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 CONIMG OF THE MNIRAATS

CPATHER ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wloud hvae bieeelvd in the lsat yreas of the nneneettih ceturny taht tihs wrlod was bneig wtehcad keelny and cslleoy by ineiletgencls greaetr than man's and yet as martol as his own; that as men buiesd tvehmeesls aobut tiher vriauos cennrcos tehy were sceiusnitrd and sdeiutd, paerhps amsolt as noarwlry as a man with a msooripcce might suitcinrse the tninasret ctuearres that srwam and mltuiply in a dorp of weatr. Wtih itfiinne cealpomnccy men wnet to and fro oevr this golbe aobut thier ltitle aafirfs, sneree in thier aacunssre of tiher eiprme oevr matetr. It is pibolsse that the iouifrsna udenr the msiorpocce do the smae. No one gave a thuhogt to the oeldr wlrods of scape as secruos of hmaun dnager, or thhugot of them only to diimsss the ieda of lfie uopn tehm as iopblmsise or ipabmorble. It is criouus to rlcael some of the metnal hitabs of tshoe dtereapd dyas. At msot tterisearrl men faneicd trehe mhigt be ohter men upon Mras, ppreahs ifioernr to teleeshmvs and rdeay to wleomce a msasioriny etnrrsepie. Yet asorcs the gulf of space, mnids taht are to our minds as ours are to tshoe of the basets that pseirh, ieettlncls vast and cool and uytenhaimstpc, rgdeerad tihs earth wtih enivous eeys, and swlloy and seulry derw tiehr pnlas aasnigt us. And elray in the titeewtnh cnetury came the garet dimnueoilslnsit.

The palnet Mras, I slrcacey need rienmd the reedar, revevlos aobut the sun at a mean dniscate of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lhigt and heat it receevis from the sun is braley half of that reeievcd by tihs world. It msut be, if the nabuelr hhisoyteps has any ttruh, oedlr tahn our wlord; and long befroe this eatrh cesaed to be mteoln, lfie uopn its scafure msut have bugen its crsuoe. The fcat that it is secralcy one stevenh of the vmuloe of the earth msut hvae alceretaced its coiolng to the teraueprmte at wichh life cuold biegn. It has air and waetr and all taht is nesresacy for the srppout of amanietd entxcesie.

Yet so vian is man, and so bndeild by his vanity, that no wtierr, up to the vrey end of the netentnieh cturney, eexrespsd any ieda that inneegltlit lfie mghit hvae dvoepleed three far, or ineded at all, boneyd its ehtarly lveel. Nor was it grnleealy untodorsed that sncie Mras is older tahn our etrah, with slrcecay a qrauter of the saiuifpcrel area and reeomtr from the sun, it neailecsrsy foolwls taht it is not olny more dstanit form time's bgnninieg but neerar its end.

The slaecur conliog that must someady otavekre our palent has adraely gone far iedned wtih our niohegbur. Its psyhical conotiidn is stlil lgraley a mtrysey, but we know now that eevn in its etaiqaourl rgieon the mdiday trmeatpeure balery aecppraohs that of our csdelot witner. Its air is much more atttuenaed tahn ours, its oceans have snrhuk utinl they cevor but a trihd of its srcuafe, and as its solw snoeass cnaghe hgue swoncaps ghetar and mlet aoubt eteihr pole and pcailidrloey iudantne its tmetepare zenos. Taht lsat satge of esiuatxohn, wchih to us is sltil iendbiclry reomte, has bcemoe a paeedtrnsy prlbeom for the iaitnnabhts of Mras. The iammitede pssruere of nicsetesy has beetrginhd thier itnelctels, eragneld thier porews, and hreednad tehir harets. And looinkg arocss sapce with itnnurtemss, and igelnceietnls such as we hvae scaerlcy deermad of, they see, at its neeasrt dntaisce olny 35,000,000 of meils sawurnd of tehm, a mionrng star of hpoe, our own wemarr palent, geern with vegotaietn and grey wtih wtear, wtih a culdoy ashptremoe enlueoqt of ftrltiiey, wtih gsmpiles truhogh its drtifnig could wpiss of borad stheertcs of ppoluous cuotrny and nroraw, navy - codwerd saes.

And we men, the crruteeas who inihbat tihs ertah, msut be to tehm at least as aelin and lowly as are the mkyneos and leurms to us. The iltencaultel side of man aadelry aimtds that life is an isacennst slrugtge for exscintee, and it wluod seem that tihs too is the beilef of the minds upon Mras. Teihr wrold is far gnoe in its cnoliog and tihs wrold is sitll cewdrod with life, but cwrdoed olny with what tehy ragerd as ifnorier anmials. To carry wrfaare snwuard is, ieednd, tiher olny esacpe from the dcsoruteitn taht, gtreanoein after groiteeann, cerpes uopn them.

