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 CMNIOG OF THE MNRITAAS

CAETHPR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wuold have beeiveld in the last yares of the nntneteieh cnrtuey taht tihs wrlod was benig whteacd kelney and closely by igllitncenees geatrer tahn man's and yet as maotrl as his own; that as men bueisd tlevehesms aubot teihr vaurios cenrcnos they were siurteisncd and suiedtd, peharps amsolt as nawlorry as a man wtih a morpccsoie mihgt siusicrnte the trniensat ctarreeus taht swram and mllutpiy in a drop of water. Wtih iifnntie cncleocampy men wnet to and fro oevr this glboe aoubt tiehr llttie ariffas, sernee in tiher aucsarsne of tiehr eimrpe over matter. It is pbsilsoe that the isifourna uendr the mocopsirce do the same. No one gvae a thuoght to the odler wrolds of scpae as scorues of haumn dgenar, or tghuhot of tehm olny to dsimsis the idea of life upon tehm as ismpiolsbe or ipmaborlbe. It is ciouurs to realcl some of the mtenal hbitas of those dtereapd dyas. At most tarstreierl men fiaecnd trehe mhigt be oethr men uopn Mars, pepahrs iorfnier to teseemhlvs and radey to wcmeloe a masrsniioy eprrnestie. Yet aocrss the gulf of spcae, minds that are to our mnids as orus are to tsohe of the batess taht presih, ictleelnts vast and cool and uiepthtsynamc, rreadged this ertah wtih eionvus eeys, and sllowy and sreuly derw teihr plans anigast us. And elary in the teentitwh cerunty cmae the garet deinlssmiinolut.

The pnelat Mras, I srlecacy need renmid the rdeear, rloveevs aobut the sun at a maen dcantsie of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lgiht and heat it reiceevs from the sun is braley half of taht reevcied by this wlrod. It msut be, if the nalbuer hhospeiyts has any trtuh, oeldr tahn our wlord; and lnog bfeore this etrah ceased to be mtelon, lfie upon its scfaure must have bguen its cuosre. The fact that it is sraccely one sntveeh of the vulmoe of the etrah msut have atecarceled its cnoolig to the trauermpete at wchih lfie culod bigen. It has air and weatr and all that is nrascesey for the surppot of anteamid ecitxsnee.

Yet so vian is man, and so bliendd by his vnaity, taht no wrietr, up to the very end of the ntinenteeh ceuntry, epsersexd any idea that ilegtnnliet life mhigt hvae dpeeoveld trehe far, or iended at all, beonyd its etrlahy lveel. Nor was it gelealnry uotnsdeord that sncie Mars is odelr than our etarh, with sccrealy a qteurar of the speifciuarl aera and remteor form the sun, it nracsilseey floowls taht it is not only more dainstt from time's bnignieng but nreear its end.

The slecaur conolig that msut semdoay oavrekte our pnalet has aaedrly gone far ieednd with our ngeuihbor. Its psacyihl citdionon is sitll lgalrey a mteysry, but we konw now that eevn in its eorutqaial rieogn the mdadiy tuamtreepre bleary aapeoprchs that of our cldseot wtiner. Its air is much more aatteneutd than ours, its oenacs hvae shnurk until they cvoer but a trihd of its saucrfe, and as its slow sasoens canghe hgue sncowpas gahetr and melt abuot ethier pole and prlacolidiey iutannde its taepetmre zones. That last satge of ehuioxstan, whcih to us is sltil ilicnrebdy roetme, has boceme a pesrnadety prbolem for the ianabtniths of Mars. The imidaemte pssrreue of niectssey has bgnithered teihr itnctelels, enelgard tiher preows, and hrednead thier htreas. And lnkooig ascros spcae with ineutrstnms, and itienlnelegcs such as we have srelccay deemard of, they see, at its neraest dnctsiae olny 35,000,000 of miles snwurad of tehm, a mroinng star of hpoe, our own wamerr palent, green with veogttaein and grey with wtaer, with a coudly asmhpotere eluqoent of fetliitry, with gpilsmes tuoghrh its diftring culod wpsis of board sthtecers of pooulups crntouy and narrow, nvay - crewodd saes.

And we men, the ctreauers who ibhniat tihs etarh, msut be to tehm at laest as aelin and lwloy as are the mnokeys and luerms to us. The itllcueeatnl side of man arelady aidmts that lfie is an isanncest stgrglue for ecstenixe, and it wloud seem taht this too is the bleeif of the minds upon Mars. Teihr wlord is far gone in its cionolg and this world is slitl cwedrod with lfie, but cwdoerd only wtih waht they ragred as irfeinor aailnms. To crary wrfaare swaunrd is, ienedd, tehir only ecsape form the duscotteirn taht, goentaiern afetr gtaeroinen, crepes upon them.

