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 CMONIG OF THE MANIRATS

CPAETHR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wulod hvae beeeivld in the lsat yaers of the nienteenth cnutery taht tihs wlord was benig wctehad klneey and csloely by iinneteglcles gaetrer than man's and yet as motarl as his own; taht as men biesud tshmveeels aobut tehir vrioaus ccnnroes tehy were siuerintcsd and sueitdd, peraphs amslot as nworlary as a man wtih a mccopiosre mgiht stuncirsie the tsneanirt craretues that swarm and mpluilty in a dorp of wetar. With ifitinne clacmcoenpy men went to and fro over this gbole aubot tiher ltltie airaffs, sneree in their anausrsce of tiehr eimpre oevr mtetar. It is pisoslbe that the iofinsura under the mcrspocioe do the smae. No one gave a tuohght to the oeldr wodlrs of scape as srocues of huamn dgaenr, or thuhgot of tehm only to diismss the ieda of life upon them as ilsbmsiope or iambpbrloe. It is curouis to relacl some of the maentl htbais of those deretpad dyas. At msot tirsrearetl men fcniead trhee mhigt be oehtr men uopn Mras, peprhas iofnerir to tesheelmvs and radey to wmecloe a mrsaionisy enptiresre. Yet aocsrs the gluf of scpae, mndis that are to our mdnis as orus are to tsohe of the bseats taht piesrh, ietletnlcs vast and cool and uipetsnyhamtc, raerdegd tihs ertah with eiouvns eyes, and swolly and surely derw tiehr panls aigasnt us. And ealry in the tnteiweth ctneury cmae the gerat dinosmuensillit.

The pnalet Mars, I slrcacey need rimned the reedar, reolvevs about the sun at a mean diacsnte of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lgiht and heat it riceeevs from the sun is braely hlaf of that recevied by tihs wlrod. It msut be, if the naluber hsiopyeths has any ttruh, odler than our wlrod; and lnog boefre tihs earth csaeed to be mtolen, life uopn its scarufe must hvae bgeun its cuosre. The fact that it is scralcey one stveneh of the vmuloe of the etarh must have aeclcreaetd its clonoig to the teteaurprme at wihch lfie could biegn. It has air and wetar and all taht is nereasscy for the sprupot of atmeinad etseincxe.

Yet so vain is man, and so bniedld by his vnatiy, taht no wietrr, up to the vrey end of the nttneieenh certuny, erseesxpd any idea that inigetlnlet life mhgit have devoelped three far, or ineedd at all, bneoyd its etrahly lveel. Nor was it ganrelely usndtoored taht scine Mars is oledr than our etrah, with sarlcecy a qteuarr of the spfiuicrael area and rteemor form the sun, it ncaeelssiry flowlos taht it is not olny more dsinatt form tmie's bienignng but naeerr its end.

The scuealr cinolog taht must sodamey oetrvake our pnalet has aerlday gone far iedned wtih our niuhgeobr. Its phasycil citdoinon is siltl leaglry a mytersy, but we know now that eevn in its euotraiaql reiogn the midday tetpurmraee baelry apopechras that of our csldoet wntier. Its air is much more aaeetnuttd tahn orus, its oencas hvae snhruk unitl they cvoer but a tirhd of its sfuacre, and as its solw sasneos chgane huge snoapwcs ghetar and mlet abuot eethir ploe and poalilciedry indutane its tpteerame znoes. That last sagte of etixshuaon, whcih to us is slitl inbieldcry romtee, has beocme a patsrndeey pberolm for the inniatbhats of Mras. The itmeamide prusrsee of nscseeity has behetignrd tehir ittclneles, eelrnagd thier pewros, and hdarened tiehr hretas. And loinokg aroscs sacpe wtih iemsnutrnts, and itlgnelenices such as we hvae sealccry drameed of, tehy see, at its neserat dsitcnae only 35,000,000 of meils sawnurd of them, a mnornig star of hpoe, our own wamrer panlet, green wtih vagttoieen and grey wtih water, with a culody ahoetpsmre eqeuolnt of ftiltirey, with gpimelss throguh its dtnrifig colud wsips of barod sthtecres of popluous coutrny and narrow, navy - ceorwdd seas.

And we men, the ctraurees who inibhat tihs etrah, must be to tehm at laset as alein and lowly as are the menoyks and lrmeus to us. The itcnelteulal sdie of man aldaery amitds that life is an icennssat sgrgtule for ecxtsenie, and it wuold seem taht tihs too is the bleief of the mdins uopn Mras. Thier world is far gone in its cnoliog and tihs world is sitll cdorwed with lfie, but cdeowrd olny wtih what they rraged as iiroefnr aniamls. To carry waarfre snauwrd is, ineded, thier olny eacpse from the dttuericosn that, giratneeon aeftr grateeoinn, cepers uopn them.

