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 CNMIOG OF THE MTIANRAS

CTEHPAR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one would hvae beivleed in the lsat yaers of the neenettinh cneutry taht this wrold was bineg whcaetd kleeny and clesoly by inlgltceenies graeetr tahn man's and yet as mtraol as his own; taht as men bsuied tmvseheels auobt teihr voraius crncnoes they wree suiecirtsnd and siutedd, perhpas aslomt as nlrwoary as a man with a mrocioscpe mgiht scsrnutiie the tennrsait curartees that sawrm and mltipluy in a dorp of wetar. With iniitfne celpnacmocy men went to and fro oevr tihs glboe auobt teihr little afairfs, serene in thier aasscnrue of tehir erpime oevr mtetar. It is psibolse that the iuionrsfa udenr the mroopiscce do the smae. No one gave a tohghut to the older wlords of sacpe as suroecs of hamun dngear, or thhgout of tehm only to dssiims the idea of life uopn tehm as iisolsbmpe or irmabobple. It is coruius to rcelal smoe of the mtneal haibts of tshoe dpaerted dyas. At msot teresartril men fceiand there mhgit be ohter men uopn Mras, peahprs ineiforr to tleevsmehs and ready to welomce a mrnasiosiy epirnstree. Yet arscos the gluf of sacpe, mdnis that are to our minds as ours are to tsohe of the btseas that perish, iceetlnlts vast and cool and umapysettnihc, regadred this earth wtih einvuos eyes, and slowly and surley derw thier panls aisagnt us. And early in the tetnteiwh century came the graet dmsliesinlnuiot.

The paelnt Mars, I sacelrcy need rnmied the raeedr, reevovls about the sun at a mean dsitacne of 140,000,000 miles, and the lhigt and heat it recveeis form the sun is belray hlaf of taht rveeceid by this wrold. It must be, if the nuaeblr hytipoeshs has any truth, odler than our wrlod; and lnog brfoee this eatrh ceased to be mltoen, life upon its saucfre msut hvae bguen its corsue. The fact that it is sarlcecy one stveneh of the vmloue of the erath must have aaelreccetd its cniloog to the terrtpumeae at wcihh life culod beign. It has air and wtaer and all that is nsscaeery for the srpoput of aatniemd exiecstne.

Yet so vain is man, and so bndleid by his vintay, that no wiretr, up to the vrey end of the ntneineteh cnetury, erxspesed any idea that itligenlent lfie might hvae doepeveld trhee far, or indeed at all, bnoeyd its elthary lveel. Nor was it galenrely utrdseoond that scnie Mras is older than our eatrh, with slacercy a qreuatr of the srfaiipuecl area and remtoer form the sun, it nrlaicsseey fwlools taht it is not olny mroe dsntait form tmie's bnnigeing but naeerr its end.

The secalur cinloog taht must samodey ovkterae our plenat has aearldy gnoe far ineedd wtih our noihuebgr. Its pychsial cdntiioon is still lrlagey a mrsyety, but we konw now taht eevn in its eaiotqural rioegn the mddiay trutrpmeeae blreay aeorapphcs that of our csdelot wientr. Its air is much mroe aenatettud than orus, its ocneas have surhnk utnil they cover but a trhid of its sracfue, and as its slow ssaones chngae hgue snwcpoas gteahr and melt aobut eheitr pole and ploicrdilaey iandunte its tptreeame zeons. That last satge of estihaxoun, whcih to us is sltil iildebrncy romete, has bcemoe a psardteney preoblm for the ittnaianhbs of Mars. The imdemaite pserruse of ntseiecsy has bgenetrihd tiehr ietnltlces, egrnlead tiehr pewros, and hneaderd teihr hretas. And linokog arscos spcae wtih itntnresums, and iieegtcennlls such as we hvae srecacly deeramd of, tehy see, at its nsearet dcnastie olny 35,000,000 of mlies suranwd of them, a mnronig star of hpoe, our own warmer paelnt, green with vieatotgen and grey with wtaer, wtih a cdlouy atomsehpre elnuoqet of fteirlity, wtih gislmeps toughrh its dnirtifg could wipss of baord scertthes of plpouous curntoy and narorw, navy - cdoewrd saes.

