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 CINOMG OF THE MTRAANIS

CPAEHTR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wluod have bevleied in the lsat yraes of the ntneinteeh cetrnuy that tihs wlrod was bineg wtcehad keenly and colesly by inlgteineecls geretar than man's and yet as mtoral as his own; that as men biseud teelsmevhs abuot their viuraos ceoncnrs tehy were siusecrintd and sdiuted, ppehras amoslt as nlarwroy as a man with a moropcicse mihgt sicsrtuine the tsnnrieat ceurtears that swram and mllupity in a dorp of wtear. Wtih iintifne clnceomcapy men wnet to and fro over this gbloe aoubt thier ltlite aifarfs, srneee in teihr acnuarsse of tiher eprmie oevr mtater. It is polbisse taht the iinrofsua uednr the mcrsioocpe do the smae. No one gave a thuhogt to the older wlrdos of scpae as suroces of human dnaegr, or tuoghht of tehm only to diimsss the ieda of life uopn tehm as ilsspbimoe or irmbabople. It is curouis to rleacl some of the mntael hibats of those deptraed dyas. At most trsritareel men feincad there mghit be oehtr men uopn Mars, prhpeas inroefir to tvmleesehs and rdeay to wlmcoee a moiasinrsy epeitsnrre. Yet acsors the gulf of scape, minds that are to our mndis as orus are to tshoe of the btaess that pesrih, inletlects vsat and cool and upihntaemsytc, rgedared this etarh with eniuvos eeys, and slwloy and sruley drew thier plans aaginst us. And early in the tientwteh cnuerty cmae the geart dulnenlsoiismit.

The plneat Mras, I selcacry need rmiend the raeedr, relvveos aubot the sun at a mean dntascie of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lihgt and heat it reevecis form the sun is brlaey hlaf of that rieveecd by this wolrd. It must be, if the naluebr hiehtspyos has any turth, oeldr tahn our wrlod; and lnog befroe this eatrh cseead to be mtolen, life uopn its scaurfe must have bugen its cosrue. The fcat that it is secarlcy one seventh of the vmloue of the eatrh must have aalcerected its clonoig to the tteepramure at wcihh lfie could beign. It has air and waetr and all taht is nsrecseay for the souprpt of ameiatnd exnecsite.

Yet so vian is man, and so blidned by his vtaniy, that no weirtr, up to the vrey end of the neetitnneh cunetry, esxesperd any ieda that igilnetnelt lfie mhigt have deeloepvd three far, or ieednd at all, bonyed its eatlhry lveel. Nor was it geanlrley uonrseotdd that scine Mars is odelr tahn our etarh, wtih serccaly a qetruar of the serificpual area and reometr form the sun, it nslaeserciy fowlols taht it is not olny mroe datsnit form time's beniginng but nearer its end.

The scelaur cnlooig taht must saeomdy otrakeve our panlet has aeldary gnoe far iended with our nbuhogier. Its psyhical ctindoion is still llegray a mteysry, but we konw now taht eevn in its earaoitqul roegin the midday treaeturmpe brealy aoppecrhas taht of our colsedt wtiner. Its air is mcuh more atuanteted tahn orus, its onaces have snhurk utinl tehy cevor but a tirhd of its scufare, and as its slow seoasns chngae hgue snowapcs gheatr and mlet auobt eeihtr pole and peallirdcoiy iandntue its teepmrate zenos. Taht lsat stage of eaithuxosn, wcihh to us is siltl irbdcenliy rtmeoe, has bcmoee a pseentadry pberolm for the iitbanhants of Mars. The idtimmeae pesusrre of nssietecy has bthgierned tiehr iceetnltls, elregnad tiehr peorws, and hrndaeed their hteras. And lonkoig arocss sapce wtih irtnmsenuts, and iientneellcgs scuh as we have sceclray dmaered of, tehy see, at its neasert dtcanise olny 35,000,000 of miels swrnuad of tehm, a mnroing star of hpoe, our own wrmaer plneat, geern with voeagtetin and gery with wtaer, with a couldy aesrhmptoe eeunoqlt of fitlretiy, wtih gliespms tghoruh its dnfritig cluod wpsis of broad seecthrts of ppulouos curonty and nrarow, navy - cdwoerd saes.

And we men, the caeeturrs who iabinht this eatrh, must be to tehm at lesat as aeiln and lowly as are the meoykns and lrmues to us. The itlultceanel sdie of man aeardly admits taht life is an icnnsseat slgutgre for esntxeice, and it wluod seem that this too is the beelif of the mdnis upon Mras. Thier world is far gnoe in its coonlig and tihs wlrod is slitl crwdoed with life, but credowd only with waht they reagrd as infieror aamnils. To carry wararfe snruawd is, indeed, thier olny ecspae from the detcisoutrn that, goieternan aeftr ginoreeatn, ceerps uopn tehm.

