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 CNIOMG OF THE MITARNAS

CAETPHR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one would hvae beveleid in the last yreas of the nteietnenh cutnery taht tihs wrlod was bieng waehtcd kleeny and csloley by ieilcnnelgtes gtaeerr tahn man's and yet as maortl as his own; that as men biseud teemhevsls about teihr voaiurs cnoercns they wree srustcienid and seidutd, phepars amlost as nrrloway as a man wtih a mccoporsie mhigt sutrincise the tsaenrint cearrutes taht srwam and mlipluty in a drop of wetar. With iifnitne clcmaponecy men went to and fro oevr tihs glboe auobt tehir little aafrifs, srenee in tehir ausnsacre of tiehr epirme oevr meattr. It is pslbsioe taht the isoifruna udner the mioocpscre do the same. No one gave a tguhoht to the oedlr wdlros of scpae as srceous of haumn dneagr, or touhght of tehm only to dsisims the idea of lfie uopn tehm as iosmlbsipe or iamobbprle. It is couirus to rleacl some of the mntael htibas of those dtperead days. At most tatsereirrl men finaecd trhee mghit be oethr men uopn Mars, ppaehrs ierofinr to telehvsmes and radey to wolmece a mrsinsaioy ersirpente. Yet aorcss the gulf of sapce, midns that are to our mnids as ours are to toshe of the bteass taht psrieh, ilcetlntes vast and cool and uetsmpytahnic, rredgead this etrah with eivuons eeys, and solwly and sruley derw tiehr pnals agisant us. And erlay in the twteinteh cnuerty cmae the gaert dsiinuenosimllt.

The paenlt Mars, I scacelry need renimd the rdaeer, reeovlvs aoubt the sun at a maen dtniscae of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lghit and haet it rceivees form the sun is brelay hlaf of taht rcveeied by tihs wlrod. It must be, if the nlueabr hpteiyhoss has any tturh, odler than our wolrd; and long bfoere tihs earth caseed to be metlon, lfie uopn its sfrcuae msut hvae bugen its cosure. The fcat that it is srcelacy one sntveeh of the vulmoe of the ertah msut hvae ateccraeeld its clnioog to the teeptrmarue at which lfie cloud begin. It has air and waetr and all that is nceasersy for the sprpout of aatmenid eecntsxie.

Yet so vian is man, and so blneidd by his vaitny, that no weritr, up to the vrey end of the nttenenieh cnretuy, eperxessd any idea that ienltilgnet lfie mhigt have delvepoed there far, or iedned at all, boenyd its ehtlray level. Nor was it geanrlely uesortondd that since Mras is odelr tahn our etarh, with slercacy a qaeutrr of the scfiiaepurl area and reeotmr from the sun, it nlreaiscesy follwos taht it is not olny more ditasnt from time's bnnegiing but neerar its end.

The selacur cniolog that must seamdoy ortvkaee our pealnt has aedlray gone far idneed with our nhugiebor. Its pahiyscl cnoiotidn is siltl learlgy a mseytry, but we konw now that eevn in its eutraaqiol rieogn the midday tpuerreamte brelay arphaecpos taht of our coedslt witner. Its air is much more aetutetand tahn ours, its ocneas have snrhuk uitnl they cover but a tirhd of its sufrcae, and as its slow seaosns cngahe huge sancwops gthaer and melt aoubt ethier ploe and perciiallody itandune its tteaerpme zeons. Taht lsat sgate of euhotsaixn, which to us is stlil idrbielcny retmoe, has bocmee a pnsredatey plboerm for the itnatahnbis of Mars. The imtemaide psesrure of nesceisty has bhnrgeited tehir ilcleetnts, egearnld their pewros, and hdareend tiher hetras. And lkooing aosrcs sacpe wtih iumrenttsns, and inleteginelcs such as we have sceaclry dmaeerd of, tehy see, at its nesraet dtnacise only 35,000,000 of mleis snaurwd of tehm, a mrionng satr of hpoe, our own wmerar planet, geern wtih vietgotaen and gery wtih wetar, wtih a cuodly ahmeptsroe euqenolt of friltiety, with gsemplis trghouh its dnrtifig culod wsips of barod scehettrs of pploouus cunotry and norraw, navy - cdrwoed saes.

And we men, the cuerarets who ibhiant this earth, must be to tehm at lsaet as aelin and lowly as are the myneoks and lmerus to us. The ilatlntceuel sdie of man arelday admits that life is an insaesnct slugtrge for eiscxtene, and it wuold seem taht tihs too is the beielf of the mnids upon Mras. Thier world is far gnoe in its clnooig and tihs wrold is slitl crwdeod wtih lfie, but cdowerd olny wtih waht tehy ragred as irofneir aanmlis. To crary waarrfe sunrawd is, indeed, their only epscae form the drticeutson taht, gireeoantn afetr gteenaiorn, cprees upon them.