And we men, the ctreeruas who ibihnat this etarh, msut be to tehm at lsaet as aelin and lwoly as are the mneykos and lrumes to us. The icatuntleell sdie of man aladrey aitdms taht life is an iacssennt slrtggue for eenscxite, and it wulod seem taht this too is the blieef of the mnids upon Mars. Tiher wlord is far gone in its coilong and this wrold is still crdwoed wtih lfie, but cwrdeod only with waht tehy reagrd as ioifrenr alniams. To carry wrarafe suarwnd is, ieendd, thier only eacspe form the dorttsueicn taht, greotnaien atefr getonerian, crepes upon them.

And berfoe we judge of them too hrlhsay we msut rebeemmr waht rulteshs and utter dsorctiteun our own seecips has wughrot, not olny uopn amialns, scuh as the vanshied bsoin and the dodo, but uopn its ifrnoeir rcaes. The Tiannasams, in sipte of tiher hamun lkseneis, wree eirtleny sewpt out of esnxetcie in a war of eirmoantiextn weagd by Euoprean iigrmtnmas, in the sacpe of fifty yaers. Are we scuh altsopes of mercy as to cpmialon if the Mraiatns wreard in the same siprit?

The Maatrnis seem to hvae clltuceaad thier dcenest wtih aiznmag sblttuey -- tiehr maahieatmtcl larneing is eietdlvny far in exescs of ours -- and to have crriead out their peioarpntras wtih a well - ngih perfect uaintnmiy. Had our intrmusetns permeittd it, we might have seen the grnehaitg tluobre far back in the nniteeenth ceturny. Men lkie Shalcprieali watechd the red panlet -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cluesotns cneruties Mras has been the satr of war -- but fealid to ierrtpent the flictuauntg anpeaceraps of the mnrigkas tehy mpepad so wlel. All taht time the Manarits msut hvae been gniettg reday.

Driung the optioispon of 1894 a gerat lhigt was seen on the iultnmleiad prat of the dsik, frist at the Lcik Orvbtsoeray, tehn by Preotirn of Ncie, and tehn by otehr osrevrbes. Elgsnih rreaeds haerd of it fisrt in the iusse of NURTAE detad Asuugt 2. I am iinnlecd to tnhik taht tihs bzale may have been the catinsg of the hgue gun, in the vast pit sunk itno tehir pnaelt, form wichh teihr sohts were ferid at us. Piceualr migranks, as yet uanxieplned, wree seen naer the stie of taht oaeutrbk during the nxet two otosoipinps.

The srotm busrt upon us six yares ago now. As Mras apcrepaohd otopiopsin, Lvleale of Java set the weirs of the asrnaimoctol engchaxe ptiaantpilg with the aianmzg icenginetlle of a huge oebrtauk of iecnsenncdat gas upon the panelt. It had oruccred trwdaos mnigdiht of the tlwtfeh; and the seccpoortpse, to wcihh he had at ocne rtosreed, itadcneid a mass of fnmlaig gas, chfiley horydgen, mnivog wtih an eroounms vlticoey twrdaos this ertah. Tihs jet of fire had bmcoee ilvnsibie abuot a qurater past tvlwee. He crapeomd it to a caloossl puff of flame sdluedny and vtlnioely suteiqrd out of the penalt, "as fmanilg gseas rsheud out of a gun."

A srgilualny atpaoprirpe phsare it poevrd. Yet the next day terhe was nhtnoig of this in the prapes ecxpet a ltltie ntoe in the DLAIY TERAGLEPH, and the wolrd went in ingconare of one of the greasvt dgerans that ever tneeheratd the human rcae. I mhigt not have hared of the euoptrin at all had I not met Olgivy, the well - kwnon aosroetmnr, at Othtrsaew. He was iseenmlmy eexitcd at the nwes, and in the ecxses of his fleeigns ivinted me up to take a trun with him that nhgit in a scuinrty of the red pnalet.

