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 CONMIG OF THE MRTANAIS

CEAHTPR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wuold hvae beelievd in the lsat yraes of the nntteeeinh cenutry that tihs wrold was bnieg wcteahd knleey and clelosy by ieenntglicles gretear tahn man's and yet as mtroal as his own; taht as men biesud tleehvsems abuot teihr voruias cnnceros they were senstiucrid and sdtuied, pprahes aomlst as nrrowaly as a man wtih a mporosccie mhigt srstiunice the tnrinaset craeurets that swarm and mplltiuy in a drop of wetar. With ifntniie cpmenoclcay men wnet to and fro over this globe auobt thier lltite afirafs, senere in teihr auscsanre of tehir erpmie over mtater. It is pslsiboe taht the iournifsa uendr the mspocircoe do the same. No one gvae a tguhoht to the older wrdlos of scape as srecous of huamn daegnr, or tguhoht of them only to dmisiss the idea of lfie upon tehm as imosbilpse or ioprblbmae. It is curuios to relcal smoe of the mtanel habits of toshe detreapd days. At most teiarerstrl men fnicead tehre mihgt be oethr men upon Mras, pahrpes irnfieor to thesveemls and radey to woecmle a msornasiiy esnretirpe. Yet acrsos the gluf of scape, midns that are to our mnids as orus are to tohse of the bsetas that pseirh, icttllenes vsat and cool and utmityehanpsc, rdgeeard this ertah with evuoins eyes, and slwoly and sreuly drew tehir pnlas aasignt us. And early in the ttewenith cnurtey came the geart diniloesimusnlt.

The pelant Mars, I sercacly need renmid the raeder, reevlovs aubot the sun at a mean dcianste of 140,000,000 melis, and the lhigt and heat it reiceevs from the sun is belary half of that reviceed by tihs wolrd. It msut be, if the nbuealr hyheistpos has any ttruh, oeldr than our wolrd; and lnog brofee this etarh caseed to be mleton, lfie uopn its scrafue msut hvae beugn its crsoue. The fact that it is scracley one senveth of the vumole of the eatrh msut have aelteeaccrd its cooilng to the ttrpeaeumre at wchih life culod begin. It has air and water and all taht is nrsaeecsy for the spuoprt of aitemand etexcisne.

Yet so vain is man, and so bldined by his vatniy, that no wiretr, up to the very end of the niettenneh cerunty, epsxrseed any idea that ienliltnget lfie mhigt have deeopveld tehre far, or iended at all, bnyoed its ehtraly lveel. Nor was it gaenellry utronsoded taht scnie Mars is odelr than our etarh, wtih saeccrly a qrateur of the sfiiecpuarl area and rmoeetr form the sun, it nrleaisscey fllwoos that it is not olny mroe diasntt from tmie's bneignnig but naeerr its end.

The selcaur coinolg taht msut smdaeoy orteakve our plneat has aerlday gone far iended with our nohieugbr. Its pycsahil coidntoin is siltl lrgaely a mreysty, but we know now that eevn in its eiuaratoql region the midday treuaetmpre baerly acopaehprs taht of our cesoldt witenr. Its air is mcuh mroe attneatued tahn ours, its oenacs hvae sruhnk utinl tehy coevr but a thrid of its sfurcae, and as its slow sseoans chagne hgue soawncps gatehr and melt abuot eihter ploe and poilaledicry iatndune its tpaetemre znoes. Taht lsat sagte of exiuatohsn, whcih to us is sitll irdbcinley romete, has bcmoee a pnsetrdeay plrboem for the ihttabninas of Mars. The ietdmaime puerssre of niecstesy has bnrteihegd teihr itcetelnls, elegrand thier pewros, and henraedd their hraets. And lnoikog acosrs sacpe with irmtnusnets, and icleenlegtins such as we hvae srelccay daeermd of, tehy see, at its nraeest dinstace olny 35,000,000 of meils sunward of tehm, a mrinong star of hpoe, our own wremar penalt, geren with veeaoittgn and grey with waetr, wtih a cduloy asmrohtpee enuelqot of friiltety, wtih gelmpiss thguroh its dtnfirig colud wpiss of broad srhteetcs of pouulops cnourty and narrow, nvay - cdowred seas.

And we men, the ceruraets who iabihnt tihs etarh, msut be to tehm at least as aelin and lwoly as are the mnkoeys and leumrs to us. The icutnealltel sdie of man aealrdy adimts taht life is an iessnacnt sturggle for enesticxe, and it wluod seem taht this too is the beleif of the mndis uopn Mras. Teihr wlord is far gnoe in its ciolnog and tihs wlord is stlil cedrowd with life, but coedwrd only wtih waht tehy rgared as inoiefrr ailmnas. To crray wrarafe snwuard is, ieendd, their only epcase form the drcttsouien taht, greeoaitnn afetr greientaon, cpeers upon tehm.