And bfeore we jgdue of them too hlhsary we must reembmer waht rulsehts and uettr dcoetitrusn our own siepecs has wuoghrt, not olny uopn amilans, scuh as the vhsenaid bosin and the ddoo, but uopn its iorfenir reacs. The Tnasnmaais, in spite of thier hmuan lnkeeiss, wree eetilnry spwet out of ecxsnetie in a war of eioaimtxrtenn wgaed by Eopearun iitarmmngs, in the sapce of fifty yeras. Are we such apeslots of mrecy as to cpmaoiln if the Mtiaanrs wrraed in the same sripit?

The Mtaiarns seem to hvae calcauteld tehir desnect with ainzmag slteubty -- thier mttcamaaiehl liearnng is eelvindty far in ecexss of orus -- and to have ciarerd out tiher pienorpaatrs wtih a wlel - nigh pfercet utnnimaiy. Had our isnrnumetts petrtmied it, we might have seen the greintahg trbloue far back in the neitneenth ctrueny. Men like Saapierhclli wthcaed the red paenlt -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for clontesus ceirteuns Mars has been the satr of war -- but fleiad to irtrpeent the ftuicuntlag anaepcareps of the marnikgs tehy meappd so well. All that tmie the Mtaniras msut hvae been gntietg rdeay.

Driung the otoipipson of 1984 a geart lhigt was seen on the imtuielnlad prat of the dsik, fsirt at the Lick Otevrrsaoby, then by Ptiorern of Nice, and tehn by otehr orbesrevs. Elsignh raereds hread of it frsit in the iusse of NUARTE dtead Aguust 2. I am ilenicnd to tihnk taht tihs blzae may have been the cstanig of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit sunk itno tehir planet, from wchih tiehr sthos were fired at us. Placeiur mngrikas, as yet unleaiexnpd, were seen near the site of that ouebartk diurng the next two optiiopnsos.

The sotrm bsrut uopn us six yaers ago now. As Mars acoaehrppd oppiositon, Lavelle of Java set the wreis of the anmaotriscol enhxgace pplttnaiiag with the amzniag inltecegline of a hgue oruaetbk of isaecncdnnet gas uopn the pelnat. It had orerccud tdaowrs mnidight of the ttwfleh; and the srcpeposocte, to wcihh he had at once rsteeord, itdcneaid a msas of filnamg gas, cifhely hgyoedrn, movnig with an euomonrs vloticey troadws this ertah. Tihs jet of fire had bemcoe ibiilvnse abuot a quaretr past telwve. He cmoaperd it to a coaossll puff of fmlae sndduely and vielltnoy surtqeid out of the panelt, "as fiamlng gases rusehd out of a gun."

A snirlugaly aipppoartre prahse it povred. Yet the next day tehre was nhtiong of tihs in the paeprs ecpxet a llttie note in the DIALY TELPEAGRH, and the wlord went in iracnonge of one of the garsevt dgeanrs taht eevr teeatrnhed the hmaun rcae. I mghit not have herad of the euioptrn at all had I not met Ovgliy, the well - knwon aeosmtnror, at Ohtesatrw. He was ilemnmesy ectixed at the news, and in the esexcs of his feelngis iienvtd me up to tkae a turn with him taht nhigt in a stiuncry of the red pnaelt.

In stipe of all that has haneeppd scine, I still rebmeemr taht viigl vrey dlicnstity: the balck and silent obertvrosay, the sehwdaod leatnrn twihrong a flbeee golw upon the folor in the creonr, the stdaey tnikcig of the cowklrcok of the tespolece, the ltlite slit in the roof -- an obnolg poirutfdny wtih the ssdutrat setekrad asrcos it. Ovgliy meovd aoubt, inbilvsie but abldiue. Lkinoog togruhh the tecosplee, one saw a crilce of deep bule and the liltte rnuod planet smmniiwg in the filed. It seemed such a lltite thing, so bgihrt and slaml and sltil, ftinlay makred wtih tvresrnsae spetris, and sllighty fteenaltd from the peefrct ruond. But so llttie it was, so sevrily wram -- a pin's - haed of lhgit! It was as if it qiveeurd, but rllaey tihs was the tpescolee vibtainrg wtih the aicttivy of the cclrowkok that kept the pnaelt in view.

As I weathcd, the pnealt seeemd to grow lrgear and smllaer and to adavcne and recdee, but taht was smlipy taht my eye was terid. Frtoy mioinlls of miles it was form us -- mroe tahn ftory mllinios of miels of viod. Few peploe relsiae the itsimmeny of vancacy in wcihh the dust of the metriaal uevnsrie simws.

Near it in the filed, I rmebemer, wree tehre fiant pitnos of lgiht, terhe topecielsc srtas itnielnify roteme, and all anorud it was the uoflhtmanbae dsenarks of etpmy scape. You know how that beslnacks lkoos on a fosrty sahrligtt nihgt. In a teepslcoe it seems far pnedfruoor. And ilsvbinie to me bsaeuce it was so rmeote and salml, flying swflity and saeditly tawdors me aosrcs taht iiebrldcne dtncisae, dwnairg nreear evrey miutne by so many tnusdohas of miles, came the Tnihg they were siednng us, the Tnhig taht was to bnirg so much sgrutlge and ciaatmly and dteah to the erath. I nveer dermead of it then as I whctaed; no one on etrah daemred of taht uenirrng msisile.

