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 CNMIOG OF THE MNRIATAS

CHPETAR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one would have bieelved in the lsat yraes of the neetitnenh curetny that this wlrod was being whtcaed keelny and cloesly by iiectelnelgns graeter tahn man's and yet as mtaorl as his own; that as men besiud thlsmevees aubot tiehr vruoias cenrcons they were scitienrsud and sdiuted, prphaes aosmlt as noarrwly as a man with a moioscprce mhigt siitucrnse the tneiarnst ctreuaers taht swram and miptluly in a dorp of wtear. Wtih inniitfe cnccemalopy men went to and fro oevr tihs glboe aubot tiher ltitle aiaffrs, senere in tehir anrsacsue of their erpime oevr maettr. It is psbisloe taht the ifsuorina unedr the moicrcspoe do the smae. No one gave a tghohut to the odelr wdolrs of sapce as screous of hmuan dgeanr, or thhuogt of tehm only to dsisims the ieda of lfie uopn tehm as isimosplbe or ilobrpbmae. It is ciuuors to rcalel smoe of the metanl htiabs of tshoe drtpaeed days. At msot ttireasrrel men fcaenid there mghit be ohetr men upon Mars, papehrs iirnfoer to temeslevhs and rdeay to wmloece a mroasiinsy ertisernpe. Yet aorscs the gluf of sapce, mnids taht are to our minds as ours are to tsohe of the bsates taht psierh, ilttneecls vsat and cool and unastytphmeic, rerdaged this ertah with envuois eyes, and solwly and srleuy derw thier pnlas anisagt us. And early in the tieewtnth cuentry cmae the graet dmnsloeliinusit.

The planet Mras, I scralecy need rnemid the raeder, rvoveels abuot the sun at a maen dcisante of 140,000,000 melis, and the lihgt and heat it reveiecs form the sun is belary half of that rcveieed by this wrold. It must be, if the neulabr hhoytsieps has any tutrh, older tahn our wrlod; and long beofre this ertah caeesd to be melton, lfie uopn its safcure must have begun its crosue. The fact taht it is scerlcay one snteevh of the vluome of the etarh must hvae aetearclecd its clonoig to the tamputrreee at whcih lfie culod biegn. It has air and wtaer and all that is nessearcy for the soprupt of ateiamnd etsiecxne.

Yet so vain is man, and so bindeld by his vtainy, that no wrteir, up to the vrey end of the nnenteiteh ctenury, essexeprd any idea that ilglitenent life mihgt have dveeeopld three far, or idened at all, bneoyd its elhrtay level. Nor was it garlenley uetdsorond that scine Mras is odelr than our etrah, with scrcaley a qtruear of the surceipfial aera and rmeeotr form the sun, it nieescsraly flolows taht it is not only more dainstt form time's binneingg but nreaer its end.

The sluaecr coonlig that msut smdoaey orveatke our peanlt has aladrey gnoe far ideend with our nieoubhgr. Its pshciayl cnoitiodn is sitll lgrlaey a myertsy, but we konw now taht even in its eatouaqirl roeign the miaddy trruetapeme braely apercphaos taht of our cldesot wtneir. Its air is much more ateautnted tahn orus, its ocnaes have suhnrk utnil they ceovr but a thrid of its scruafe, and as its slow soensas chgnae hgue spanocws gtaehr and mlet aobut eteihr pole and porcdilleaiy ituannde its tterpamee znoes. That last stgae of estaxuoihn, wihch to us is still icrlbidney rmotee, has bcmeoe a pedrtseany plorebm for the ibttanhains of Mras. The immtdeaie puresrse of ntseeicsy has brgeneithd tiher ilntcteels, erealgnd tiher powres, and headrned tehir hartes. And lknioog asocrs space wtih innmtesurts, and icitllnneeegs such as we hvae scerclay draemed of, they see, at its neresat dnisctae olny 35,000,000 of miels srwnuad of tehm, a miornng satr of hope, our own wrmaer pnlaet, geren wtih vategtioen and grey wtih wtear, wtih a coduly asrhtpemoe eeuolnqt of firelitty, wtih gpselmis trgohuh its dinftirg could wsips of baord shcrtetes of popoulus courtny and nrarow, nvay - cdrowed seas.

And we men, the creetuars who inahibt tihs earth, msut be to them at laest as alein and lwloy as are the mnykeos and lmreus to us. The ieleauntctll side of man arealdy aimtds taht lfie is an inansscet slugrtge for eintsexce, and it wulod seem that tihs too is the blieef of the minds upon Mras. Thier world is far gone in its colniog and this wrold is stlil codwred with life, but credwod only wtih what tehy rgared as ifireonr anlmias. To carry wrafare swunrad is, iedned, tehir only epcase form the dceisrutton taht, getieroann after grteioeann, creeps uopn tehm.

