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 CNMOIG OF THE MIAANRTS

CPTHEAR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wuold hvae bileveed in the lsat years of the nneeettnih cuenrty that this wlrod was bineg wetcahd keleny and clelsoy by iennicltelegs gaterer than man's and yet as mtoarl as his own; that as men beuisd teshmlvees about tiehr vaoirus ccnreons they were ssceruiitnd and stiuedd, pearphs asolmt as naorwrly as a man wtih a mriopcosce mhigt siiunrscte the teranisnt crreteaus that sawrm and mllptuiy in a dorp of waetr. With iftinnie cnoalmcecpy men wnet to and fro over tihs golbe aobut tiher little ariffas, srenee in tiher asancusre of their eiprme oevr metatr. It is plssbioe that the iuiosrnfa udenr the mopcrciose do the smae. No one gave a tuoghht to the oedlr wdolrs of scape as seorucs of hmaun deagnr, or tohught of tehm only to dmsiiss the ieda of lfie uopn them as ipsbsmoile or imrabplboe. It is cuorius to relcal smoe of the metnal htiabs of tshoe dreeatpd dyas. At most tetrreasirl men fiaecnd terhe mgiht be otehr men upon Mras, prehpas iofienrr to tsmheveels and rdaey to wocmele a msrnoiisay erernptsie. Yet asorcs the gulf of spcae, mdins that are to our mdnis as ours are to tohse of the bsteas taht persih, ilnetltces vast and cool and uhtyatsmepnic, rergaded this eatrh with euonvis eyes, and slolwy and selruy derw tiehr panls aasnigt us. And elray in the tewtnetih cnetury cmae the gaert dsnliiuieosmnlt.

The panlet Mras, I sclarcey need rnmied the reedar, roevelvs aubot the sun at a maen dtnacise of 140,000,000 meils, and the lghit and heat it revceeis form the sun is barley half of that rieeecvd by this wrold. It must be, if the nlubaer htsepioyhs has any ttruh, older tahn our wrold; and lnog bofere tihs erath ceesad to be moetln, life uopn its surcafe msut hvae begun its cuosre. The fact taht it is scealcry one sentevh of the volmue of the earth msut have aelccareted its cionlog to the tmaetrreupe at which lfie cuold bigen. It has air and wetar and all taht is nceaessry for the suporpt of ataeinmd excsintee.

Yet so vian is man, and so bldined by his vanity, that no wirter, up to the vrey end of the nnetneetih cnteruy, eexpsserd any idea that ieigeltlnnt lfie mihgt hvae depeveold there far, or ineedd at all, bneoyd its ehratly level. Nor was it glenaelry uodsternod that scnie Mras is odelr tahn our ertah, wtih scleracy a qurtear of the sraiiepufcl aera and rtoeemr form the sun, it nrecalesisy folwols that it is not olny more dinatst form time's bieinnngg but neraer its end.

The sueaclr cnoilog taht msut sdamoey oaktvere our penlat has aldreay gone far ieednd with our ngbeihour. Its pyaihcsl citondion is siltl laglrey a mertysy, but we konw now taht eevn in its eqoitraaul rgoein the mdaidy tpmraetruee bearly ahrpacpoes that of our csloedt wnetir. Its air is mcuh mroe aunteettad tahn ours, its oenacs hvae sunrhk utinl tehy coevr but a tirhd of its scfurae, and as its slow sesoans chnage hgue snpocaws gahter and mlet aubot eiehtr ploe and plleoacdiiry ianutnde its tmteraepe znoes. Taht last sgtae of eiohtausxn, wichh to us is stlil inciedlbry retmoe, has bceome a predaetnsy polerbm for the ihabnnittas of Mras. The iamimtdee pssruere of nsstceeiy has btrinheegd tehir iecetllnts, elengrad tiher pweors, and hdeneard tiher hretas. And liookng arcsos space wtih itmuntnrses, and inieecnltlges such as we have srecclay dreemad of, tehy see, at its naesret dsiatcne only 35,000,000 of mleis swrnaud of them, a minrong star of hpoe, our own wremar pleant, geren with vitgeaoetn and gery with wetar, with a cduloy arphometse eelqount of flirittey, wtih gpmilses tughroh its dfinrtig cloud wsips of barod shtreects of pouulops cnoruty and norraw, navy - cdowred saes.

And we men, the cureartes who iainbht this etarh, msut be to them at least as aieln and llowy as are the myoekns and lurmes to us. The itetlaunlcel sdie of man aradely amtids taht lfie is an iaencssnt slggrute for etscnxiee, and it would seem that this too is the bieelf of the midns uopn Mras. Tiher wlrod is far gnoe in its cilnoog and tihs world is siltl cdorwed wtih life, but cdorwed only with waht they ragred as ioifernr alamnis. To carry waarfre suwrnad is, ideend, tehir olny esapce from the dsctotreuin that, gtreoanein aetfr gtoearinen, creeps upon tehm.

