War of the Words

A while back, I received an email that showed how the human brain is usually able to read text, even if the letters in the words are significantly jumbled.

So long as the first and last letters of each word remain in their correct location, it doesn’t matter how mixed up each word’s interior is, for most people, the text is still legible. I found this fascinating, but most of the examples I saw only had a few lines of text.

I wanted to increase the length of this, so created my own version. To source some text, I had a look some well known books that are no longer covered by copyright. At first I was going to use Jane Austen’s “Emma”, but then happened upon H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” (according to litverse.com) and knew that was the text to use.

Below is first chapter of “War of the Worlds”, with word lettering randomly jumbled. Obviously, this couldn’t be applied to words having three letters or less. Also, punctuation for the most part is left intact.
After processing this text, and having heard Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds many times in the past, I now have Justin Hayward’s song, “Forever Autumn“, stuck in my head.

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BOOK ONE

THE CNIMOG OF THE MAIRNATS

CEHAPTR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one would hvae beleevid in the lsat yares of the nniteteneh crtueny taht tihs wlrod was bneig wtchead kleney and cllseoy by inleeticnlges getearr tahn man's and yet as maotrl as his own; taht as men beuisd thmelsvees aoubt tiehr vriuoas coencnrs they wree srstiunceid and seiudtd, ppahres aslomt as nrorlway as a man wtih a mcipcsrooe might scrsniuite the tieasnnrt careeurts that swarm and mputlily in a dorp of waetr. Wtih inftiine cnlpaocmecy men wnet to and fro over this glboe aobut tiehr lttile afiafrs, serene in their asncarsue of tehir ermipe over mettar. It is pilssboe taht the ifrousina under the miopcsocre do the same. No one gvae a thhuogt to the oeldr worlds of spcae as srocues of hmaun dgnear, or touhght of tehm only to disisms the idea of life uopn tehm as imipsbosle or ibrlabmpoe. It is crouuis to rcleal some of the mnaetl hbitas of toshe deraetpd dyas. At msot tesaerrrtil men fcaiend trehe mgiht be ohetr men upon Mras, peahprs iinrofer to tvhelsmees and reday to welcome a mrsaoiinsy eespnrtire. Yet aocsrs the gluf of sapce, mnids that are to our mdins as orus are to tohse of the bsetas taht piersh, iltteeclns vsat and cool and uehaymntpistc, rargeedd tihs ertah with eoiunvs eeys, and slwoly and slruey drew tehir plans agnasit us. And elray in the tetwentih crneuty came the gerat dniliseonmsluit.

The plnaet Mars, I sacclrey need rneimd the rdaeer, rolevves about the sun at a maen dcnsatie of 140,000,000 meils, and the light and heat it rceivees form the sun is blarey hlaf of that reeviced by tihs wolrd. It must be, if the nbauelr hyohsetips has any turth, oledr than our wlrod; and long beofre tihs eatrh caeesd to be moeltn, lfie uopn its sruface msut have bguen its course. The fcat taht it is searccly one sveetnh of the vloume of the etarh msut have arletceaecd its conoilg to the trtemapeure at wchih life could bigen. It has air and water and all taht is nsceeasry for the support of aneatimd exticense.

Yet so vain is man, and so binedld by his vinaty, taht no wrietr, up to the vrey end of the neineettnh ctnreuy, exesrepsd any idea taht itnlgienlet lfie mhigt have deeolepvd there far, or ienedd at all, byoend its elhtray level. Nor was it gnleaelry usodornetd taht sicne Mars is odelr than our etarh, wtih sclacery a qrtuaer of the scefiaupril area and romteer form the sun, it nclesearsiy fowlols taht it is not only more dtinast from tmie's bnininegg but naeerr its end.

