Commentary: What that yanny-or-laurel meme can teach us about political conversations

The other night I played an audio clip to a friend and asked her what she heard. We both heard the word “laurel.” I told my friend that some people were hearing the word “yanny.” She quickly expressed disbelief in the idea.This reaction mirrors the reactions of many on the internet who are adamant that the word they hear on the recording is the accurate one. The whole situation is not unlike “the dress” meme a few years back. Both memes can be explained by sci