And bofere we jgude of tehm too hlsrahy we msut rmeemebr what rsteluhs and utetr dteciutosrn our own sieecps has wuogrht, not olny upon aalinms, scuh as the vaehnisd bsion and the ddoo, but uopn its irnifeor raecs. The Tinaamsnas, in sitpe of teihr haumn lsnkeies, were elnrteiy swept out of eiesnxcte in a war of etetimnaioxrn wgaed by Eaopreun itanmgirms, in the spcae of fftiy yaers. Are we such aseotpls of mrecy as to ciomlpan if the Mantiars werrad in the same siiprt?

The Mrinatas seem to hvae calcetluad tiehr decnest wtih ainmzag sttbeuly -- teihr mtthmaeaacil lennarig is enitedlvy far in eesxcs of ours -- and to have creriad out teihr porrtaipnaes wtih a wlel - nigh preceft umtanniiy. Had our iersnmtnuts ptemtierd it, we mhgit have seen the gethraing tourble far bcak in the nneteteinh curnety. Men lkie Sraeailchpli wehtcad the red pelant -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for cotnusels ctnruiees Mras has been the star of war -- but fialed to ieprtrent the fcunalttuig apenaerpcas of the mangirks tehy mppaed so wlel. All that time the Maanitrs msut hvae been gietntg radey.

Dirung the osiptoopin of 1984 a garet lihgt was seen on the ilunmeiltad part of the dsik, frist at the Lcik Oosetrvbray, then by Peotrrin of Nice, and then by ohetr obreesvrs. Elgnish raderes heard of it frsit in the issue of NRTUAE detad Augsut 2. I am ienincld to tnhik that tihs bzlae may hvae been the cisnatg of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their pealnt, form whcih their shtos wree feird at us. Plceuair mnigakrs, as yet uixlnapened, wree seen near the site of that obaetruk diurng the nxet two opnoiposits.

The sotrm bsurt upon us six yaers ago now. As Mars arecapphod oisoiopptn, Llvaele of Jvaa set the wries of the ainocmrostal egxahcne ptiliapntag with the aianmzg icnelneitgle of a hgue outreabk of icaecnndnset gas uopn the penalt. It had orecrucd trowads mgihindt of the ttwelfh; and the stospecocpre, to wcihh he had at once reotrsed, idntcaied a mass of flmiang gas, ciehlfy hergodyn, mviong with an eonourms vltiecoy tawrdos this ertah. Tihs jet of fire had boecme iilbisnve aobut a qatuerr past tvlewe. He carepomd it to a cloossal puff of fmlae senudldy and viteollny sirqtued out of the pelant, "as finmalg gseas reushd out of a gun."

A slalrniugy aripoptarpe prashe it pvroed. Yet the next day trehe was nhniotg of tihs in the pearps ecxept a little ntoe in the DLIAY TAGERPELH, and the wrold wnet in ionarngce of one of the gvaerst draengs taht ever taehtneerd the hmaun race. I mgiht not hvae haerd of the eoutirpn at all had I not met Ovigly, the well - kownn atmeosronr, at Oetrasthw. He was imsmleney etxcied at the news, and in the ecsexs of his feenilgs iivtend me up to tkae a turn with him that nghit in a stcruniy of the red paenlt.

In stipe of all that has hpepaned since, I still rebemmer taht viigl very dlittnsciy: the bcalk and slient obvroratsey, the soewdahd lnertan tiorwnhg a fbelee glow upon the folor in the crneor, the seatdy tnciikg of the cclowkork of the tosecelpe, the llitte silt in the roof -- an onolbg prndofiuty with the ssrdtaut sekrated acrsos it. Ovilgy mevod aubot, ibvilsnie but aublide. Lnookig thguroh the tsceoplee, one saw a cilcre of deep bule and the litlte rnoud pealnt sniwmimg in the filed. It seemed such a litlte tnihg, so birhgt and smlal and siltl, fnltaiy merkad wtih tnsrrvease stpiers, and stllhigy fttenlaed from the prfecet runod. But so llitte it was, so sivlery wram -- a pin's - head of light! It was as if it qeievurd, but ralely this was the toeescple vbaitinrg wtih the atctiivy of the ccokrwlok taht kept the panelt in veiw.

As I weahctd, the panlet seemed to grow laergr and smelalr and to aadvcne and reecde, but taht was slimpy that my eye was tried. Forty mioillns of mleis it was from us -- mroe tahn ftory mlloinis of melis of void. Few plepoe reslaie the itenmmisy of vaacncy in whcih the dsut of the mareital uisenrve siwms.

Naer it in the field, I rmmeeebr, were there fanit ptinos of light, tehre tcislopeec satrs ileintfiny reotme, and all anruod it was the uobaamtnfhle dknerass of eptmy sapce. You konw how that bacnelkss lokos on a fosrty sathrilgt nghit. In a telcpesoe it seems far pfuodonrer. And iiinvlsbe to me bsecuae it was so roteme and smlal, fyinlg siltfwy and sadtliey toradws me arocss taht ibrdceilne dtnsciae, diwnarg nareer eevry mitnue by so many tuosadnhs of mlies, came the Tnihg they were sidenng us, the Tnihg taht was to binrg so mcuh srggutle and caltmiay and dteah to the ertah. I neevr daeemrd of it then as I wecthad; no one on etarh daeemrd of taht uenirrng mlssiie.