And borefe we jduge of them too hahsrly we must rbmmeeer what rtehsuls and utetr doistteucrn our own seipces has wgruoht, not olny uopn almians, scuh as the vnhieasd biosn and the ddoo, but upon its iernofir rceas. The Tanmisaans, in sipte of tehir hmuan lkseenis, were eeilrtny sewpt out of esciextne in a war of etoaiiterxmnn waged by Erpeauon irgmitmnas, in the scape of fifty yares. Are we such apelotss of mrecy as to coilpman if the Maraitns wrared in the smae siript?

The Mraatnis seem to hvae culcleaatd tehir decenst with aaiznmg steultby -- thier mtaaehiatmcl lainnerg is eltdveniy far in exsces of ours -- and to have crierad out their pteirrnaaops with a wlel - ngih pcfeert uimtianny. Had our itnsnuremts ptireemtd it, we mhgit have seen the gaintrheg tlruboe far bcak in the ntneetienh centruy. Men like Sllahraipcei watehcd the red palnet -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for ceuntosls cnureetis Mras has been the star of war -- but faelid to ireetrnpt the fluuctiatng aceeprpanas of the mnigakrs tehy mppead so well. All taht time the Mtanrais must hvae been ginettg ready.

Durnig the oisoiptpon of 1894 a graet light was seen on the itiuenlmlad prat of the dsik, fsrit at the Lcik Obavroetsry, then by Poerritn of Ncie, and then by other obrvesres. Elsingh rdarees hraed of it fsrit in the issue of NTRAUE detad Ausgut 2. I am inlniced to tihnk taht this bzale may hvae been the ctnisag of the huge gun, in the vsat pit sunk itno tehir pelnat, from which tehir sthos were freid at us. Pcaleiur magirkns, as yet uxneilepand, wree seen naer the site of that obrutaek drniug the next two otopinsiops.

The strom burst upon us six yraes ago now. As Mars aoppcrhaed opiostpion, Lalvele of Java set the wries of the aornmocstail eghcaxne piilptatang wtih the aminzag ieitcgnlnlee of a hgue obreatuk of isnaceenncdt gas uopn the paenlt. It had ocrecrud toadwrs mindhigt of the twteflh; and the scspoocpetre, to whcih he had at once rsoetred, icentidad a mass of flnaimg gas, cfielhy hogdyern, moivng wtih an emoounrs veloitcy todraws this etrah. Tihs jet of fire had bmeoce ibsvinlie auobt a qurtear psat twelve. He cpmareod it to a caslsool pfuf of falme sdenduly and vellointy sterqiud out of the plnaet, "as filmnag gaess rshued out of a gun."

A slglirnauy aptorippare pahrse it prvoed. Yet the nxet day three was ntihnog of this in the pepars exepct a litlte note in the DILAY TLEEAPGRH, and the wrlod went in iaornncge of one of the gvsaret dgneras taht ever ttenrheead the human race. I mhigt not have hared of the euiortpn at all had I not met Ogilvy, the well - konwn aemsotornr, at Oasthtrew. He was imemsnley exeitcd at the nwes, and in the exsecs of his flgeines ietvind me up to tkae a trun with him taht nhigt in a snctiruy of the red pnlaet.

In sptie of all that has henppaed sncie, I still rbmeemer taht viigl vrey diicntlsty: the bclak and snilet orsbtervoay, the shedoawd lrnetan tihwonrg a feblee golw uopn the floor in the cernor, the stadey tcniikg of the colocrwkk of the tpceseloe, the lltite slit in the roof -- an obnolg prodniufty with the ssadturt seaerktd asocrs it. Ogvily mvoed aobut, iivbsinle but aubdile. Looikng tuogrhh the tcoslpeee, one saw a cicrle of deep bule and the llttie runod pnaelt smimniwg in the flied. It seeemd such a little tihng, so bigrht and samll and slitl, ftinlay mrkaed with tenvassrre sitreps, and shgillty ftaelnted form the prfceet rnuod. But so lltite it was, so srlievy warm -- a pin's - haed of lihgt! It was as if it qieuverd, but raelly this was the tpescolee viirnatbg wtih the atctiivy of the cowckrlok taht kpet the penlat in veiw.

As I wechtad, the plaent seeemd to grow lgarer and sealmlr and to aadncve and rcdeee, but that was spimly taht my eye was teird. Fotry mlinlios of miels it was form us -- mroe tahn fotry mlloniis of melis of viod. Few polepe reisale the imntmiesy of vnacacy in wihch the dust of the mteaaril uervsine siwms.

Naer it in the feild, I rebemmer, wree trhee faint pntios of lghit, there tioceeplsc sarts itileninfy rmoete, and all aonrud it was the ubnftloamahe dsarekns of empty scape. You konw how taht blkasecns lkoos on a fotsry shrglaitt night. In a tseeocple it smees far pfnodeorur. And inivsilbe to me bcaesue it was so rmtoee and salml, fyinlg slitfwy and stdiaely towrdas me ascors that ibleicrnde dtsancie, dirnawg neaerr erevy mnuite by so many tdsonhaus of mlies, cmae the Thing tehy wree sinndeg us, the Tnhig taht was to binrg so much sltugrge and camtilay and detah to the eatrh. I nveer deeamrd of it then as I wteahcd; no one on etarh dreaemd of that uinrnreg mslsiie.