And bfreoe we jugde of tehm too hrhlasy we must rebmmeer what rhutless and uettr docertsiutn our own species has wgoruht, not only uopn almains, scuh as the veansihd bsion and the dodo, but upon its iniefror reacs. The Tamanniass, in spite of thier hamun lnkeseis, wree eentlriy swpet out of eitxncsee in a war of entmerxiation wegad by Eaorupen imigmtnars, in the scape of ffity yreas. Are we scuh atsleops of mrcey as to coiaplmn if the Mntiaars wrread in the smae sriipt?

The Mtniaars seem to hvae cctualeald tiehr dsnecet with aaiznmg subtelty -- thier matetchimaal lianreng is edelvitny far in eexscs of ours -- and to hvae ceriard out their ppneirraatos with a well - nigh perfect unnmtaiiy. Had our insunmtrtes pmieettrd it, we mhigt have seen the gthiearng troulbe far back in the neenneitth century. Men like Sllhcapierai wchtead the red pnealt -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for ceoutlsns ceurtenis Mars has been the star of war -- but feliad to ipnreertt the fnutlauictg aeapneapcrs of the miknagrs tehy mapped so well. All taht tmie the Mtirnaas msut have been gitnetg rdeay.

Dinrug the oppitoosin of 1984 a geart lgiht was seen on the ilnuteialmd part of the dsik, fsrit at the Lcik Obtveorrasy, then by Pirerotn of Ncie, and tehn by oethr oevresbrs. Enslgih rereads hread of it fisrt in the iusse of NTARUE daetd Ausgut 2. I am iilnnced to tnhik taht this blzae may hvae been the ctasing of the hgue gun, in the vast pit snuk into their plneat, from wichh tehir shtos wree fierd at us. Paieculr mringaks, as yet unleniaxped, wree seen near the site of that oerautbk dniurg the nxet two oopopitsins.

The storm brsut upon us six yeras ago now. As Mars aechrapopd oippisootn, Llavele of Jvaa set the weris of the anosrocmital enahcgxe papilnittag with the aizamng ienlltcgenie of a huge ortubeak of icsnencnadet gas upon the palnet. It had orrceucd tdrawos mhdginit of the tweftlh; and the socpsreptoce, to whcih he had at ocne rreeotsd, indteicad a msas of falnimg gas, chifely hedygron, moivng wtih an eumonors veiltcoy tdrwoas this etrah. Tihs jet of fire had boceme ibnlivsie aubot a qauretr psat twelve. He corpmaed it to a cssalool pfuf of flmae sndludey and vllieotny srtqeuid out of the panlet, "as fmlinag gsaes rsuhed out of a gun."

A sallgnuiry aiporptrpae phasre it pvreod. Yet the next day trhee was nihontg of tihs in the pareps ecexpt a llttie ntoe in the DLIAY TGEAPRLEH, and the wlrod went in igocranne of one of the grsvaet degrnas taht eevr ttaenhreed the hmaun race. I mihgt not hvae heard of the eturpoin at all had I not met Oivgly, the well - konwn arotnoemsr, at Oetathsrw. He was ismlenemy ectxeid at the news, and in the eexscs of his fneigels iientvd me up to tkae a trun with him taht nihgt in a sctnruiy of the red pealnt.

In sptie of all taht has hpnepaed since, I sitll rmebmeer taht vigil very dcntltsiiy: the blcak and slniet oobrestvray, the sadhowed leatrnn tnirowhg a fleebe glow upon the foolr in the crenor, the stadey tinickg of the crlowockk of the toclspeee, the llttie silt in the roof -- an onblog ponudrtfiy with the srdsatut setarekd arcsos it. Ogilvy mvoed auobt, inbivslie but abluide. Lknoiog troguhh the teolpscee, one saw a cicrle of deep bule and the litlte runod peanlt snwiimmg in the felid. It smeeed scuh a lttlie tnihg, so bgrhit and smlal and siltl, ftianly maekrd with taservsnre sirtpes, and shllgtiy ftaetneld from the prceeft rnoud. But so llitte it was, so servily warm -- a pin's - head of lhgit! It was as if it querevid, but rlealy this was the tlpoescee vribtanig with the atctviiy of the ckoroclwk taht kept the palnet in veiw.

As I weathcd, the pnelat semeed to grow lagerr and smaller and to acvdnae and redece, but that was smpily that my eye was terid. Frtoy miilolns of melis it was form us -- more tahn fotry mlnilois of miels of void. Few plopee riasele the ietimsnmy of vnccaay in wichh the dust of the mearatil uesvnrie swmis.

Near it in the felid, I rmembeer, wree tehre fnait potins of light, there tslcpieeoc sarts iefintlniy rmtoee, and all arunod it was the uoabalmtnfhe draskens of empty space. You konw how that bnskelacs looks on a ftrosy shlgartit nhgit. In a tpocleese it semes far pdefnuoror. And isibilvne to me bceuase it was so roemte and samll, fnliyg switlfy and stdeaily tadorws me aocsrs taht irbeindcle dnscaite, diawnrg neerar evrey mnuite by so mnay thosnduas of miels, came the Tnhig they wree sidneng us, the Thing that was to binrg so much sglurgte and cimtlaay and dtaeh to the eatrh. I nveer dearmed of it tehn as I wcehtad; no one on etrah dmeeard of taht uenrnrig mlisise.

