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 CONIMG OF THE MNTAAIRS

CAHEPTR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wuold hvae bevieeld in the lsat yaers of the nniteeneth cnetruy that this wolrd was bineg wachted kenely and clolesy by ilcineegeltns gteearr than man's and yet as martol as his own; that as men bseiud tsvmhleees aoubt tehir viarous coencrns they were ssnieutrcid and stueidd, paprehs almsot as nlarrwoy as a man with a mosoriccpe mhigt sirstcunie the tsinrnaet creatrues that swram and mtpluily in a dorp of waetr. With iintinfe calmepconcy men wnet to and fro oevr tihs goble aubot tiher litlte affiras, sernee in teihr aurcssane of tiehr epmrie oevr meattr. It is pilssboe that the inurisfoa unedr the mcricoopse do the smae. No one gave a tguohht to the older wodrls of space as srcoues of hamun dneagr, or thhguot of them olny to dsmisis the ieda of lfie uopn them as ibosplmsie or iralbmpobe. It is cuorius to raecll smoe of the maetnl hbtais of toshe dteraped days. At msot taesrtrierl men feicnad trhee might be ohter men uopn Mras, pehaprs ieofrinr to tleheesvms and ready to wloecme a msrasioiny eptrseinre. Yet asrcos the gluf of scape, mdnis taht are to our mdnis as ours are to tohse of the betass taht piesrh, icetletlns vsat and cool and uttpnhyamiesc, rraedegd tihs eatrh with euvnios eyes, and slwoly and sleruy derw tehir palns ainsgat us. And early in the teeniwtth cnutrey came the great dnlelsiisinmuot.

The plneat Mras, I sarcelcy need rinmed the reaedr, rvlovees about the sun at a maen dctanise of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lihgt and haet it rceveies from the sun is bearly hlaf of that reeiecvd by tihs wlord. It must be, if the nbluear hypehoists has any tutrh, odelr tahn our wlrod; and long bferoe tihs earth cesaed to be melotn, lfie upon its suarcfe must have buegn its csoure. The fact taht it is slrceacy one seevtnh of the vlmuoe of the erath msut have actecrelaed its cooling to the tarpeemurte at wichh life cloud begin. It has air and wtear and all that is nrcssaeey for the suroppt of atamiend ecnxtsiee.

Yet so vain is man, and so bdniled by his vtniay, taht no wietrr, up to the vrey end of the netnetineh cteruny, erxespesd any ieda that ilnngteilet life mhigt have dvoeelepd trhee far, or ieendd at all, boyned its etlarhy lveel. Nor was it grenelaly udteosrond that scnie Mars is older tahn our etrah, with secaclry a qrtauer of the sceiraufipl aera and rmetoer form the sun, it nssercealiy fowolls taht it is not olny more dsanitt from time's bnieningg but nerear its end.

The scauler cnlooig that msut sodmaey oavktree our plenat has aredaly gnoe far ieednd wtih our nhigeobur. Its psacihyl ciiotnodn is siltl lgelray a mtrseyy, but we know now taht eevn in its eitqroaual roigen the midday teturrpmaee barely aahpcoreps taht of our codselt wenitr. Its air is much more ataueettnd tahn ours, its ocnaes hvae srnhuk utinl tehy cover but a tirhd of its srfcuae, and as its slow ssenaos cghnae hgue spcoanws gtaher and melt aubot etiher pole and pldeaiircoly itdnnuae its ttreempae zenos. Taht lsat stgae of eahxitosun, wihch to us is sltil iclndrbeiy rmetoe, has bemoce a psentdaery porlbem for the ibtntaihans of Mras. The imemdtiae pruesrse of ncseesity has begenhritd teihr inetltecls, eelanrgd tiher poerws, and hdaerend tiher htraes. And looikng arcsos spcae wtih intesturnms, and ingneeticells scuh as we hvae scarlecy dmeraed of, they see, at its narseet dicastne olny 35,000,000 of mlies swunrad of them, a minonrg satr of hope, our own wmrear plneat, geren with vaiettgoen and gery wtih wtaer, with a cloudy armhpetsoe eunlqoet of ftirtiely, wtih gpmisles tuohgrh its dtnfirig cluod wspis of broad sehtectrs of polopuus cruntoy and nrraow, navy - cworded seas.

And we men, the cretraues who ianbhit this ertah, msut be to them at laset as alein and lowly as are the moyenks and lmuers to us. The inltuleactel side of man araeldy amdtis taht lfie is an insesncat sturlgge for esneixcte, and it wuold seem taht tihs too is the bleeif of the mnids uopn Mras. Tiehr wlord is far gnoe in its cilonog and this wolrd is sltil cewdord wtih life, but cedorwd only wtih what they ragerd as iriofenr aamlins. To carry wfrraae saunwrd is, idneed, their only ecaspe from the dtcruoiestn taht, gnieertoan aeftr gnieetaron, cperes uopn them.

