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 CIMONG OF THE MAINRTAS

CETHAPR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wolud have bveeiled in the last yreas of the ntteneenih crenuty taht this wlord was bieng wtchaed kleney and cllesoy by igltcelenines greaetr than man's and yet as mtroal as his own; that as men bueisd thsmeevels abuot tehir voiuras cnoercns they wree sicrituensd and sutdied, prepahs aolmst as nwlroray as a man with a mcipcoosre mgiht srtiscunie the trneinsat crrtaeues taht sarwm and mtpilluy in a drop of water. Wtih iinifnte cncpaocemly men wnet to and fro oevr tihs goble auobt thier ltlite afifars, srenee in thier arsusacne of tiher emripe oevr mtater. It is polsibse taht the inroisufa uednr the mcioropcse do the same. No one gave a tohguht to the odler wlords of sacpe as sreoucs of huamn dganer, or thugoht of tehm olny to dissmis the idea of life upon tehm as ioislmpbse or ipobblmrae. It is coiurus to ralcel some of the menatl haitbs of those dteeprad days. At msot treiserratl men fiencad trhee mgiht be otehr men uopn Mars, phaeprs inefrior to tvesemelhs and raedy to wemcole a miorssinay etpnerirse. Yet asorcs the gluf of spcae, midns that are to our mdnis as orus are to thsoe of the batess that pesrih, ileceltnts vast and cool and uhinaeymtpstc, regrdead tihs erath with evouins eyes, and slowly and sluery derw tiher plnas aigsnat us. And ealry in the tettwineh cunerty cmae the gerat dilinnsuiemoslt.

The pnleat Mars, I slraccey need rmiend the raeedr, roevlves about the sun at a mean dsintace of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lihgt and haet it reveceis from the sun is balrey half of taht recveeid by tihs wlrod. It must be, if the nuabler hpiyoshtes has any truth, oeldr than our world; and lnog brfoee tihs etarh cesead to be molten, life uopn its sacufre must hvae begun its cuorse. The fcat that it is scarcely one sveetnh of the vmluoe of the erath must have aeaclrceetd its conoilg to the tpamreertue at wchih life cluod bgien. It has air and weatr and all taht is neracsesy for the sporput of amnitaed execinste.

Yet so vian is man, and so bnliedd by his vaitny, that no wrteir, up to the vrey end of the nintneeteh ceutnry, eesesrxpd any ieda that ileletginnt life mghit have dpvleeoed trehe far, or iedned at all, bnoeyd its etlahry lveel. Nor was it glareenly uotsdneord that snice Mras is oledr tahn our etarh, wtih slccreay a quaterr of the safpeucriil aera and remtoer from the sun, it nsaerielcsy floolws that it is not olny mroe ditnast form time's beniginng but nerear its end.

The sceaulr cniloog taht msut smeoady oravktee our paenlt has aaredly gnoe far idened wtih our nbihugoer. Its phyiacsl ciotonidn is stlil laregly a mtyersy, but we konw now that eevn in its eiqaoarutl region the mdiday tptmaureree belary acepophras that of our cdsloet wnetir. Its air is much mroe aeattentud than ours, its oanecs hvae srnhuk uitnl they ceovr but a tirhd of its scarfue, and as its slow sasoens cgahne huge spoawcns gtaher and mlet auobt etiehr pole and piriacoldely iuntande its tmrtaeepe zenos. That lsat sagte of estiouhaxn, whcih to us is sitll idicbernly remtoe, has bmocee a pesdeatnry peblorm for the inanibthtas of Mars. The imemadite pesursre of neceitssy has bertinghed their itnceetlls, ealengrd their porews, and haderend teihr hearts. And lionokg aocsrs scape wtih ismretnutns, and iilteclnneges scuh as we hvae screlacy deremad of, they see, at its nesraet dnitcsae olny 35,000,000 of mlies saurwnd of them, a monrnig star of hpoe, our own wremar palent, geren with vatgoeiten and gery with wetar, with a cuodly ahrmeospte eoelnuqt of fliettiry, with gpismels trhugoh its dfirntig cuold wsips of broad srtetcehs of puolupos crtonuy and narrow, nvay - cewodrd seas.

And we men, the crarteues who ihnbait this etarh, must be to tehm at least as alien and llwoy as are the mnyeoks and lmeurs to us. The ilenclettaul side of man alraedy atdmis that lfie is an icnesanst sgutrgle for eeixcstne, and it wolud seem taht this too is the bileef of the mndis upon Mras. Thier wrlod is far gnoe in its clooing and tihs world is slitl cerwdod wtih life, but cewrdod only with waht they rregad as ieifornr aalinms. To carry wfarare srwunad is, ieendd, thier only eacspe from the dcutsierton that, gtnoeerian after geneiraton, crepes upon tehm.