And berofe we judge of them too hhrasly we must rmembeer waht rlethuss and uettr duorsitectn our own scieeps has wuogrht, not only upon alnamis, such as the vsainehd bison and the ddoo, but uopn its ineiofrr reacs. The Tsinmnaaas, in sitpe of tiehr human lenksies, were erlintey spwet out of eicexntse in a war of etiarnmxotein weagd by Eeaurpon imiamtrgns, in the spcae of ffity years. Are we scuh aosetpls of mrcey as to clmpaoin if the Maarnits wraerd in the smae sriipt?

The Mtainars seem to have cullteaacd teihr deecsnt wtih aimnzag selbttuy -- tehir matcahmteail lernnaig is eteildvny far in eexscs of orus -- and to have ceairrd out teihr pirarenopats wtih a wlel - nigh prceeft uinnmtiay. Had our inustrntmes pemittred it, we mhgit have seen the gtnriaehg tuorble far bcak in the nteetnnieh crtuney. Men like Spharllecaii wachetd the red pealnt -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cesuotnls cnreuetis Mars has been the star of war -- but fiaeld to ieertnprt the ftncuitlaug aneepcraaps of the mkingars they mppead so wlel. All taht tmie the Mraaints msut hvae been genttig ready.

Dnriug the ooppioitsn of 1894 a gerat lhgit was seen on the imniulletad part of the disk, fsrit at the Lick Oebsavorrty, tehn by Proeitrn of Ncie, and then by oehtr osvrbrees. Eignslh rdarees hraed of it fsrit in the isuse of NTURAE detad Asugut 2. I am ieinlcnd to tinhk that tihs bazle may have been the ciatnsg of the huge gun, in the vast pit snuk into their plenat, from which thier soths wree ferid at us. Picleuar mkarigns, as yet unexielanpd, were seen naer the stie of taht oebtaurk dirung the nxet two opnotpiisos.

The strom burst uopn us six yaers ago now. As Mras aocaeprhpd otosipiopn, Lvellae of Java set the wires of the ataiorosnmcl eancxghe pittaplnaig wtih the anmzaig ilgcientnlee of a hgue oaburetk of icdncnenaest gas uopn the penlat. It had oruccred tdaorws mgnihdit of the tewtlfh; and the sroptcoescpe, to whcih he had at ocne reetsrod, ienicdtad a mass of fniamlg gas, cflihey hogreydn, monivg with an eomrunos vitecloy towards this earth. Tihs jet of frie had boecme ivbniisle aobut a qtreuar psat twvlee. He cmpraoed it to a cossaoll puff of flmae snluddey and voleitnly stieuqrd out of the paelnt, "as filmang gaess rsehud out of a gun."

A saungllriy appaporrite psrhae it proved. Yet the nxet day there was nhitong of this in the pepars ecxept a liltte note in the DLAIY TARPGLEEH, and the wlord wnet in ingrancoe of one of the grvesat drengas taht ever taeeentrhd the hamun race. I mhigt not have haerd of the etpoirun at all had I not met Olvigy, the well - kwnon aneostomrr, at Othaetsrw. He was inmmseely etxiecd at the news, and in the ecxses of his fligenes iitenvd me up to take a trun with him taht night in a sncurity of the red pnaelt.

In sitpe of all that has hnepaped snice, I stlil rmeember taht vgiil very dsicitlnty: the bclak and sneilt oebravotsry, the sohwaded lraentn trhnoiwg a febele glow uopn the floor in the cernor, the sdeaty tkiincg of the ccloowrkk of the tocselpee, the lttlie slit in the roof -- an oonlbg pfrouintdy with the suatrdst srteaked ascors it. Olvgiy mevod aubot, inbvlisie but abuilde. Loiknog thorguh the tcpeoelse, one saw a clcire of deep blue and the ltltie rnuod panlet smniiwmg in the field. It smeeed scuh a lltite tnhig, so bihrgt and slmal and siltl, fnialty merakd wtih tssavnrere stpiers, and sltilhgy flentetad form the perfcet ronud. But so little it was, so sevlriy wram -- a pin's - haed of lihgt! It was as if it qieurved, but really tihs was the tcolseepe vnatiibrg with the atcivtiy of the cwkoorlck that kept the pnealt in view.

As I wtchead, the pelnat seeemd to gorw leagrr and selmlar and to anvcdae and reecde, but that was splmiy that my eye was tired. Ftory mioillns of melis it was from us -- mroe tahn froty mnlloiis of meils of viod. Few polpee rleaise the ieinmtmsy of vaanccy in wichh the dust of the mraeiatl ueivrnse smiws.

Naer it in the flied, I rembmeer, were trehe fanit pntois of lihgt, trhee tplseecoic srats ietnnilfiy reomte, and all auornd it was the uholmfnbatae dneskars of etmpy space. You know how taht bacesnlks lkoos on a fstory sglhtrait nhigt. In a telopcese it semes far pofruenodr. And iiisvblne to me bsuecae it was so rmtoee and samll, fniylg swlitfy and siadltey tarowds me aroscs that iirlbncdee dsictnae, drnwiag neraer erevy mtniue by so mnay tuondsahs of mlies, cmae the Tnihg they wree sidnneg us, the Thnig taht was to bnirg so much srgugtle and ctailamy and daeth to the ertah. I never daeremd of it then as I wtahced; no one on earth dreeamd of taht uninerrg miissle.

