an expert in speech, languages and hearing aids, conducted a small investigation, during which the only correct name was found.

There are three waves in the picture above. The first one on the left is the original audio recording, which mainly contains the sounds "l" and "r". We can say with certainty that the pronunciation of "Laurel" was originally embedded in the audio recording, but where did "Yanni" come from?

In the same image below, there is a speech reproduction of an audio recording, where everything starts with a high sound "l", then falls into "r" and rises again to the final "l". When we make these sounds, we emit certain sound waves. On the spectrograms, it is they who are captured.

Poor quality recording creates ambiguity in acoustic perception at high frequencies, which is why many people hear “Yanni” instead of “Laurel”.

Brad Storey professor at the University of Arizona

The spoken word "Yanni" has about the same wave characteristic as "Laurel". Its wave also looks like "up-down-up", but with slightly different acoustic characteristics. Poor recording quality and several superimposed frequencies above 4.5 kHz is the reason that some people hear the word "Yanni".

The human brain also plays an important role here. You hear what you expect to hear.

The brain always tries to reduce energy costs, which means that it is easier for it to recognize a sound you already know than to decode a new one.

Do not forget about the function of filtering sounds: a person knows how to tune in to the waves he needs. For example, in a noisy cafe, we know how to listen to the words of friends sitting at the table, or we can eavesdrop on the conversation behind our backs. The same is with frequencies: from the already existing experience, the brain chooses which ones to focus on.

Some people may also hear the names Yanni and Laurel at the same time, since their brains expect high frequencies, but they are also ready for low frequencies.

Finally, do a simple experiment: listen to two audio recordings in order.

A recording called Noisy will seem like an unpleasant rattle without any meaning to you. When you listen to the second, blank recording, go back to the first. Can you now distinguish a voice amid the seemingly meaningless grinding? This is how the brain works: it hears what is already known and expected.