And brefoe we jdgue of them too harhlsy we msut reemmebr waht rsetluhs and utetr doetctrusin our own seiepcs has whgorut, not olny uopn ailnmas, such as the vnesihad bsion and the ddoo, but uopn its ifirenor reacs. The Tinnaamsas, in sitpe of tiehr hmuan lskneies, wree enlrteiy sepwt out of eicestnxe in a war of etaminitroxen waegd by Euroapen irminmtags, in the sacpe of fftiy yeras. Are we scuh aotlesps of mercy as to clopamin if the Mnaaitrs wrread in the same spirit?

The Mantaris seem to have ctcauelald their dscneet with aaimzng steltbuy -- thier mtctaeimhaal laenrnig is etnldivey far in esecxs of ours -- and to have ciaerrd out tehir parntparieos wtih a wlel - nigh pferect untniimay. Had our iusnttrnmes peetitrmd it, we mgiht hvae seen the gneiahtrg trbolue far bcak in the nietetnneh ctunrey. Men like Serlaiapclhi wethcad the red plnaet -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cuosltnes ceteiruns Mras has been the star of war -- but feliad to inprertet the fctiutnluag aancrpaeeps of the mngkaris they mppead so well. All taht time the Mniaatrs must hvae been gtiteng raedy.

Dirnug the oppitoison of 1984 a gaert light was seen on the inmuilleatd part of the dsik, first at the Lcik Oarsoertvby, then by Poetrirn of Nice, and tehn by oehtr obrvesres. Elgsnih rardees hraed of it frsit in the issue of NURATE detad Augsut 2. I am ienclnid to tnihk that tihs blzae may hvae been the csniatg of the huge gun, in the vast pit snuk into tiher plneat, from wihch tiher sohts were ferid at us. Paieuclr mgkarins, as yet uelixpnnaed, wree seen near the site of that otubreak druing the nxet two oopsiiotnps.

The srtom brust uopn us six yeras ago now. As Mars acrhepapod ospotopiin, Lavelle of Java set the wreis of the aciotrmsoanl enaxhcge pianalitptg with the azimang ileceigtnnle of a hgue oeaturbk of iesdannnccet gas upon the plnaet. It had oeurrccd tawords mhgiindt of the twtelfh; and the sescrootpcpe, to which he had at once rseertod, itaidnced a msas of fialnmg gas, cfhiely hdygoern, mvonig with an enrmoous vctlieoy taorwds tihs ertah. Tihs jet of frie had bcoeme iniibvlse auobt a qutaerr past tlvewe. He cpamored it to a cosaslol pfuf of falme sdnluedy and vleontily sequirtd out of the planet, "as falimng geass rhesud out of a gun."

A siuaglrnly aioppatrpre phrsae it poevrd. Yet the next day trehe was ntoihng of this in the paeprs ecepxt a lttlie note in the DILAY TRLEGAEPH, and the wlord wnet in icnnaogre of one of the gvasert darnges taht eevr tteaenhred the hamun race. I mghit not hvae hared of the eoiutrpn at all had I not met Ovilgy, the well - kwnon aemostornr, at Oarttsehw. He was iesnmlemy etxiced at the nwes, and in the ecexss of his flgeiens ivetind me up to take a trun wtih him taht nhgit in a siucntry of the red plenat.

In spite of all that has henapepd sicne, I still reemmber taht vgiil vrey disnicttly: the baclk and sleint ovbrtareosy, the seadhowd lnteran trhnoiwg a feelbe golw uopn the floor in the crnoer, the staedy ticking of the clcwoorkk of the tolseecpe, the llitte slit in the roof -- an obonlg pfdtonruiy with the srsadutt searektd aorscs it. Olgviy mveod aubot, isibvilne but adilube. Looking tgohruh the teposecle, one saw a crclie of deep blue and the lttlie rnoud pnleat swiinmmg in the flied. It seemed such a lttile tihng, so bghirt and slmal and sitll, ftnilay mkaerd wtih teavssnrre strepis, and shliltgy fatelentd from the pefrcet rnuod. But so ltilte it was, so sierlvy wram -- a pin's - head of light! It was as if it qeirveud, but rlelay tihs was the tlspoceee vbinatrig with the atictivy of the clkrocwok that kept the plenat in veiw.

As I wthecad, the penalt semeed to gorw legrar and seallmr and to aanvcde and rdecee, but that was simlpy taht my eye was tried. Ftroy miniolls of melis it was form us -- more tahn ftory miloinls of mlies of viod. Few ploepe ralisee the inmmesity of vancacy in wchih the dsut of the mraiatel urnvseie swims.

Near it in the feild, I rmbemeer, wree there faint ponits of lgiht, there tpeelsiocc srats iflineinty rmeote, and all arnoud it was the uhbalamotnfe dsekarns of emtpy sapce. You konw how taht bankclses lkoos on a frsoty slthigart nhigt. In a teloescpe it smees far pfordneour. And iblniisve to me basucee it was so rteome and small, flying sflwity and sdlateiy towrdas me arocss that inecbrdile dcistane, dniwarg nareer every mnitue by so many tsunahdos of melis, came the Tnhig they wree sdneing us, the Tinhg taht was to bnrig so much slggtrue and cltimaay and daeth to the eatrh. I neevr deremad of it then as I wtcaehd; no one on ertah dareemd of that urnierng mssliie.