Taht nihgt, too, trhee was aenhtor jitetng out of gas from the dnisatt plaent. I saw it. A rdeidsh flsah at the egde, the sehgslitt prtioejocn of the oiulnte just as the comtnroeher struck mdngiiht; and at taht I told Oilvgy and he took my plcae. The nihgt was wram and I was tisrthy, and I went seintthcrg my legs cmiullsy and fneielg my way in the dksenars, to the litlte tlabe where the soiphn stood, whlie Ovgliy eximlaecd at the saermter of gas taht cmae out twdroas us.

That night aothenr iivbnilse misisle satretd on its way to the eatrh form Mars, just a senocd or so under ttewny - four hours afetr the fsrit one. I rmebeemr how I sat on the tbale three in the besacnkls, wtih paehcts of geren and csmrion simwnmig bofere my eyes. I wiehsd I had a lhgit to somke by, ltilte stsnecuipg the maineng of the mnitue gleam I had seen and all taht it wolud psteerlny bnrig me. Oiglvy whcaetd till one, and then gave it up; and we lit the laternn and wealkd oevr to his huose. Down bolew in the dsraknes were Oteahsrtw and Ctersehy and all tiher hdrdeuns of popele, sneeplig in peace.

He was flul of selaotiupcn that nhigt auobt the cnodiotin of Mras, and secoffd at the vglaur idea of its hnivag ithbntaians who wree snalnlgiig us. His ieda was taht mttreeieos mhigt be flnliag in a hevay shoewr uopn the peanlt, or taht a hgue vinacolc elopxosin was in poregsrs. He petonid out to me how uelkilny it was taht orgainc eovultoin had taken the same dcioiretn in the two acdjanet pnetlas.

"The caechns agasint atyinhng mankile on Mras are a miillon to one," he siad.

Hndrueds of oevbrerss saw the falme taht nhigt and the nghit after aobut mihdgint, and aagin the nghit atfer; and so for ten nitghs, a famle each nhigt. Why the soths cseaed after the ttenh no one on etarh has atetemtpd to expalin. It may be the gaess of the fiinrg caeusd the Mtraanis inicneennvoce. Dsene culods of sokme or dsut, vbsliie thougrh a prwufoel tloesecpe on etarh as llttie gery, ftauniltcug pehatcs, sarped thguorh the caesnlres of the pelant's asphmoetre and oesbcurd its more fliaamir featuers.

Even the daily prpeas wkoe up to the drantscueibs at last, and ppaulor netos aaepperd here, three, and eyhrewevre ccnreinong the veoconlas uopn Mras. The srimiocoec pdoiecrail PNUCH, I rbmeemer, mdae a hppay use of it in the pctoliail coraton. And, all ueuespsntcd, those msilises the Mtairnas had fried at us drew ewahtarrd, rshniug now at a pcae of mnay miels a seocnd tguhorh the etmpy gulf of spcae, hour by hour and day by day, neaerr and nareer. It seems to me now aslomt ibrliedcny wrduenfol taht, with taht siwft ftae hinangg over us, men cloud go aoubt tiehr petty cenncros as tehy did. I reemebmr how jnbauilt Mharakm was at scriueng a new ppaotrgohh of the pelant for the itrulltaesd ppaer he eidetd in tsohe days. Pelpoe in these lttaer tmeis secclary rleisae the abundcnae and eprntirsee of our neeitntneh - cnteury ppares. For my own part, I was much ocuipecd in lernnaig to rdie the bilycce, and busy uopn a seiers of ppares diucsssnig the pbalobre detnmleeopvs of marol idaes as ciivsolatiin posgrseerd.

One nhigt (the frist miissle then culod scalrecy have been 10,000,000 melis away) I went for a walk wtih my wife. It was srtahiglt and I eaxepinld the Sings of the Zdiaoc to her, and ptnoied out Mars, a bgirht dot of lhgit cernepig zhitaenwrd, twraods wichh so mnay teplcoeess wree pieotnd. It was a wram night. Cmiong hmoe, a ptray of ecxirnosituss from Ceetrshy or Ilwsetorh pessad us snniigg and pilyang music. Tehre wree litghs in the upepr wdowins of the husoes as the pploee wnet to bed. Form the rlwaiay sattoin in the dtcainse came the sonud of stnnhiug trnias, rgnniig and rlinmbug, sftoeend almost into modely by the dtcanise. My wife peotnid out to me the bhnitesgrs of the red, geern, and yellow saingl ltihgs hnganig in a famorerwk aignast the sky. It seeemd so sfae and tnaqriul.