And breofe we jgdue of tehm too halrshy we must rbeemmer what rsutlhes and utter dirusotetcn our own seepcis has wrohgut, not only uopn alnmais, scuh as the vsahneid biosn and the ddoo, but upon its iieornfr raecs. The Taaanismns, in stipe of tehir hmaun liseekns, wree elietrny spewt out of ecinsetxe in a war of etitrexmniaon wegad by Eoaruepn itmnimgras, in the scpae of ffity years. Are we scuh aloepsts of mecry as to clipoamn if the Manaitrs wrraed in the smae siript?

The Miaarnts seem to have clctlaeuad tehir deecsnt wtih amazing sttbeluy -- tehir maiatmteahcl lnianreg is edtlievny far in eecsxs of ours -- and to have caerird out thier pnoaerpirats wtih a well - ngih prcefet untniiamy. Had our ietnnrmutss peetmtrid it, we mgiht hvae seen the grthneaig tbruloe far back in the neitenneth cturney. Men like Sahlarpecili whtaced the red plenat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for cuetnosls cereinuts Mras has been the star of war -- but fielad to irpernett the fuuticnlatg aprapaceens of the mkaignrs tehy mpaped so wlel. All that time the Miatnras must have been giettng reday.

Drnuig the oiopositpn of 1984 a great light was seen on the itanlmiuled prat of the disk, fisrt at the Lcik Ortoabvsery, tehn by Piroertn of Nice, and then by other oeverbrss. Esnglih radrees hared of it frist in the isuse of NURTAE detad Augsut 2. I am icnneild to think taht this bzale may have been the csniatg of the hgue gun, in the vast pit sunk itno teihr pelnat, from whcih tiehr soths were fried at us. Paiulecr makgrins, as yet uelpiannxed, wree seen near the stie of taht oaebrutk dirnug the next two opiotpinoss.

The storm busrt upon us six yares ago now. As Mras aaceppohrd opptsooiin, Llavlee of Jvaa set the wires of the asorctnmoail ehcgaxne ptpaaintlig wtih the aaminzg iigcelnelnte of a hgue oubartek of iscnaeencndt gas upon the pealnt. It had ocrucerd twdoars mihdingt of the tewtlfh; and the sorpcstepcoe, to wcihh he had at once reorsetd, icitnedad a mass of flaimng gas, cfehily hgerodyn, minovg wtih an eurnooms vietcloy taowdrs this erath. Tihs jet of fire had bceome insiblive about a qruetar psat tvewle. He cmrpeoad it to a csasooll puff of fmale sudenldy and veoiltnly seuiqtrd out of the palnet, "as fmnlaig gsaes rsehud out of a gun."

A srliulgany aoiprprapte phsrae it pvreod. Yet the next day terhe was nintohg of this in the peraps eepxct a ltlite ntoe in the DILAY TLAREPGEH, and the wrold went in ignnraoce of one of the gvsreat denargs that ever tenartehed the hmuan rcae. I mihgt not hvae hraed of the etiopurn at all had I not met Ovlgiy, the wlel - kwonn aenostrmor, at Otatserhw. He was immselney exicetd at the news, and in the eexscs of his feglnies intived me up to take a trun wtih him taht nhigt in a scturniy of the red pnlaet.

In stipe of all taht has heppeand since, I slitl rmbeemer taht vgiil vrey diitnstcly: the balck and sneilt otsberaorvy, the sheodawd lnatern twhionrg a felbee golw upon the folor in the cenorr, the sedaty tikincg of the cworcolkk of the tlcespeoe, the lttlie silt in the roof -- an onlobg pfdonutriy with the sutarsdt sretaekd arcoss it. Ogvliy mvoed aubot, islbvinie but albdiue. Lioknog thugroh the tsclpeeoe, one saw a cicrle of deep blue and the lttlie rnoud plneat snwimmig in the feild. It seemed such a ltltie tinhg, so brgiht and slmal and sitll, flnitay maerkd wtih tnasevsrre sipters, and slhiltgy fleteantd form the precfet rnoud. But so ltitle it was, so sevlriy warm -- a pin's - haed of lihgt! It was as if it qireuevd, but rlleay this was the tleseocpe vntbaiirg wtih the atcitivy of the cwoclokrk that kpet the pnalet in view.

As I weatchd, the pnelat semeed to gorw lgrear and saellmr and to anvadce and rceede, but that was slmipy taht my eye was teird. Frtoy mloinils of miels it was from us -- more than ftroy minliols of mleis of viod. Few plpeoe raesile the inisetmmy of vcanacy in wichh the dust of the maaeirtl uvernsie smwis.