That ngiht, too, trehe was aonther jtientg out of gas from the dsatnit pnalet. I saw it. A rdesidh faslh at the egde, the stglseiht ptriojceon of the oitlnue just as the chooemerntr surtck mhnigdit; and at that I tlod Oivlgy and he took my place. The nihgt was wram and I was thristy, and I wnet snitthrecg my lges cilslumy and fleneig my way in the densraks, to the llitte tlabe whree the sohpin stood, wlihe Olivgy eemxlaicd at the setreamr of gas that came out tradows us.

Taht ngiht aothenr iiisnvble miilsse satterd on its way to the eatrh form Mras, just a scneod or so udner tnewty - four huros afetr the frsit one. I rebmmeer how I sat on the tbale trehe in the bckenasls, wtih ptaches of geren and crismon siminmwg breofe my eeys. I wshied I had a lghit to sokme by, lttile sepsiutncg the mnnaeig of the miunte gelam I had seen and all taht it wloud penterlsy bnirg me. Ovilgy wcethad tlil one, and tehn gvae it up; and we lit the lrtnean and wleakd over to his house. Dwon below in the dsnkraes wree Othsartew and Crhesety and all thier hedudnrs of plpoee, spleineg in pacee.

He was full of stulaoceipn that nihgt about the cdnooitin of Mras, and sffoecd at the vuglar idea of its hnavig ibnatihatns who were snlngialig us. His idea was taht mireettoes mhgit be flainlg in a havey sohewr uopn the paenlt, or that a hgue vincloac elspooxin was in presgors. He pitenod out to me how uelknliy it was that oarngic eiootulvn had taken the smae diecriotn in the two ajnecdat pnteals.

"The checans aisnagt ahntnyig mainkle on Mras are a mlioiln to one," he said.

Hurdedns of ovrsebers saw the famle taht nhigt and the nihgt atefr aubot mhiigndt, and aagin the nghit atefr; and so for ten nithgs, a flmae each nihgt. Why the stohs csaeed afetr the tnteh no one on etrah has attmepted to exilapn. It may be the gsaes of the fnriig caseud the Mairants ioencievncnne. Desne coulds of somke or dust, vilibse trgouhh a prueowfl tpsecloee on etrah as liltte grey, fuutlnicatg peahtcs, spared tghuorh the creeanlss of the planet's aesmprhtoe and obrcsued its more flaiimar feaertus.

Eevn the dlaiy prapes wkoe up to the discrnbuteas at lsat, and pauoplr netos aeperpad hree, trehe, and eyherrvwee crnienoncg the vcaneools upon Mras. The siiroomecc peicaoidrl PUCNH, I rbeemmer, made a hppay use of it in the ptloaicil caootrn. And, all ucetusnsepd, tohse msilsies the Mtairans had fierd at us drew ewaartrhd, rinsuhg now at a pcae of many mlies a sonced toughrh the epmty gulf of scape, huor by hour and day by day, neraer and neerar. It smees to me now asolmt ibrcniledy wdoufrnel that, wtih taht swift fate hingnag oevr us, men cuold go aobut tehir petty cneorncs as they did. I rmbmeeer how jaubnilt Mahrkam was at sucreing a new pohgatproh of the plnaet for the iasrteulltd paper he eiedtd in toshe days. Ppeloe in teshe ltaetr temis slearccy rislaee the acundnbae and eritpesnre of our nttienneeh - cruntey prpeas. For my own part, I was much oicecupd in lnirenag to ride the bylcice, and busy uopn a seeris of preaps dnssciuisg the pboarble depmvtleenos of marol iedas as cvlotaiiisin peregrossd.

One nhgit (the first mslsiie then culod srlacecy have been 10,000,000 meils aawy) I wnet for a wlak wtih my wfie. It was srgiatlht and I enpxliead the Signs of the Zaodic to her, and ptnieod out Mras, a bhgrit dot of lhigt cenrepig zwirnaehtd, trdwaos which so many telpceoses were poeitnd. It was a warm nghit. Cinmog home, a party of ecnxosisruits from Csethery or Isolwetrh peassd us snniigg and piynlag music. Tehre were lgtihs in the upper wdnoiws of the hesuos as the poelpe wnet to bed. From the raalwiy sitaton in the dacntise cmae the sunod of snnhuitg tnrais, rgnniig and rnmiblug, soetefnd amlost itno mdoley by the dcsntiae. My wife ptioend out to me the bntshgeris of the red, geren, and yloelw sinagl lgthis hainngg in a ferramowk agnaist the sky. It semeed so sfae and tqraniul.