Do like you do, but know the facts

Before you read Yanny and Laurel and stop reading, just give me a second. This isn’t a Yanny and Laurel debate, but if you haven’t heard those two words by now you’re living under a rock. (Google it.)

I hear Laurel. Every time. My kids hear Yanny as do my coworkers. My husband hears Garry. I have no idea...He struggles to hear anything most of the time. 

As people on Facebook literally argued over what it was saying, dozens of news outlets published articles on how scientists and neurologists explained what it said and why people heard what they heard.

While I find it incredibly fascinating that people listening to something at the exact same time can hear two different words, I wasn’t so much interested as to why.

What I was really thinking was.... If you hear Yanny, fine, you hear Yanny, but I hear Laurel. So please stop trying to convince me it says Yanny. 

And back we go to the white/gold or blue/black dress.

This proves that our brains process and see things differently. It’s an amazing thing!

So guess what? It’s OK to have different opinions. We think differently. Stop trying to convince me that your beliefs are the right beliefs. Let me believe what I believe. In the song lyrics of my newest favorite musical, “So go and do like you do, I’m good to do like me.”

Even presenting facts on why you are right doesn’t usually work. I heard Laurel. That’s a fact. You heard Yanny. Also a fact.

While social media arguments can be entertaining to read, the participants are doing nothing but that, arguing. I have yet to see one end with, “I apologize, you’re right!” “That’s a great point, I should’ve voted that way after all!”

No. It doesn’t happen. 

This however, brings me to my next point. Facts are important. Educate yourself. Know the facts. 

Help stop the spread of fake news! Check sources before sharing them on social media. This applies not only nationally but locally as well.

 Some useful fact-checking sites for national issues include snopes.com, FactCheck.org, Washington Post Fact Checker and PolitiFact.com.

I personally use Snopes and it has debunked several posts I’ve seen on social media. 

As we move toward the general election in five months, this is even more important. 

Discover the facts before spreading the rumors. Go directly to the source, or come ask us at The Grant Tribune! We do not base facts on the he said/she said, but take great pride in fact checking and making sure what you read in this paper is the truth.