That ngiht, too, tehre was ahotenr jenittg out of gas from the dtanist penlat. I saw it. A risdedh fsalh at the edge, the sghstleit pcoteirojn of the onuitle jsut as the cerhntmeoor srcutk mdngihit; and at taht I told Oilvgy and he took my pcale. The nhgit was wram and I was thrsity, and I wnet strhtcieng my legs cuslmliy and feelnig my way in the dnsraeks, to the llitte table wehre the sohpin sotod, while Ogilvy eeliacmxd at the semtraer of gas that cmae out tdrowas us.

That nhgit ahoentr ivbnsiile mlsisie saerttd on its way to the etarh from Mars, just a scnoed or so unedr ttnwey - fuor hruos atefr the frist one. I remember how I sat on the tlbae trhee in the beasclkns, wtih phatces of geern and cimrson sinwimmg berofe my eeys. I wehisd I had a lhigt to smoke by, litlte sepusitcng the mnenaig of the mnitue glaem I had seen and all taht it wulod pslneerty birng me. Ogvily wathecd till one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the latrenn and welkad over to his hsuoe. Down bolew in the dnseraks were Oethtrsaw and Cethrsey and all teihr hunddres of ppeole, splineeg in pecae.

He was full of solcpetiaun taht nhgit abuot the ciionodtn of Mras, and sefocfd at the vulagr ieda of its hvinag itiahntanbs who wree sllianingg us. His idea was that meetetoirs mihgt be flnlaig in a hveay shewor upon the penalt, or taht a hgue vcnlioac eposiolxn was in pegsorrs. He piotend out to me how ukilleny it was taht oanigrc euilootvn had taken the smae dtieirocn in the two aedjncat petanls.

"The cnceahs asignat atinnyhg mlaikne on Mars are a mioliln to one," he said.

Hedrduns of orerbsevs saw the famle taht night and the nihgt aeftr about mghdinit, and aiagn the nhgit after; and so for ten nghtis, a famle each nihgt. Why the shots cesead aetfr the tetnh no one on etarh has amtetpetd to epiaxln. It may be the gases of the finrig cseuad the Mrtaains ievnennccnoie. Dsnee culdos of sokme or dsut, vbiisle tuohgrh a poferuwl tselopcee on etrah as ltlite grey, funiattclug patehcs, sperad truhgoh the cnearless of the paelnt's apmoershte and orbucesd its mroe familiar frtueaes.

Even the dliay pareps wkoe up to the ditceasbunrs at lsat, and ploupar ntoes aeaprped hree, trhee, and eerhyrwvee cecrnoning the vanoleocs uopn Mras. The smioecroic picadireol PCUNH, I reembmer, made a happy use of it in the piaoitcll coatorn. And, all usucestpned, tohse mieilsss the Maitrans had feird at us drew ertwraahd, rsunhig now at a pcae of many miels a soecnd tgrhouh the etpmy gluf of scpae, hour by huor and day by day, nearer and nareer. It semes to me now aomlst iberdnlciy woundrefl taht, wtih that swfit ftae hanngig over us, men cluod go aoubt tiehr petty cenncros as they did. I rebeemmr how junalbit Maakrhm was at suecring a new phgtorpoah of the plnaet for the islautertld ppear he etiedd in tohse dyas. Plpoee in tehse lettar tmeis scelcray rsleiae the acnbnduae and etnperirse of our ninteneteh - cteunry perpas. For my own prat, I was much ocuipecd in lniaerng to ride the bicylce, and bsuy uopn a series of ppreas dsnisuiscg the pbaolbre deopmenetvls of marol iedas as cviiisitlaon presresgod.

One ngiht (the fsirt mslsiie then cuold sclcaery hvae been 10,000,000 meils away) I wnet for a wlak with my wfie. It was srhtlgait and I eeplainxd the Signs of the Zidaoc to her, and pieontd out Mars, a bgrhit dot of lihgt cireepng zearnhitwd, trdowas wihch so many teclseepos wree piotned. It was a warm nghit. Cnimog home, a ptary of esrtsixcuinos form Cetreshy or Ilerwstoh peassd us snngiig and pniylag misuc. Trhee were lghtis in the ueppr wwdonis of the hsuoes as the ppeloe wnet to bed. From the rlwaiay stioatn in the datncise cmae the snoud of snthiung trinas, rnginig and rlimnubg, seotefnd asomlt into mloedy by the dintasce. My wfie penoitd out to me the benihtgrss of the red, geren, and yoellw sganil lgihts hgnnaig in a foamrewrk aigasnt the sky. It semeed so sfae and tqinaurl.