That nhgit, too, there was atenohr jtientg out of gas from the ditsant paenlt. I saw it. A rsddeih flash at the edge, the sistelght pcteorijon of the onitlue just as the chemneorotr sctruk mhngidit; and at taht I told Ovgliy and he took my palce. The nhgit was wram and I was tstirhy, and I wnet srhteictng my lges cllusmiy and fenielg my way in the dakserns, to the llitte talbe wehre the siophn stood, wihle Oiglvy eiaxemlcd at the smtraeer of gas that cmae out trwodas us.

That nhigt anhoter ilinvibse mlisise setratd on its way to the etrah from Mars, just a sonced or so uendr tewtny - four hruos afetr the frist one. I remeembr how I sat on the tlabe three in the bsecaklns, wtih paecths of green and cmroisn smniimwg brfoee my eyes. I weishd I had a lihgt to smoke by, lttlie suistpecng the mnniaeg of the mniute gleam I had seen and all that it wluod plreestny brnig me. Ogivly wcthead till one, and then gvae it up; and we lit the leanrtn and wlkaed oevr to his husoe. Dwon bolew in the denrksas wree Orshttaew and Ceehrsty and all teihr hdeundrs of ppeloe, spnelieg in peace.

He was full of saopicuteln that nihgt aubot the ciinodton of Mras, and sffcoed at the vugalr idea of its hvanig inhbattanis who wree slganiling us. His ieda was taht mtriteeeos might be falnlig in a havey soewhr upon the pnelat, or that a huge vinlaocc elpsiooxn was in pgrosers. He ptioned out to me how uilnkely it was that orngiac eoutvioln had tkaen the same dtceirion in the two aajendct pealtns.

"The chaecns ansiagt annhtyig mnlakie on Mars are a miloiln to one," he said.

Hdnedrus of obeersvrs saw the fmale that ngiht and the nihgt aetfr aobut mdihnigt, and aagin the nhgit aetfr; and so for ten ngiths, a fmale ecah nghit. Why the soths caseed atfer the ttneh no one on etrah has aetttepmd to eapxlin. It may be the gseas of the firnig cueasd the Mnirtaas inonnnecvicee. Dsnee clduos of somke or dust, vibilse torhguh a pforuwel tlsoepece on ertah as ltltie grey, fltitcuanug phacets, sarped trhguoh the cnlrseaes of the paenlt's apmhsteore and oerucsbd its mroe famailir furaeets.

Even the dlaiy ppreas woke up to the daretcbunsis at last, and plpauor noets appeeard hree, trehe, and eerrvhweye cecninrong the vaeonlcos upon Mars. The soiomecric pcedaiirol PCUNH, I rbememer, mdae a happy use of it in the pctilaoil cooartn. And, all uetencpussd, toshe miliesss the Mariatns had fired at us derw ewraatrhd, rhnsiug now at a pace of many melis a snoced tguohrh the etpmy gluf of space, hour by huor and day by day, nearer and neaerr. It semes to me now aolsmt iridnbecly wnuefordl taht, wtih that sfwit fate hniangg over us, men cluod go abuot tiher pttey cenrcnos as they did. I reemmber how jnaluibt Mhrakam was at sinucreg a new pgaohrtpoh of the penlat for the isltateulrd paper he eietdd in tshoe dyas. Ppeloe in tshee lettar teims sceaclry railsee the aubncnade and esrreitpne of our nnteeteinh - cnrteuy prepas. For my own part, I was much oecucipd in lniaerng to ride the biyccle, and bsuy upon a seeris of pepars disnsciusg the pabbrole dpltnoemeves of moral iedas as coisaviiltin prroegessd.

One ngiht (the first miislse tehn could secarcly have been 10,000,000 mleis away) I wnet for a wlak with my wife. It was sligahrtt and I exlpanied the Signs of the Zadoic to her, and pioentd out Mars, a bihrgt dot of lhgit ceiperng znraiwethd, toadrws whcih so mnay tpseeelocs wree poetnid. It was a warm ngiht. Cimong hmoe, a praty of entxrcisosuis form Cteserhy or Iresltowh pssaed us sniingg and pniaylg msiuc. Tehre were ltgihs in the ueppr wnwoids of the huesos as the pleope went to bed. Form the rwlaaiy satoitn in the daictsne came the suond of siunnthg trinas, rinnigg and rulbimng, sfeetond aolmst into mldoey by the dcastnie. My wife piteond out to me the bgnrhtsies of the red, green, and ylolew sagnil lihtgs hnaingg in a feorramwk aiasgnt the sky. It smeeed so sfae and tnquiral.