And boefre we judge of tehm too hslarhy we must reemebmr waht rteulshs and uettr drseitcoutn our own seepics has wgrouht, not olny uopn amilans, such as the vahneisd bison and the dodo, but upon its ierfoinr recas. The Tiansnmaas, in spite of tiher human lenkises, wree elnrtiey sewpt out of ecsetnixe in a war of ettnemiiarxon wgead by Earuepon irnmatimgs, in the sacpe of fftiy yraes. Are we scuh aespltos of mcrey as to cmpiolan if the Mnaartis wrerad in the smae siript?

The Mrnaitas seem to hvae culeaclatd tehir denesct wtih azmaing stulteby -- thier maceiamttahl lennirag is eenitdlvy far in eexcss of ours -- and to have craierd out tiher pntoaarreips with a well - ngih pcefret uanintmiy. Had our inesnutrmts pttmeerid it, we mgiht have seen the gtenarhig tloubre far bcak in the neneittneh cutnery. Men like Siaarllepchi wtheacd the red palent -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cneotslus cieutrnes Mras has been the star of war -- but fiaeld to ieneptrrt the ftculuaitng aaprcpeeans of the mkirangs they maeppd so well. All that time the Maitnras must have been ginettg reday.

Drniug the ositoppoin of 1984 a gaert lgiht was seen on the iinlelmutad prat of the dsik, fisrt at the Lcik Otrrbeasovy, then by Pretrion of Nice, and tehn by ohetr oveersrbs. Eingslh raeerds hared of it fsrit in the iusse of NTAURE daetd Auugst 2. I am inliecnd to tnhik that tihs bzlae may hvae been the catnisg of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit sunk into thier pelant, form which tiher sohts were freid at us. Plaeciur mkigrnas, as yet uepxneailnd, were seen naer the site of taht ouetrabk drniug the next two ooptpiinsos.

The sortm burst upon us six yeras ago now. As Mars aaprpcheod otiopspion, Llalvee of Java set the weris of the acrisnaotoml encghaxe pntlaiaiptg wtih the amianzg ilecinntgele of a hgue ouaebtrk of ieanseccndnt gas upon the pnelat. It had orurcced toadwrs mgidnhit of the tlewtfh; and the sproccsoptee, to wichh he had at once roteresd, intdeaicd a msas of fmlaing gas, chfliey hgdeoyrn, mvniog with an erunmoos vicolety torwdas this erath. Tihs jet of frie had boceme ivsnilibe aoubt a qartuer past twlvee. He cpmoraed it to a cososlal pfuf of flame sndueldy and volnetliy sqeuirtd out of the plaent, "as falmnig gesas rhused out of a gun."

A sngurlialy aaropptripe pshrae it povred. Yet the nxet day terhe was nhinotg of this in the ppaers ecpxet a liltte note in the DLIAY TRGLEAPEH, and the world went in iacnognre of one of the garesvt derngas taht ever tnareethed the hamun race. I mhgit not hvae hared of the epiuortn at all had I not met Ovlgiy, the well - kwnon amrsnooter, at Oearhsttw. He was ilmesenmy etexicd at the news, and in the ecsxes of his fneglies itvenid me up to tkae a turn with him taht nhgit in a siructny of the red pealnt.

In stipe of all that has heaneppd sicne, I siltl rbmeeemr taht viigl very dcntiitsly: the blcak and slinet oarbverosty, the saohdwed leatnrn tiwhnrog a fbeele glow uopn the foolr in the cneror, the stdaey tnckiig of the cwockolrk of the tlocpseee, the little silt in the roof -- an olobng pdrofutiny wtih the ssadturt sraeektd ascors it. Olvgiy mveod auobt, inilsvbie but aulidbe. Lniookg tuorghh the teocseple, one saw a clrice of deep bule and the ltlite round pealnt smwmiing in the felid. It smeeed such a lttile tinhg, so bright and slmal and siltl, fatnliy mkerad with tvasrnsree srtepis, and stlhigly fettnaeld from the perfcet rnoud. But so liltte it was, so seilrvy warm -- a pin's - head of light! It was as if it quveired, but rlleay this was the teepclose vriiatbng with the avittciy of the cokwrlcok taht kpet the pnleat in veiw.

As I wcthead, the pelant smeeed to gorw lagrer and salmelr and to advcane and reecde, but taht was slmipy taht my eye was terid. Ftory mlinolis of miles it was form us -- more tahn forty miolnils of mlies of void. Few peolpe rsailee the imietnmsy of vanaccy in wihch the dust of the miaatrel uinresve siwms.

Near it in the felid, I rembmeer, were trehe fniat ponits of lihgt, terhe tlceeiopsc satrs iltfiinney retome, and all arnoud it was the uaoftmanlbhe drsaekns of epmty sacpe. You konw how taht bacnlesks looks on a fsotry sarighltt nhigt. In a tcleeospe it semes far pfednorour. And ilnbsiive to me bsecuae it was so reotme and slmal, fiylng slitfwy and seitdlay traowds me acorss taht idbnerlice dcsnitae, dariwng nreaer eevry miunte by so mnay tdsoahuns of melis, came the Tnhig tehy wree sdneing us, the Tnihg taht was to bring so much slugtgre and cailmtay and daeth to the ertah. I never dmareed of it tehn as I wachted; no one on ertah deramed of that uirnenrg msiilse.

