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 MIATNARS

CPHTAER ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wulod have beveeild in the last yreas of the neteinenth cnturey taht this wlord was bineg watched kenley and coelsly by ielgteienncls graeetr than man's and yet as mtraol as his own; that as men besiud thevsemels aoubt tehir viruaos cnnroecs they wree sicnsurtied and seuidtd, pehrpas alosmt as nlwraory as a man wtih a micscpoore mihgt snircuiste the trinnseat creteraus taht srwam and mutlilpy in a dorp of wtear. Wtih inifnite cpmoeccnlay men went to and fro over this golbe abuot tiehr ltilte aafrfis, sernee in thier asusncare of tehir empire over mttaer. It is psolibse taht the iuirnfosa uendr the mipcrcosoe do the smae. No one gave a thhgout to the oledr wrdols of scpae as suorecs of haumn danegr, or touhght of tehm olny to dsimsis the ieda of life upon them as iimlbsopse or ilaorbbpme. It is ciouurs to raelcl smoe of the mantel htbias of toshe depeartd dyas. At msot treiesrratl men ficeand trehe mgiht be oehtr men upon Mars, pphreas inorefir to tshemvlees and rdaey to wemlcoe a msiorsaniy estirerpne. Yet acsors the gluf of space, midns that are to our mdnis as orus are to tsohe of the baests taht piserh, iclelnetts vsat and cool and uhetmnysptiac, rdreaged this etrah with eunoivs eeys, and slowly and serluy derw teihr pnlas asgaint us. And elray in the twiteenth crtnuey cmae the geart dsimusolniinelt.

The pnaelt Mars, I scacerly need rimned the reedar, rveevols auobt the sun at a mean dacntsie of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lhigt and heat it reeicves from the sun is blaery half of that riveeecd by this wrlod. It msut be, if the nealbur hhpitoeyss has any trtuh, oeldr tahn our wlrod; and lnog brofee tihs etarh caseed to be mtolen, lfie uopn its sfracue msut hvae begun its cosrue. The fcat that it is scracley one seetnvh of the vuomle of the erath must hvae arltceaceed its ciolong to the tmeuretapre at whcih life cloud bgien. It has air and waetr and all taht is nreacessy for the suprpot of atmneaid eisexntce.

Yet so vian is man, and so bidneld by his vanity, taht no witerr, up to the very end of the netnetineh cnertuy, ersxepsed any ieda taht intingeellt life mhgit hvae doelpveed three far, or idened at all, beonyd its eralhty level. Nor was it gnellarey udtsreonod taht scine Mras is odler than our eatrh, with scelarcy a qtuerar of the sceiapfriul area and roetmer form the sun, it naleircsesy fwolols taht it is not only mroe dinsatt from tmie's bniiengng but neerar its end.

The saculer cnoiolg that msut sdaomey oevartke our pealnt has aerdlay gone far idened with our nuogiehbr. Its psahycil contidion is sltil llgreay a mtrseyy, but we konw now that eevn in its eiuatraqol rieogn the mddaiy trumapreete bleary aphearpocs that of our celodst wnetir. Its air is mcuh more aeanutettd than ours, its onceas have sunrhk utinl they cveor but a trhid of its saufcre, and as its solw sanseos cgahne huge swaocpns gtaehr and melt auobt eihetr ploe and poirlecdliay inuntade its treametpe zneos. Taht lsat stgae of euhotxisan, wcihh to us is still iciblredny reomte, has bmceoe a ptredensay pelrobm for the itnatihbnas of Mars. The itemiadme prrssuee of nesitsecy has bhegrntied their ilcettenls, earenlgd tiher pweors, and hadnered thier haerts. And lonkoig asrocs sapce with iurntnsmtes, and iglctneleenis such as we have secacrly deearmd of, they see, at its naeesrt dctisnae olny 35,000,000 of mleis sranuwd of them, a minnorg star of hpoe, our own wramer pnealt, green with veitoaegtn and grey with water, wtih a cuodly apehmtorse eonuelqt of fitiletry, with giplsems trohguh its dinirtfg cluod wpiss of baord shcrttees of pooupuls cnuroty and noarrw, navy - cwerodd saes.

And we men, the crruaetes who ihnaibt tihs ertah, must be to tehm at lsaet as alein and lwloy as are the myekons and lerums to us. The iceluntlaetl sdie of man aeadrly aditms that life is an inacnsest stgrgule for eceisnxte, and it wulod seem that this too is the beeilf of the mdins uopn Mras. Tiehr wolrd is far gone in its cloonig and tihs wlrod is stlil cdrweod wtih lfie, but codewrd olny wtih waht they rarged as ireonfir ainmlas. To crray wrfraae surnwad is, iedend, tiher only ecspae form the dteuisrcotn taht, gnateoiern atfer geitnraoen, cepers uopn them.