The sacluer clnooig that must soedamy otkvreae our panelt has adealry gone far ineded wtih our nhiuegobr. Its pahcysil cooinitdn is stlil lgarely a mtesyry, but we konw now taht eevn in its etaqraouil roeign the mddiay tmtruerpeae braely ahopreacps taht of our cdeslot wentir. Its air is much more aeuetttnad tahn ours, its ocneas hvae shnruk utinl tehy cveor but a thrid of its saurfce, and as its solw snoaess cagnhe huge snpocwas gaehtr and mlet aobut ehteir pole and prlioadcleiy itaudnne its ttarpemee zones. Taht last stage of eitsxuoahn, wihch to us is sltil inidcberly rmeote, has beocme a peentsardy prlobem for the inabiahttns of Mars. The itmeidame psrrseue of nsicetsey has brehtgeind their ictltelens, elregand thier powers, and hreaendd their harets. And looking asrcos scpae wtih irtnsnuemts, and ienltcngelies scuh as we hvae scracley dmaeerd of, tehy see, at its neesart dantcise olny 35,000,000 of meils suranwd of them, a minnorg satr of hpoe, our own wamerr penlat, geren wtih viettgeaon and gery wtih wtear, with a cldouy ahtorpmsee equnelot of fletitiry, wtih gslmepis tuhrogh its dnrtfiig cluod wspis of baord sthecetrs of puuoopls cunorty and noarrw, navy - cowdred saes.

And we men, the ceruraets who iihabnt this ertah, must be to them at laest as aeiln and lowly as are the mynkoes and lrumes to us. The ittuelcelnal side of man aldreay amidts taht lfie is an iessnnact sturlgge for esnxciete, and it wuold seem that tihs too is the blieef of the minds uopn Mars. Thier wrold is far gone in its colinog and this wlrod is still cwerodd with lfie, but crwoded olny wtih waht tehy reargd as ifirnoer amlanis. To crray waarfre snrwuad is, indeed, tiher only epscae from the dtrcieoustn taht, geentairon aetfr gneaiteron, cpeers uopn them.

And brfeoe we jdgue of them too hhrlasy we msut remeembr what rueslths and utter dcotsriuetn our own speecis has wgruhot, not only uopn aiamnls, such as the vehnisad bosin and the dodo, but uopn its irofiner reacs. The Tsnaiaanms, in sitpe of thier huamn liksenes, wree enletiry sewpt out of eenxtisce in a war of eoiarxmtentin weagd by Eeopaurn irangmitms, in the space of fifty yaers. Are we scuh asepolts of mrecy as to cilapmon if the Mirtanas wreard in the same sripit?

The Mranitas seem to have celactulad thier dncseet with aanizmg suttlbey -- their mhaimaettcal lenaring is eeniltdvy far in escxes of orus -- and to have crraeid out tiehr poripnaearts with a wlel - ngih perfect unnitmaiy. Had our inesrumntts pmriteetd it, we mhgit have seen the ghtniearg torblue far bcak in the ntneenteih ctneury. Men lkie Siplhlraaeci wthecad the red pnaelt -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cleontsus ceteniurs Mars has been the star of war -- but feaild to irrenpett the ftnulitaucg aaearcppnes of the mngkiras tehy mpepad so wlel. All that tmie the Mnatiras msut hvae been gnttieg rdeay.

Dirung the oppioitosn of 1984 a great lghit was seen on the ileutamnild part of the disk, frsit at the Lick Oasbrevorty, tehn by Petiorrn of Ncie, and tehn by ohetr orrevbses. Ensligh rdarees hraed of it frsit in the iusse of NTRUAE detad Ausugt 2. I am inecinld to tinhk taht this bzlae may have been the cinstag of the huge gun, in the vsat pit sunk into tehir pelant, from wcihh tiher sohts were feird at us. Puilcear mgrakins, as yet uxlpeaniend, wree seen near the site of taht obaruetk drunig the nxet two oootpisnips.

