Viral video has people stunned whether it says ‘brainstorm’ or ‘green needle’… Or maybe both
Viral TikTok video is having people dazed and confused over one phrase.
Remember when in 2015 everyone was talking about ‘The Dress’? It was an image of a dress that had viewers disagree over whether the dress pictured was colored black and royal blue, or white and gold.
Well, this case is quite similar. However, this time it’s not about what you see but what you hear.
A TikTok video has users arguing whether what they hear is ‘brainstorm’ or the words ‘green needle.’ As Upworthy notes, what you hear depends on what you’re thinking about when you read the screen. If the phrase ‘green needle’ sticks in your head while watching the video, that’s what you will hear. The same goes for ‘brainstorm.’
@emilysophie.m Watch it twice and try both words 🙌 #mindblown #greenneedle #brainstorm #greenneedleorbrainstorm
This baffling phenomenon is yer another reminder of how subjective our senses truly are. It proves that the things we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel may not always be exactly as they seem. In other words, it’s all in our heads.
As per People, Valerie Hazan, a professor of speech sciences at University College London explained:
“Basically, you are priming your brain to expect acoustic patterns that match expected patterns for a particular word. When faced with an acoustic signal which is somewhat ambiguous because it is low-quality or noise our brain attempts a ‘best fit’ between what is heard and the expected word.”
So, what do you hear – ‘brainstorm’ or ‘green needle’?
The confusing video was first posted two years ago, after a toy review by YouTube creator DosmRider. The review was of a ‘Ben 10 Alien Force’ toy of a character called Brainstorm.
You can hear "Brainstorm" or "Green Needle" based on whichever one you think about.
Pure black magic. We're well past 'Yanny' and 'Laurel'! pic.twitter.com/mgtss1lrtO
— Tomango (@tomangoUK) May 17, 2018
Back in 2018, there was another viral hearing phenomenon. Everyone across the Internet was talking about ‘Yanny’ and ‘Laurel.’ The New York Times revealed that people hear Laurel or Yanny based on the “frequency range” they pay attention to. Simply put, if you tend to hear in the higher range of things, you are going to hear ‘Yanny.’ If your case is quite the opposite, you will hear ‘Laurel.’
What do you hear?! Yanny or Laurel pic.twitter.com/jvHhCbMc8I
— Cloe Feldman (@CloeCouture) May 15, 2018
This was another vivid example that it all comes down to the brain. Dr. Kevin Franck, director of audiology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, told Time:
“The fact that brains go in one way and some brains go in the other means that we’re all just wired a bit differently based on our experiences. The brain is built to turn messy signals into meaning. It just will not give you ambiguity.”
Apparently, our brains are constantly reminding us that we are all different.
What do you think of these bewildering phenomenons? Let us know in the comment section!