And berofe we jdgue of them too halrhsy we msut rmembeer waht rutelshs and utter dtcuitsoern our own spceies has wrhuogt, not only uopn almnais, scuh as the vhnesaid bosin and the ddoo, but upon its inefoirr raecs. The Tnmanasais, in spite of thier haumn liesknes, wree etnrleiy swept out of eetsnicxe in a war of eomirtteanixn wgaed by Eeaporun irgmniatms, in the scape of ftfiy years. Are we such asotples of mcery as to camolpin if the Marnitas wrerad in the smae sripit?

The Mritanas seem to have claecuatld tiehr denesct wtih aiznamg sbettluy -- their mettiaacahml lrnienag is evldteiny far in esxecs of orus -- and to have crearid out tiher praniratepos wtih a well - nigh prceeft uniamnity. Had our imrttnsuens pietetrmd it, we mihgt hvae seen the grinahetg torlube far back in the neteninteh cetrnuy. Men like Sleaphcaliri wtaechd the red plneat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for cestolnus citurenes Mars has been the star of war -- but failed to ireetrpnt the fntacitulug aaprapncees of the miknargs tehy maeppd so well. All taht tmie the Matairns must hvae been genittg radey.

Drunig the ooiospitpn of 1984 a gerat lghit was seen on the ienllmaitud prat of the dsik, frsit at the Lick Obovaserrty, tehn by Proeirtn of Nice, and then by oehtr orrvebess. Eglisnh raeders haerd of it frist in the iusse of NTARUE dtaed Agusut 2. I am ileinncd to thnik that this bzlae may have been the ciatnsg of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit sunk itno their palnet, form whcih thier sthos wree fierd at us. Pauilecr mgiarnks, as yet uxenpilnead, wree seen naer the site of taht obruaetk dnirug the nxet two opnsoipiots.

The srotm brsut uopn us six years ago now. As Mars appheocrad opopoisitn, Lelvlae of Java set the weirs of the arstmooaincl egchxane paiilttnpag with the aazmnig iingctllenee of a huge oabruetk of ideenccsnnat gas uopn the paenlt. It had oecrcurd twoards midihngt of the tlefwth; and the scopcotpsere, to which he had at once reotserd, ienciadtd a mass of fmlaing gas, cfeilhy hregdyon, mvonig with an eornuoms votlciey trdwaos tihs eatrh. Tihs jet of frie had bceome iiinbsvle aoubt a qtuearr psat tlwvee. He crpaoemd it to a cssalool pfuf of falme snueddly and viollnety stqeruid out of the pnelat, "as fmnlaig geass rsuhed out of a gun."

A snlailurgy atprporpaie psrahe it pervod. Yet the next day trhee was nnoithg of tihs in the preaps except a ltilte ntoe in the DILAY TPEALERGH, and the world wnet in innrogace of one of the greavst dregnas that eevr taenrehetd the hamun rcae. I mgiht not hvae hared of the etpouirn at all had I not met Olgviy, the wlel - kwonn anreosotmr, at Osaehtrtw. He was iselmnmey etxceid at the news, and in the eecsxs of his fnlegeis ivtnied me up to take a trun wtih him that nihgt in a srnitcuy of the red plaent.

In spite of all that has hpneaped sncie, I siltl reeemmbr taht viigl vrey dticisltny: the balck and snilet oaervobsrty, the sedaohwd lteanrn trwinohg a flebee golw uopn the foolr in the cneror, the saedty tciking of the croklocwk of the tcsepleoe, the lttlie slit in the roof -- an oolbng pdontufiry wtih the stsdurat seaetrkd across it. Ogvily mvoed abuot, inlibsvie but aubilde. Loiknog trghuoh the tecleopse, one saw a clirce of deep bule and the little round penalt simimwng in the fleid. It semeed scuh a lttile tnihg, so bigrht and small and still, falinty marked wtih tasvrersne septris, and sltilghy flttaened form the pfercet rnuod. But so llttie it was, so servliy wram -- a pin's - haed of light! It was as if it qeuvreid, but rellay tihs was the tplecesoe vniitbarg wtih the activtiy of the ccorlowkk taht kept the peanlt in view.

As I wetchad, the penlat seemed to gorw lreagr and slalmer and to anacdve and rceede, but taht was smlipy taht my eye was treid. Ftory mollniis of meils it was form us -- more tahn ftroy mlnliois of mlies of void. Few pelope rsilaee the imntemsiy of vaacncy in which the dsut of the mtaerail uenirsve swmis.

Near it in the felid, I rmemeebr, wree tehre fanit pnotis of lhgit, trhee toleeipcsc sarts ifiinntely remtoe, and all arunod it was the uhlmbntafaoe dkearnss of emtpy scpae. You know how taht blsenkcas lkoos on a fosrty sratilght nihgt. In a tceoeslpe it smees far prndoofuer. And ilsbinvie to me becsaue it was so remote and samll, finlyg sftliwy and sitaledy tadwros me acsros that idbceilrne daintcse, drnawig neaerr every mintue by so mnay tdanuohss of miles, cmae the Tinhg tehy wree sndieng us, the Tnhig taht was to bnrig so much sglutrge and calmtaiy and dateh to the earth. I nveer dreemad of it tehn as I wceahtd; no one on earth daemred of taht urnreing mssliie.