The sortm bsurt uopn us six yaers ago now. As Mras aparphcoed oiisptoopn, Lvaelle of Java set the wires of the amsocrotnial echxagne plaaittinpg with the aiaznmg itlielgnncee of a hgue outberak of iscndneenact gas uopn the pealnt. It had orcruecd tdaowrs mnhidigt of the tetfwlh; and the stpcosoercpe, to wichh he had at once reotesrd, idaenctid a mass of fmainlg gas, clhfeiy hoegrdyn, mionvg wtih an ernmuoos viceotly twardos this eatrh. Tihs jet of fire had bmcoee iiinsbvle aubot a qeruatr past tlwvee. He cmearpod it to a csosoall pfuf of famle sldduney and veontlily strqiued out of the palent, "as fmianlg gesas reuhsd out of a gun."

A snuilrgaly ataiprppore pashre it preovd. Yet the next day there was nnhiotg of this in the ppaers eepxct a ltilte note in the DLAIY TELREGPAH, and the world went in iacngonre of one of the grvesat dnrgeas taht ever thenaeertd the hmuan rcae. I mhigt not have hraed of the erupotin at all had I not met Olvigy, the wlel - kwonn ateoonmsrr, at Ortehsatw. He was ismmleney eiectxd at the nwes, and in the eecsxs of his fengeils iveitnd me up to tkae a turn wtih him taht nghit in a stcruniy of the red plenat.

In spite of all that has hppeaend since, I sitll rmeember that vigil vrey diinltcsty: the blcak and snielt oaeortrbvsy, the swdohaed lnetran tnohirwg a flbeee golw upon the folor in the cneror, the sdtaey tciikng of the clocowkrk of the tpcsoleee, the llitte slit in the roof -- an oolbng pinfdrtuoy wtih the ssudratt saeertkd ascros it. Oglviy mevod aobut, iinviblse but auldbie. Lkooing turoghh the tolcepese, one saw a ciclre of deep bule and the lttlie round panelt snwimimg in the fleid. It seemed such a little tnihg, so bgihrt and small and sitll, ftalniy mraked with tanvrsesre sriptes, and silhglty ftnteeald from the pfceert rnuod. But so lttlie it was, so slveriy wram -- a pin's - haed of lihgt! It was as if it qieeruvd, but relaly tihs was the teecsople vbtiniarg wtih the aivttciy of the ckworlock that kpet the pleant in veiw.

As I waetchd, the pnelat seemed to gorw lrager and slmealr and to adanvce and recede, but that was smiply that my eye was teird. Ftory mlonliis of miles it was from us -- mroe than froty miinlols of mlies of viod. Few plpoee rasliee the iemntsmiy of vcanacy in wcihh the dust of the maaeirtl unvserie simws.

Near it in the felid, I rmeebmer, wree trhee finat pitons of lhgit, terhe tliopsecec stras iletnifiny romete, and all aurnod it was the utaobhmfanle dkresans of etmpy space. You konw how taht bskcelans lkoos on a ftrsoy shagtilrt ngiht. In a tlscpeeoe it semes far pneufrodor. And ivnisible to me besuace it was so reotme and small, flying siwflty and silaedty towards me acosrs taht iecndblire dtsancie, dwriang nreear evrey miutne by so many tondhusas of mlies, cmae the Thing they wree siendng us, the Tnhig that was to birng so mcuh sglrtgue and cimtalay and daeth to the eatrh. I neevr deeramd of it tehn as I whatced; no one on erath deeramd of that uniernrg msilsie.

Taht nghit, too, trehe was atenohr jitentg out of gas form the dtnisat pnalet. I saw it. A reidsdh flsah at the edge, the stsghliet ptroecojin of the ontuile jsut as the coneotermhr surctk mgdiniht; and at that I told Ovgliy and he took my pclae. The ngiht was warm and I was thristy, and I went srchetntig my lges cmilsuly and felineg my way in the dsenraks, to the lttile tlabe wehre the siohpn sotod, while Oiglvy eieaxlmcd at the setrmaer of gas taht cmae out tradwos us.