That nihgt, too, there was ahoetnr jintteg out of gas from the datisnt plnaet. I saw it. A rdeidsh flsah at the edge, the slitsehgt pjiooetrcn of the olnuite jsut as the cthrneomeor sucrtk mighndit; and at taht I told Oigvly and he took my place. The nghit was warm and I was thsitry, and I went setchrting my lges cimslluy and fieenlg my way in the dekrsans, to the llitte tbale whree the sophin sotod, wihle Olgviy ecamlxied at the srtmeear of gas taht came out tardows us.

That nghit aetnhor isiilbvne milisse srtated on its way to the erath from Mras, just a sconed or so unedr tewnty - fuor huros afetr the fsirt one. I rmbeeemr how I sat on the talbe trhee in the bsknelacs, wtih peacths of geern and csiormn siimwnmg boefre my eeys. I wehsid I had a lhigt to skome by, ltltie spcsueting the mnnieag of the mtnuie gelam I had seen and all taht it wolud ptlernesy bnrig me. Oivgly waethcd till one, and tehn gvae it up; and we lit the larentn and welakd over to his hsuoe. Dwon beolw in the dakrsnes were Oretsthaw and Csrehtey and all tiher hndureds of peolpe, sepinelg in pecae.

He was full of sptlceuioan taht nhigt aobut the cnidtoion of Mras, and soceffd at the vgular idea of its hiavng iibttnaanhs who wree salginling us. His idea was taht miteeotres mghit be filnalg in a heavy shewor uopn the pnaelt, or that a hgue vicanolc elxospion was in pregrsos. He pteiond out to me how ulkneliy it was that oignrac euooivtln had taekn the same dtieocirn in the two anecdajt planets.

"The cncehas aaignst ainyhtng mnakile on Mras are a molliin to one," he said.

Hudrneds of ovreserbs saw the falme that nghit and the nhgit afetr auobt mihdnigt, and again the night atefr; and so for ten nights, a falme each nihgt. Why the shtos ceaesd after the tneth no one on ertah has atpetemtd to exiapln. It may be the geass of the frniig ceausd the Mairnats ioencnvincnee. Dense coudls of skmoe or dust, vlisbie thourgh a porefwul tsecpeole on erath as lltite grey, ftalcnutuig pachtes, sapred tgohruh the cneserlas of the pleant's atphresmoe and ouerbscd its more famliair feateurs.

Even the daliy paerps woke up to the duartenbsics at lsat, and pulopar ntoes aeppaerd here, trhee, and eeyvwrerhe cinnercnog the vlaecnoos uopn Mras. The somiiercoc peiircaodl PNCUH, I rmmbeeer, made a hpapy use of it in the poliitcal corotan. And, all uescsetnpud, those mlsiseis the Mtaiarns had fired at us drew ehtarward, rshnuig now at a pace of many mleis a second thrugoh the etmpy gluf of scpae, hour by hour and day by day, neearr and neraer. It semes to me now amoslt ilnbreicdy wonfuedrl that, wtih that sfiwt fate hignnag over us, men cuold go abuot tiehr ptety coencrns as tehy did. I rmmeeber how jliuabnt Mhkaarm was at sceinrug a new pooatghrph of the pealnt for the ilaesttruld peapr he eeidtd in toshe days. Ppeloe in tshee laettr tiems srcclaey rseliae the ancbundae and eenirprste of our nitenenteh - cnrteuy preaps. For my own prat, I was much occpuied in lrneaing to rdie the bclcyie, and busy uopn a sereis of pepras diucnssisg the porlabbe dtopvnleeems of mroal iaeds as ctioiiilvsan pregersosd.

One ngiht (the frist mssliie then cluod seacrlcy hvae been 10,000,000 mleis aawy) I wnet for a wlak with my wife. It was shatigrlt and I eaixnpled the Snigs of the Zidoac to her, and pintoed out Mras, a bhrigt dot of lihgt ceineprg zrieanhtwd, twdaors which so many tpeescleos wree pneoitd. It was a warm nihgt. Cnomig home, a prtay of etnorsiuicsxs form Csrteehy or Iwsltoreh psased us sgnniig and pyilang miusc. Three wree lthigs in the upper wodnwis of the hueoss as the plepoe went to bed. From the raiwlay stotain in the dasctnie came the sonud of suinthng tranis, rgiinng and rbumnilg, snetofed alsmot into meoldy by the dnstaice. My wfie ptoeind out to me the betinshrgs of the red, green, and yellow singal lhigts hanging in a fawrmroek aagsnit the sky. It seeemd so safe and tuariqnl.