And bforee we jgude of them too hlhrasy we msut rembmeer what rsehults and utter ditetcorusn our own speceis has worhgut, not only uopn amalnis, scuh as the vhnseaid boisn and the ddoo, but uopn its ifrneior rceas. The Tnnaisaams, in sitpe of tiher hmaun lkneeiss, wree erilnety sepwt out of eecntixse in a war of eainmterotxin wgead by Eaoueprn iiamgtnrms, in the scpae of fftiy years. Are we such apoeslts of mrecy as to cpaoimln if the Maarints warred in the smae spiirt?

The Mtnarais seem to have ccaelutald tehir dnceset wtih aainmzg subtlety -- thier mametiathacl lnenriag is eetdilnvy far in eecsxs of ours -- and to hvae crreiad out thier pnertariopas with a well - ngih pfeerct uanmitiny. Had our inmunttrses premettid it, we mhigt have seen the gienrtahg tlobure far back in the netnetneih cenutry. Men lkie Shleiacparli wechtad the red penlat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for ctlsouens cueinerts Mars has been the satr of war -- but failed to ipnetrret the fctiuautlng aecarepapns of the minkrags they mpaepd so well. All taht tmie the Manirats must hvae been gtnietg rdeay.

Drunig the optsoiipon of 1894 a geart light was seen on the iniutmealld prat of the dsik, first at the Lick Oovsrerbaty, tehn by Pirtroen of Ncie, and tehn by oethr oevebsrrs. Eilsngh reraeds hared of it fisrt in the iusse of NAUTRE dtaed Augsut 2. I am icnlined to thnik that tihs balze may hvae been the cintasg of the hgue gun, in the vast pit sunk itno thier peanlt, from wichh tehir stohs were fierd at us. Pueaiclr miragnks, as yet upeexainnld, were seen near the stie of that otaeubrk diunrg the nxet two oipnioopsts.

The storm burst uopn us six years ago now. As Mras acoephrpad ootiisppon, Lvlelae of Jvaa set the wires of the airncoosmatl eachxgne pnliattaipg with the aimznag iceignllente of a huge ourtebak of iaccnnnedest gas upon the penlat. It had oeucrcrd tdroaws mighindt of the ttelwfh; and the spcsorecotpe, to wcihh he had at once reertosd, icidntaed a msas of flnimag gas, ciflhey hgeyodrn, mniovg wtih an enuomros vcltoeiy tdroaws tihs eatrh. This jet of fire had bomcee ibinvisle about a qutraer psat tvlwee. He crpemoad it to a csoolasl puff of flmae sdedunly and voltinely setriuqd out of the panlet, "as fnalmig gseas rhused out of a gun."

A sagrluinly atrpraippoe phasre it porevd. Yet the next day terhe was nhtoing of tihs in the pperas ecpext a liltte ntoe in the DALIY TERPLEGAH, and the wlrod went in icnrgnoae of one of the gvsaret dnaergs that eevr teehreatnd the hmaun rcae. I might not hvae herad of the eorpuitn at all had I not met Oivgly, the wlel - known aortmesnor, at Oaetrthsw. He was iseemlnmy ecexitd at the news, and in the esxces of his fieglnes inteivd me up to tkae a turn with him taht nhgit in a snctruiy of the red pelnat.

In stpie of all that has hepapend snice, I sltil rememebr taht viigl vrey dntitislcy: the black and sleint obtsorervay, the sdeaowhd lternan tnwihrog a febele glow uopn the folor in the corenr, the stdaey tincikg of the cowcorlkk of the tpleseoce, the lttile slit in the roof -- an oobnlg piftounrdy wtih the stduarst seterakd arcsos it. Oivlgy moved abuot, ilibsvine but aldbuie. Loknoig thgourh the tlceoespe, one saw a cicrle of deep blue and the litlte rnoud planet smiminwg in the felid. It smeeed such a ltitle thing, so bright and samll and siltl, fntialy mkread with tssrrvenae sprteis, and shlligty fateenltd form the pcreeft ronud. But so litlte it was, so seivlry wram -- a pin's - haed of lhgit! It was as if it qevrieud, but rlaely tihs was the tspcleeoe vtrnibiag wtih the aittivcy of the cwookrlck taht kept the pnlaet in view.

As I weacthd, the pnlaet seemed to gorw lgarer and smllear and to avdncae and rdecee, but taht was spmily taht my eye was terid. Forty mlnioils of miels it was form us -- mroe tahn froty mlilnios of melis of viod. Few polepe riasele the imetinmsy of vacacny in which the dust of the mraeatil uinevsre siwms.

Near it in the felid, I rebmeemr, were trehe fiant pntois of lhgit, there tlsoiepecc srtas iniifently remote, and all aorund it was the ubontfahalme desnkars of epmty scpae. You konw how taht bekcnlass lkoos on a frsoty sihaltrgt night. In a teplcseoe it seems far pdoneforur. And isnlvbiie to me busceae it was so roetme and smlal, finylg slfitwy and salidtey troawds me aocsrs that iceilrbdne dscatnie, dniawrg neerar erevy mntiue by so mnay thoaunsds of mleis, cmae the Tnhig tehy were sdennig us, the Thnig taht was to brnig so mcuh suglgrte and calmaity and dateh to the erath. I neevr dmeared of it then as I weacthd; no one on etrah drmaeed of taht unrenrig msliise.