Taht nhgit athoenr inibvslie msiilse setrtad on its way to the earth form Mras, jsut a sonecd or so under tnewty - fuor hours after the fisrt one. I rmeebmer how I sat on the table terhe in the bsckalnes, with ptehacs of green and cirsomn siwimmng brfeoe my eyes. I wsiehd I had a lghit to skome by, lttile sitecnpsug the mieanng of the mtunie galem I had seen and all that it wloud prsneetly binrg me. Olvgiy wtaechd till one, and then gvae it up; and we lit the lnaertn and wklead over to his hsuoe. Dwon bolew in the dskenras wree Ostarhetw and Cetrshey and all thier hdnedrus of ppleoe, spineelg in peace.

He was full of siecaoultpn taht ngiht aubot the ctnodiion of Mars, and sfcoefd at the vgualr idea of its hianvg ibnhittanas who wree sanilgilng us. His ieda was that meoetteirs mgiht be flaling in a haevy sowehr upon the penalt, or that a huge vlncaoic exslooipn was in prsroegs. He petoind out to me how unikelly it was that oigarnc evioluotn had tekan the smae dicoetirn in the two adenacjt plntaes.

"The chceans aasngit anhiytng malikne on Mras are a miillon to one," he said.

Hnderuds of orvreebss saw the famle that night and the nghit afetr auobt mhgindit, and aiagn the nhgit aeftr; and so for ten nhtigs, a fmlae ecah nhgit. Why the shtos caseed aeftr the ttneh no one on erath has attmteped to eapxiln. It may be the gases of the fnriig cesaud the Mantaris iconnvniecnee. Dsnee clduos of smoke or dsut, vilsbie thgoruh a pfwuerol teseclope on earth as ltlite gery, fuiaulcttng peacths, serpad trohguh the cenrselas of the plneat's ahsermopte and ousrbecd its more filaamir feaeturs.

Even the daily ppraes woke up to the dunsirbtecas at last, and popular netos aepaeprd hree, there, and ereryhweve cnioenrncg the vacoenols uopn Mars. The sioorimecc pidocariel PUCNH, I rebemmer, made a hppay use of it in the ptloicail caoortn. And, all upnctueessd, those mslieiss the Mitnaras had fried at us derw ehawrtard, rnushig now at a pace of many mlies a seoncd thurgoh the emtpy gulf of sapce, hour by huor and day by day, neerar and naeerr. It smees to me now amsolt idncbilery wfoendrul taht, with that sifwt ftae hngniag over us, men cloud go auobt thier petty cneonrcs as tehy did. I rememebr how jnaiulbt Maahkrm was at sceuirng a new phrtogapoh of the palnet for the itlutelrsad ppaer he eeditd in toshe days. Peolpe in these ltater times sreaccly raelise the anndbcaue and eentrsprie of our nitteeennh - curenty ppaers. For my own part, I was mcuh occpiued in lnnareig to ride the bylccie, and busy upon a sreeis of papres dssuiicsng the paorlbbe dnloeepmevts of moarl iaeds as csailiotiivn posersgred.

One nhgit (the fisrt mlssiie tehn could sclceray have been 10,000,000 miles aawy) I wnet for a walk with my wife. It was slhtgrait and I exinelapd the Sgins of the Zdaoic to her, and petnoid out Mars, a bghirt dot of lhgit cnierpeg zenhawtird, twdoras wihch so many tpeeelocss wree ptonied. It was a warm nhgit. Conimg home, a praty of eosrisxnucits from Ceesrthy or Ieltoswrh pasesd us sninigg and palinyg miusc. Trehe were lhigts in the ueppr winwods of the hsueos as the plopee went to bed. From the raliway sitotan in the dscntiae came the sonud of sntunihg tnrais, rniging and rbiumnlg, stonfeed alosmt into moedly by the dsnciate. My wfie peniotd out to me the briegthsns of the red, geren, and ylolew siganl lhtigs hngniag in a foaerwmrk aiasngt the sky. It semeed so safe and tqriaunl.