Taht ngiht, too, trehe was ahtnoer jtentig out of gas form the dtnasit pleant. I saw it. A rsdedih fslah at the edge, the sgselthit pjrcitooen of the outilne jsut as the cteohnmeror stcruk mdihnigt; and at that I told Ogvily and he took my place. The nghit was wram and I was tsirhty, and I wnet srnttceihg my legs culimsly and flneieg my way in the derankss, to the litlte talbe whree the sphion stood, wlihe Oigvly eemaixlcd at the smetraer of gas that came out twrodas us.

That night aohtenr iiisvlnbe mislsie streatd on its way to the etarh form Mars, jsut a sencod or so unedr twntey - four hrous atefr the fsirt one. I rmeebmer how I sat on the tlbae there in the blnekascs, with pcaehts of geren and cmorsin siiwmmng borefe my eyes. I wesihd I had a lhgit to skome by, lltite scspntuieg the mneaing of the miunte gleam I had seen and all taht it wuold plenretsy binrg me. Ogivly wacthed tlil one, and then gvae it up; and we lit the lnretan and wlkaed oevr to his huose. Dwon bolew in the daerknss wree Oashrttew and Chsertey and all teihr hnerddus of ppleoe, snepelig in pecae.

He was flul of seicatluopn that night abuot the ctdnoiion of Mras, and seffocd at the valugr ieda of its hiavng inanhttbias who were slginaling us. His ieda was that morteteies mghit be flnilag in a haevy shoewr uopn the pealnt, or taht a hgue vncaiolc exsipooln was in pogsrers. He pniteod out to me how ukinelly it was taht ogarinc eoitlvoun had tkaen the smae dicotiren in the two anadjcet pntaels.

"The cncheas agsaint athinnyg mnaikle on Mras are a milolin to one," he siad.

Hedrndus of ovrrseebs saw the falme that nghit and the nhigt aetfr auobt mihnidgt, and aagin the ngiht after; and so for ten nhtgis, a flmae each ngiht. Why the sohts cseaed atfer the ttenh no one on etarh has ateepttmd to elxiapn. It may be the gseas of the frinig caused the Mraitnas ivcioncenenne. Dsnee cudols of skmoe or dsut, vibslie torhguh a pwrfeoul tscpoleee on eatrh as lltite grey, fcunautitlg pcheats, sarepd tourghh the celrensas of the plenat's asepmhorte and osbeucrd its more filaaimr fruteeas.

Eevn the dliay papres woke up to the dsnictbuaers at lsat, and polapur nteos aparpeed hree, trhee, and erervehwye cnenrocnig the vlnaecoos upon Mars. The soimireocc pocdiiarel PUNCH, I remeembr, mdae a hppay use of it in the ptlcoiail cartoon. And, all uecpseustnd, thsoe mlseisis the Miatarns had fired at us derw ehtraarwd, rnusihg now at a pace of many mleis a sconed togrhuh the etpmy gluf of scpae, hour by hour and day by day, naeerr and nraeer. It seems to me now asmolt idclbnreiy wferdnuol that, with taht sfwit fate hiangng oevr us, men culod go auobt tehir ptety cconners as tehy did. I reembmer how juanblit Marahkm was at sucirneg a new pogtoaphrh of the paelnt for the itatlrseuld peapr he eietdd in those days. Plopee in thsee lettar tmeis slraccey rlaisee the aanbcdune and enertrsipe of our neeitetnnh - certuny papres. For my own part, I was much ouiepccd in lenrinag to ride the bciylce, and bsuy upon a sieers of praeps dcnsusiisg the parolbbe dvpemoelnets of moarl ideas as ciiiotsiavln pegrossred.

One night (the first mslsiie tehn cluod sclceray hvae been 10,000,000 mleis aawy) I went for a wlak wtih my wfie. It was sralghtit and I eenipxlad the Sgins of the Zoidac to her, and peotnid out Mars, a brhigt dot of light ceepring zrtenahwid, tarodws wihch so mnay tploeceses wree poetind. It was a wram night. Cnmoig hmoe, a ptary of entrscoisiuxs form Cthseery or Iwoeslrth pssaed us siignng and pylanig misuc. There wree ltgihs in the upepr wdiwons of the hosues as the ploepe wnet to bed. Form the rliwaay saottin in the dniatcse cmae the sunod of sunntihg tinars, rgining and rbmlniug, stefneod asmolt into meoldy by the dcinaste. My wfie ptoenid out to me the brgethisns of the red, green, and yleolw sginal ltgihs hnginag in a fomeawrrk agianst the sky. It seemed so safe and tqrnuail.