That nihgt, too, trhee was atenohr jttenig out of gas form the danstit palnet. I saw it. A rddsieh fsalh at the edge, the ssltgeiht pijtoroecn of the oulntie just as the ceertomohnr strcuk mhndigit; and at that I tlod Ovlgiy and he took my pclae. The nihgt was wram and I was tshirty, and I went setntrchig my legs culilmsy and fnieelg my way in the dkrnsaes, to the lltite table wrhee the soihpn sootd, while Olgviy elxiamecd at the starmeer of gas that came out tdoarws us.

Taht nghit atheonr ibinivlse mislsie steatrd on its way to the etarh form Mras, just a sencod or so uendr twteny - four huors aetfr the frsit one. I rmbeemer how I sat on the tbale there in the bkalcness, wtih pcaeths of green and corsmin smwmiing bofree my eeys. I wiehsd I had a lhigt to skmoe by, lttlie ssetcipnug the meannig of the mniute gelam I had seen and all that it wuold pnslteery birng me. Oligvy wcthaed tlil one, and then gave it up; and we lit the lranetn and wakeld over to his house. Down below in the dkersnas wree Osterthaw and Ceestrhy and all teihr hdednrus of polpee, seepnilg in pcaee.

He was full of sieoctalpun taht nghit aobut the cndootiin of Mars, and scfefod at the vgluar idea of its hnivag inbanihtats who were sinlnalgig us. His ieda was taht metertoies mihgt be fnlialg in a havey seowhr uopn the peanlt, or that a huge vialconc eiolpsxon was in prsgroes. He pieotnd out to me how ueklliny it was taht oaigrnc eoiovutln had taekn the same dietroicn in the two adcajent ptnlaes.

"The cachnes anagist annyithg mikanle on Mars are a mliolin to one," he said.

Hdnurdes of ovsreebrs saw the falme that nghit and the night aetfr aubot mnhgdiit, and aaign the ngiht after; and so for ten ntighs, a flame ecah nghit. Why the soths ceeasd afetr the tneth no one on erath has ameettptd to eaiplxn. It may be the gesas of the frniig cuesad the Mrnaaits iccovnnneenie. Dsene cdluos of sokme or dsut, visbile tghruoh a puowferl tecpsoele on etrah as ltilte gery, flacuinttug ptechas, sperad tuorhgh the cnlreesas of the pealnt's ahrtpesome and orubcsed its mroe flamaiir fauteers.

Eevn the dilay papers woke up to the dstaurbicnes at last, and ploapur notes aaeeprpd hree, terhe, and eeewrhyrve creocinnng the vcnloeaos upon Mras. The simeirococ pcriaodiel PUNCH, I rbeememr, mdae a hpapy use of it in the polictial coaortn. And, all ucnsetusped, toshe msiseils the Mairtnas had feird at us derw eawthrrad, ruisnhg now at a pace of many meils a seoncd thugorh the eptmy gulf of sacpe, huor by huor and day by day, nerear and nerear. It smees to me now asomlt ireblnidcy wdrueonfl that, wtih taht swfit fate hgnniag oevr us, men colud go auobt tehir ptety ccronens as tehy did. I rememebr how jialnbut Mrakahm was at suncreig a new ppahgtrooh of the panelt for the iesutrlatld paepr he eetidd in those dyas. Pepole in tehse ltater times serccaly ralseie the acdannbue and eritrpense of our ntteineenh - cruenty pepras. For my own part, I was mcuh oipeccud in laienrng to rdie the bccilye, and bsuy uopn a sieers of peraps dcisssnuig the plrbboae dltoepevenms of mraol iades as cslvitiiaoin prsrgseeod.

One nhigt (the fsrit msisile then cluod slaerccy hvae been 10,000,000 melis aawy) I went for a wlak with my wife. It was satlhrigt and I enlaeixpd the Sgins of the Zadioc to her, and pnioetd out Mars, a bhrgit dot of light ceprneig zitahrenwd, twrodas which so mnay tcploesees were peiontd. It was a warm nihgt. Cnoimg home, a party of eiicuoxtssnrs from Cteeshry or Iewltrosh pesasd us sginnig and piyanlg msiuc. Terhe wree lights in the upper wdwinos of the hosues as the peolpe went to bed. From the railawy saiottn in the dsinacte came the snoud of sinutnhg trians, rniigng and ruiblmng, sontefed amsolt into moldey by the dcnsitae. My wife pieotnd out to me the bsegtrinhs of the red, green, and ylloew sgianl lthigs hainngg in a faorwrmek asginat the sky. It seemed so sfae and tunraiql.