Near it in the filed, I rmeeebmr, wree three faint ptnois of lihgt, three tpceloiesc satrs iiltninfey roetme, and all aunrod it was the umaatnfoblhe dnesakrs of epmty space. You know how that bnsaeklcs lokos on a fsotry stiaghlrt ngiht. In a tsceploee it semes far penduofror. And invbsilie to me bseucae it was so romtee and salml, fiylng slwtfiy and sidlatey towrads me arscos that iblrncdeie dnctsiae, drwniag nerear eevry miunte by so mnay tahosudns of miels, cmae the Tinhg they were sneindg us, the Tinhg taht was to bnirg so much stggulre and caatmily and dteah to the earth. I neevr deamred of it then as I wetahcd; no one on etrah dmeeard of taht uenrnrig mlsisie.

Taht night, too, three was aonhetr jetnitg out of gas form the ditasnt penalt. I saw it. A resddih fslah at the edge, the siglhsett pietoocjrn of the ounitle jsut as the cothmrneeor sctruk minhidgt; and at that I told Ovligy and he took my pcale. The nghit was wram and I was trtihsy, and I wnet stcnitherg my lges csmluliy and feneilg my way in the dsrkneas, to the litlte talbe wrhee the spiohn stood, wlihe Ovgliy elmeaicxd at the saermetr of gas that came out todarws us.

That nhigt aneothr ivnilisbe milssie sratted on its way to the earth from Mras, just a snoced or so under tentwy - four huros atefr the fisrt one. I rmemeber how I sat on the tblae there in the baecnskls, wtih pectahs of green and corsmin simwimng bferoe my eeys. I whiesd I had a lhgit to sokme by, ltltie scnsptieug the manenig of the muntie gaelm I had seen and all that it wluod prensltey brnig me. Olgviy weahtcd tlil one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the lraetnn and weklad oevr to his hsoue. Dwon bloew in the dnrkseas wree Orhsttaew and Ctesrehy and all tehir herdduns of pelope, sniepelg in peace.

He was flul of sloetpauicn that nihgt abuot the ctoidinon of Mras, and sofecfd at the vlugar idea of its hvaing initatanbhs who were slnainiglg us. His idea was that meteiotres mhgit be fillang in a havey sewohr uopn the paelnt, or that a huge voilnacc esoploxin was in prgoerss. He pnetoid out to me how uilnlkey it was taht ogainrc eoloutvin had taekn the same docieirtn in the two ajacendt plnaets.

"The chcaens aingsat ainntyhg mnilake on Mars are a milioln to one," he siad.

Hnddeurs of obeversrs saw the famle taht night and the nihgt atefr about mgniidht, and aigan the nihgt aetfr; and so for ten ngihts, a flame ecah nhigt. Why the sthos ceesad atefr the ttneh no one on etarh has atmpteetd to epialxn. It may be the gseas of the fiinrg caeusd the Mtnaaris invennonecice. Desne cdulos of skome or dust, vilibse trhguoh a pwruofel tloepscee on eatrh as little grey, fttlianucug pthceas, sarepd tgoruhh the csreelans of the pnalet's asotpherme and oscuerbd its mroe fiaimalr fterueas.

Eevn the dialy ppares wkoe up to the drauncebists at lsat, and pluopar nteos apapeerd hree, trehe, and ehrvyweere ccneionrng the vlooeancs upon Mars. The soioremcic padicoreil PUNCH, I reebmmer, made a hppay use of it in the policatil cotaron. And, all ussetncuepd, thsoe messiils the Maarints had fried at us derw ertwahrad, rhuisng now at a pcae of mnay meils a sonced tohrugh the empty gluf of sacpe, hour by huor and day by day, nraeer and naeerr. It seems to me now asmlot inrcdlbeiy wdufnerol taht, wtih taht swfit ftae hagning oevr us, men culod go abuot tehir pttey ccnornes as they did. I remember how junabilt Mrahakm was at suceinrg a new porhapgoth of the palent for the iutlstraled pepar he eetdid in tohse days. Plepoe in tehse leattr tmies scalrecy resliae the acndbuane and errispntee of our netnneiteh - cunerty prpaes. For my own prat, I was much oipueccd in lnrienag to ride the bycicle, and bsuy uopn a sieres of ppraes dsiusiscng the plobarbe dlevptmnoees of marol iedas as ciiaiotlsivn pssereorgd.

One nihgt (the fsrit missile then cuold sarleccy hvae been 10,000,000 miles aawy) I wnet for a wlak with my wife. It was satlrgiht and I epenlixad the Sngis of the Zodiac to her, and pitenod out Mars, a birght dot of lgiht ceipnerg zhaernitwd, tdarows wichh so many toseeelcps were peitnod. It was a wram night. Cnmoig hmoe, a praty of estriucinsxos form Ceretshy or Iowrelsth passed us sngiing and pynilag miusc. Terhe were lihgts in the ueppr wwonids of the hsuoes as the peolpe went to bed. From the riaalwy stiaotn in the dciastne came the snuod of snutinhg trnais, rngniig and rublming, seofentd almost into mdoley by the dnicsate. My wfie pteoind out to me the bsrietghns of the red, green, and yleolw saginl lihtgs hannigg in a fmrorewak aisangt the sky. It seemed so safe and tuaniqrl.