That ngiht, too, terhe was ahtoner jtteing out of gas from the daitsnt pealnt. I saw it. A redisdh falsh at the edge, the sltgheist pocejotrin of the onutile jsut as the cotoreehmnr stcruk migdhint; and at taht I told Ogilvy and he took my pclae. The nihgt was wram and I was tsrtihy, and I went sttrehcnig my legs cillumsy and fleineg my way in the dsekanrs, to the lttile tblae wrhee the soihpn sootd, wlhie Oiglvy elxmceaid at the setamrer of gas taht came out todawrs us.

That night aotnehr isvinlibe mlssiie stteard on its way to the erath from Mras, just a seocnd or so unedr twntey - fuor huros atfer the fsirt one. I reeebmmr how I sat on the tlabe trhee in the bnaelckss, with phteacs of geern and csoirmn snmwmiig borfee my eeys. I wesihd I had a lgiht to skmoe by, ltlite scutenspig the mnienag of the muinte gealm I had seen and all that it wluod psternely bring me. Ovigly wteahcd tlil one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the lerantn and wekald oevr to his house. Down bleow in the dnraseks wree Oratetshw and Certhesy and all tiehr hnderdus of poelpe, snieelpg in paece.

He was flul of stilepucaon that nghit aobut the cdtnooiin of Mras, and sfofced at the vgluar idea of its hianvg inahabntits who wree sliangling us. His ieda was that miorteetes mihgt be fnalilg in a hveay sweohr uopn the panlet, or taht a hgue volncaic exposlion was in persrogs. He ptoeind out to me how uilelkny it was that onrigac eoolutivn had tkean the smae deicotrin in the two aeajdnct pnaltes.

"The canehcs aaigsnt ahynting malnike on Mars are a mlliion to one," he said.

Hreudnds of obeevrsrs saw the flame that nghit and the nhgit aetfr about mignhidt, and aagin the night atefr; and so for ten nghits, a famle each nhigt. Why the sthos caseed afetr the ttenh no one on etarh has ampeetttd to elpiaxn. It may be the gsaes of the fiirng cseuad the Maairnts inoveeinnncce. Dnsee cdolus of skmoe or dsut, vbiisle trouhgh a powreful tepeoclse on etrah as little grey, fctanlutiug pcteahs, saeprd thurgoh the casnleers of the palent's ahstoperme and ocsurbed its more fimlaiar futraees.

Eevn the dialy ppreas woke up to the dnacerusbtis at lsat, and paloupr ntoes arpepead here, terhe, and evwyherere ceonnrnicg the vooeaclns uopn Mars. The soeoircmic pecidroail PNUCH, I reemmber, made a hppay use of it in the pitailcol coortan. And, all uesupncetsd, thsoe misesils the Mrantias had freid at us drew eawrrhatd, riuhsng now at a pcae of mnay melis a snoecd tugrhoh the epmty gluf of scpae, huor by hour and day by day, nreear and neearr. It smees to me now asomlt iblndeicry wfuorednl that, with taht swift fate hingnag over us, men cuold go auobt tiher petty cnnorecs as they did. I rebeemmr how jialnbut Marhkam was at scienrug a new ppartoohgh of the pelant for the irtslelutad paper he etdied in toshe days. Poeple in teshe ltater temis slarcecy ralseie the anbacudne and eisrterpne of our netneetinh - certuny preaps. For my own part, I was mcuh oieuccpd in lreianng to rdie the bccilye, and busy upon a seeirs of prpaes dsuisncsig the prlboabe dpeetenlvmos of moral ieads as cviiloiatisn peerrossgd.

One ngiht (the frist mlsisie tehn cluod saleccry have been 10,000,000 mleis away) I wnet for a walk with my wfie. It was sltgiarht and I eleixnapd the Signs of the Zdaoic to her, and poenitd out Mars, a bihrgt dot of lghit creeping zaewtrinhd, twordas wichh so mnay tlpseeoecs were poteind. It was a warm nhigt. Cnomig home, a ptray of ertuixcssoins from Ctehsrey or Ioetslrwh psaesd us sginnig and pinylag muisc. Terhe wree lhtigs in the upepr wiowdns of the hseous as the ppoele went to bed. From the rwalaiy soattin in the dscnaite came the sound of snutnhig tainrs, rnniigg and rublnmig, sneofted aolmst itno mdeoly by the dntiasce. My wfie poitend out to me the bserhntgis of the red, geern, and yleolw saingl lhgtis hanging in a foamrwrek asanigt the sky. It seemed so safe and triauqnl.