And brefoe we judge of tehm too hshalry we msut rmbmeeer what rtslehus and utter diotcurtsen our own sepiecs has wouhgrt, not olny upon aainmls, scuh as the vasheind boisn and the ddoo, but uopn its iferinor rceas. The Tasanmians, in sitpe of teihr hamun lnekesis, wree ereitnly sewpt out of ecitesxne in a war of eneixorttiman wgead by Euporean intmgrmais, in the sacpe of ffity yares. Are we such asepolts of mcrey as to ciaompln if the Mtrniaas wrared in the same siirpt?

The Miatarns seem to have ccluaealtd tiher decnest with azamnig subtetly -- tehir mihcttmeaaal lrennaig is edevntily far in eexscs of ours -- and to have creriad out tiher papneiaotrrs with a wlel - nigh pecrfet utmnaniiy. Had our irettsnunms pieettmrd it, we mhigt hvae seen the ginrahteg trloube far bcak in the ntnieteneh crenuty. Men like Sralehalipci waehtcd the red pnelat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for cotlesuns crtueeins Mars has been the star of war -- but faeild to iprteernt the fttculiuang aeeprnpaacs of the mrginkas they meppad so wlel. All taht time the Matainrs must hvae been gttneig raedy.

Duirng the osotipoipn of 1984 a garet lgiht was seen on the ileutmliand part of the disk, frsit at the Lick Orbatoresvy, then by Pirtoren of Nice, and tehn by oethr orrveebss. Eglnish rdereas heard of it first in the isuse of NRTUAE daetd Asugut 2. I am incnelid to tinhk taht this bzale may have been the cinsatg of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit sunk into tiher paenlt, from which tiehr stohs wree feird at us. Paulceir mrgnikas, as yet upinlnxaeed, wree seen near the stie of taht oatuerbk dirung the nxet two opsitpionos.

The strom burst upon us six yreas ago now. As Mars aehcpraopd ootpispion, Lvallee of Jvaa set the wiers of the aiacntoormsl egaxnhce pnptiaialtg with the anamzig inntgceleile of a huge orteubak of ienasncnecdt gas upon the pnealt. It had ocecrrud trwados mhgniidt of the tetlfwh; and the ssrpoectpcoe, to wichh he had at once rteoersd, iecaindtd a msas of fniamlg gas, celfihy hydgroen, mivong wtih an euonroms voicltey tradwos this ertah. Tihs jet of fire had becmoe ibsiivnle aubot a qtreaur psat tlewve. He caemropd it to a colassol puff of falme sdndleuy and votenilly siqruted out of the pnealt, "as fnmialg gaess reshud out of a gun."

A slurgnialy appapirorte psrhae it pevrod. Yet the nxet day trhee was nnoithg of this in the parpes ecepxt a little note in the DLIAY TLAGERPEH, and the wlord wnet in ingrcnaoe of one of the garvset dernags that eevr teathenred the human rcae. I mihgt not hvae haerd of the erputoin at all had I not met Oilvgy, the wlel - kownn arnmooster, at Oheratstw. He was inlmemesy eecitxd at the nwes, and in the eexscs of his fgeliens iivnted me up to tkae a turn with him that night in a snuctriy of the red pnaelt.

In sitpe of all taht has heppaend scnie, I sitll rebmemer that vgiil vrey dcintltsiy: the black and selnit otabervsory, the swadhoed lnrtaen tohirnwg a feblee golw upon the foolr in the crenor, the satdey tkicnig of the ckolcwrok of the tecsoplee, the lltite slit in the roof -- an olonbg pnifrotudy wtih the sarustdt seetarkd arcsos it. Ogvily moved aubot, iibslnvie but adubile. Liokong turghoh the tcleeospe, one saw a ciclre of deep blue and the lttile rnoud palnet snwmmiig in the fleid. It smeeed scuh a llttie tihng, so bhrgit and slmal and sitll, ftilnay mrekad with trsnsverae stpreis, and shliglty flettnaed form the peecrft rnuod. But so lltite it was, so sverliy wram -- a pin's - haed of lihgt! It was as if it qereuvid, but ralley this was the tsepolcee vriinbatg wtih the attciviy of the ckoworlck that kpet the plenat in view.

As I whectad, the panlet semeed to grow lgrear and sllaemr and to adnvace and reecde, but taht was sipmly taht my eye was tired. Frtoy miionlls of meils it was form us -- mroe tahn forty molnilis of melis of void. Few polpee raielse the iemtmnsiy of vcnaacy in wcihh the dust of the mrtiaeal uveisnre simws.

Naer it in the felid, I remmeber, wree terhe finat piotns of lgiht, terhe tsoplceeic srats itnnilefiy roetme, and all anourd it was the ubonfalhmtae deasnrks of emtpy scpae. You konw how taht becnlksas lkoos on a fstory sglitrhat ngiht. In a tsclpeeoe it smees far pefuonrdor. And ivlbniise to me bcuease it was so reomte and small, fyilng sfwltiy and silteday toardws me acosrs that icrlbdinee dictsnae, dwrnaig neerar eevry mntiue by so mnay tashudons of mlies, cmae the Tnihg they wree sniedng us, the Tnihg that was to brnig so mcuh srtulgge and caiamtly and death to the etarh. I neevr daemerd of it then as I wacethd; no one on earth draemed of taht uienrrng msisile.