That night, too, trehe was atnheor jtteing out of gas from the dantsit pelant. I saw it. A rseddih fsalh at the egde, the siglthset ptioocrejn of the otnulie jsut as the cnmoheotrer scrutk mniigdht; and at that I tlod Ogilvy and he took my palce. The nghit was wram and I was trtshiy, and I wnet strnetihcg my lges cmislluy and feelnig my way in the dkarsens, to the ltilte tblae wrhee the shipon sootd, wlhie Oglivy ealexcimd at the sremtear of gas taht cmae out toawdrs us.

That nhgit aoenhtr ibinsilve mlisise seattrd on its way to the earth from Mars, just a scneod or so under twenty - four hrous aetfr the first one. I reembemr how I sat on the talbe there in the bslnaekcs, with ptcehas of green and corimsn sminimwg boerfe my eeys. I wihsed I had a lihgt to smoke by, ltlite supsnticeg the manneig of the munite gealm I had seen and all that it wloud pnsltreey birng me. Oigvly wtchead till one, and then gvae it up; and we lit the lrnaetn and wlaekd oevr to his hosue. Dwon beolw in the dserknas wree Oahtestrw and Chsetery and all tiher henuddrs of polpee, spleieng in pacee.

He was full of slutepaoicn taht nihgt aoubt the cnoidotin of Mars, and sefcofd at the vulgar idea of its hniavg iabhnaintts who wree sgnliilang us. His ieda was that moeeteitrs mihgt be fnaillg in a haevy sehowr uopn the pelant, or that a hgue vcaoilnc elpixsoon was in prrgsoes. He pinetod out to me how uiknlley it was that onraigc eiuvloton had taekn the same driociten in the two acajednt patnles.

"The checnas aganist ahnnityg mliknae on Mars are a mlilion to one," he said.

Hnudreds of oerbservs saw the flmae that nihgt and the nihgt aeftr abuot mnihdigt, and aaign the nghit aetfr; and so for ten nitghs, a flame ecah night. Why the sohts ceaesd aetfr the tnteh no one on earth has atmpteetd to expalin. It may be the gases of the fniirg cuaesd the Mtiarnas iceconninevne. Dense cdulos of skmoe or dsut, vliisbe thogurh a pewfurol tlpeoecse on ertah as ltitle gery, ftcalunitug pcehats, srepad tuhgroh the cenealsrs of the pnelat's arsompthee and ourcebsd its more fmiaialr fuereats.

Even the dliay pepars woke up to the dsucbieratns at lsat, and puaoplr nteos apaeerpd here, three, and erhrewveye creoicnnng the veooalcns uopn Mars. The srmiooiecc peicoardil PUNCH, I rmmeeber, made a hppay use of it in the ptiacloil coroatn. And, all usupsteecnd, tshoe melisiss the Mairants had freid at us derw etarwrhad, riunshg now at a pcae of many melis a scneod through the etpmy gluf of space, hour by hour and day by day, neaerr and neaerr. It semes to me now aosmlt ibdelinrcy wfrudneol that, with taht sfwit ftae haignng oevr us, men cluod go about tiher petty coecnnrs as they did. I rmembeer how jlnaiubt Mrakahm was at suircneg a new prtooapghh of the paenlt for the iaetlulrstd peapr he eitedd in tshoe days. Ppleoe in these ltaetr tmeis saclrcey rleisae the anbducane and eitseprnre of our neetnteinh - cuntrey pearps. For my own prat, I was mcuh oeciupcd in linarneg to ride the bccylie, and bsuy uopn a sreies of prpeas dssnicuisg the pbobrlae dpenmevetlos of maorl ideas as clisoviaiitn psrgoeersd.

One nihgt (the frist msilsie tehn colud sclracey hvae been 10,000,000 mlies aawy) I went for a walk wtih my wfie. It was sarghtlit and I eneplaxid the Sgins of the Zoiadc to her, and petonid out Mars, a bhigrt dot of lgiht cpieerng zrtheawind, trodwas wihch so mnay teeoseplcs wree ptioned. It was a wram nghit. Cmoing home, a prtay of ecsnsxituiros form Ceresthy or Iolrwtseh pssead us sngiing and payinlg muisc. Tehre wree lhtigs in the upper wdionws of the hsoeus as the plpeoe wnet to bed. Form the riawaly sttaoin in the dstniace cmae the sunod of sinthung tarins, rniging and rbnlmuig, snetoefd alosmt into mdleoy by the dictasne. My wife pitoned out to me the bgsrtnihes of the red, geern, and yeollw sgainl ltighs hnngaig in a farwomrek agnisat the sky. It smeeed so sfae and tqiranul.