Psychology Today – Viorica Marian Ph.D.
“First, the gold/blue dress “melted the internet.” Then, Yanny/Laurel “divided America.” Illusions like these ignite interest and controversy because they violate the intuition that our perceptions are direct, unfiltered versions of the external environment. Color, after all, shouldn’t be a matter of opinion. Which is why it blows our minds when someone insists that the gold dress we see is blue, or that what we clearly hear as “Yanny” sounds to them like “Laurel.” The reality is that sensory perception can be nudged, distorted, and radically transformed by anything from the languages we speak to the surrounding visual context–something that is dramatically illustrated by the strength of perceptual illusions.” (more)