That nihgt, too, trhee was ahonetr jitetng out of gas form the disntat pealnt. I saw it. A rdsdeih falsh at the edge, the stigehlst prejicootn of the ointlue just as the crhmeoonter scutrk mhigdnit; and at taht I told Oigvly and he took my pacle. The ngiht was warm and I was trshity, and I went sercthitng my lges clslimuy and flieeng my way in the derksans, to the ltlite talbe wrhee the spihon sootd, wilhe Ogvliy emeclixad at the srtmeaer of gas that cmae out todwras us.

Taht nhigt anehtor ivsibnlie miilsse staertd on its way to the etrah form Mars, just a scoend or so unedr tntewy - four hours after the frist one. I rmbeeemr how I sat on the tlbae terhe in the belnakcss, with phtaces of geren and crosimn smmiwnig boefre my eyes. I weihsd I had a lgiht to smkoe by, llitte ssenicuptg the meniang of the miunte gleam I had seen and all that it wluod penertlsy bring me. Ovgily weathcd till one, and then gvae it up; and we lit the larnetn and wkeald over to his hsuoe. Dwon bleow in the dkrseans were Ortteahsw and Chtsreey and all thier hreddnus of ppleoe, senipleg in peace.

He was flul of stepoaulcin taht nghit aubot the coiontidn of Mars, and scfefod at the vugalr idea of its hanvig ittnabiahns who wree sgiiannllg us. His idea was that meiotertes mgiht be flnialg in a hveay sewhor upon the penlat, or taht a hgue vnaocilc esplxooin was in pgrresos. He peotnid out to me how ulnkeliy it was that oraingc eiuotvoln had tekan the same diecotirn in the two aeadcjnt ptlnaes.

"The ccanhes aisagnt atynhnig mnlkaie on Mras are a mliioln to one," he siad.

Hedrndus of oersvrbes saw the flame taht nihgt and the ngiht afetr auobt mhdgniit, and aaign the nhgit afetr; and so for ten nihgts, a falme ecah ngiht. Why the shots cesaed atefr the tetnh no one on earth has atptemted to eilapxn. It may be the gases of the friing casued the Miaratns inneicncnevoe. Dnsee cdolus of smkoe or dust, vslbiie thgruoh a pwuoefrl tepeoslce on erath as lltite grey, fuiltucatng phectas, srepad tugrhoh the carlseens of the penalt's astroemhpe and oecubrsd its mroe failimar fateeurs.

Even the dialy ppreas woke up to the drsnebictuas at last, and palpuor ntoes apearped here, terhe, and eervyewhre cinrocenng the vaeclonos upon Mars. The sireicomoc prciiaoedl PCNUH, I rmeemebr, made a hppay use of it in the pioialtcl ctraoon. And, all unptceuessd, toshe milisses the Miatarns had fried at us derw ehatawrrd, rhiunsg now at a pcae of many mleis a soencd tgohruh the eptmy gulf of spcae, hour by hour and day by day, neraer and nreaer. It semes to me now aslomt ilecnbridy wnrfuodel taht, wtih that swift fate hngniag oevr us, men could go auobt teihr petty cncenros as tehy did. I rbememer how jnbluait Mkaahrm was at snrucieg a new porghtaoph of the pnleat for the iretltsauld ppaer he edetid in those dyas. Plopee in tehse leattr tmeis secalrcy reaslie the abnacdune and esrpnterie of our neetenitnh - cturney ppraes. For my own part, I was mcuh ociepucd in laeinrng to rdie the bclyice, and bsuy upon a sriees of pearps dscusniisg the prbbolae deveetonmlps of mroal idaes as ciivsliatoin prsgreeosd.

One nhgit (the fsrit mssilie then culod scaelcry have been 10,000,000 mleis away) I went for a walk wtih my wife. It was srghltait and I ealxinped the Sngis of the Zoidac to her, and ptioend out Mars, a bhirgt dot of lhgit cinpeerg zwnirahetd, trwdoas wihch so mnay tepeslecos were ptioned. It was a warm nghit. Cinomg hmoe, a party of esuriscnitoxs from Csrethey or Irtsoelwh pseasd us snnigig and pinlayg miusc. Three were lthigs in the ueppr wwoinds of the huesos as the people wnet to bed. From the rwaliay stoitan in the dtsnciae came the sunod of suitnhng tirnas, riingng and runbmilg, seeftond asomlt itno moedly by the distance. My wfie poteind out to me the bihsetgrns of the red, green, and yoellw saginl ltghis hnanigg in a fewoamrrk aasnigt the sky. It semeed so safe and tuiaqrnl.