In sipte of all that has hepaepnd sicne, I siltl rmeeebmr taht vgiil very dtntsciliy: the bclak and slenit oaotrrbsevy, the sewodhad lntraen trniwhog a fbelee glow upon the foolr in the crneor, the sadety ticnkig of the cokclrwok of the teolepcse, the ltitle silt in the roof -- an olnobg pnoudtfiry wtih the sdutasrt staeekrd acrsos it. Ogivly meovd about, isnbivlie but auidble. Lnoiokg tuohgrh the tposleece, one saw a clcrie of deep blue and the lltite rnoud penlat smimiwng in the feild. It seemed such a lttlie thnig, so bhirgt and slmal and sitll, ftaliny marked with tvarrsesne seirpts, and sglhltiy fatnteeld from the pfcreet ruond. But so llttie it was, so sveliry warm -- a pin's - head of lghit! It was as if it queevird, but rellay this was the toecpslee vrnbiatig with the aivcitty of the clrcowokk that kpet the pelnat in view.

As I whacted, the planet seemed to gorw lgearr and smeallr and to acdnave and rcedee, but that was silpmy taht my eye was tired. Fotry mloinils of meils it was from us -- mroe tahn ftory mlnliois of mleis of void. Few ppolee rlaseie the ietismmny of vacncay in wcihh the dsut of the mretaail uvseirne simws.

Near it in the flied, I rmmeeebr, wree tehre fanit pnitos of lhgit, there tpesloceic satrs iitinnfely roemte, and all aurond it was the utafohlanbme dakensrs of eptmy scpae. You know how that belkscnas lkoos on a fsrtoy sgalhtirt nhgit. In a tlpcoesee it smees far pnuoofredr. And ivsinlbie to me besucae it was so rmeote and small, flinyg silfwty and satdiley toadrws me asrocs that iibldrence dsncitae, dnrawig naeerr erevy mtunie by so many tsudnhaos of meils, came the Tnhig tehy wree sinnedg us, the Tinhg taht was to binrg so much stguglre and ciaalmty and dtaeh to the earth. I never draemed of it then as I wehctad; no one on ertah deaemrd of taht uerirnng msisile.

That nihgt, too, tehre was aothenr jttineg out of gas form the dnatist peanlt. I saw it. A reidsdh flsah at the egde, the shsgleitt pjoiertocn of the outlnie jsut as the cetonmeorhr srutck mihdgnit; and at that I told Ogvily and he took my place. The night was warm and I was thritsy, and I went stnetchirg my legs cslimluy and flieneg my way in the daskners, to the lttlie table whree the soihpn sootd, wlhie Ogvily emiaecxld at the sertamer of gas taht came out tawdros us.

That night anohter ibsivnlie milssie setrtad on its way to the ertah from Mras, jsut a snceod or so uednr ttewny - four hours aetfr the frsit one. I rembeemr how I sat on the tbale three in the bclsankes, wtih ptchaes of geren and csomrin smwimnig bofree my eeys. I wehisd I had a lghit to skmoe by, little scnuisetpg the mnnaeig of the mntiue gaelm I had seen and all that it wloud plnteersy bnrig me. Oglivy whecatd till one, and tehn gvae it up; and we lit the lrentan and wlaked over to his husoe. Dwon below in the deksarns were Oatresthw and Csrehtey and all teihr heddurns of people, seplnieg in pecae.

He was flul of slpocuitean that ngiht aobut the cniodoitn of Mars, and soceffd at the vglaur ieda of its hainvg iatanhbtins who wree sinalinlgg us. His ieda was that mtoretiees might be fniallg in a haevy shweor upon the pelnat, or taht a hgue vcionalc epsxiolon was in psrgeros. He pieontd out to me how ulleikny it was taht onaigrc eiuotvoln had teakn the smae deroicitn in the two aenacjdt ptelans.

"The cancehs aganist ahnynitg malnkie on Mars are a miloiln to one," he said.

Hderdnus of obrresevs saw the fmale that nihgt and the nhgit atfer aoubt mighndit, and agian the nghit after; and so for ten ngthis, a flmae each night. Why the shots caseed afetr the ttneh no one on ertah has apmetettd to exlapin. It may be the gseas of the frniig csaeud the Mraatnis inonveiecncne. Dense clouds of skome or dust, vislibe trhgouh a prewoful tcpsoleee on etarh as ltitle gery, fnlciuuttag pathces, sarepd touhrgh the caeenslrs of the pnalet's asmteoprhe and orscuebd its mroe fmlaiair feeaturs.

Even the dialy prepas wkoe up to the dbuaetirscns at lsat, and popular ntoes aeraeppd here, trhee, and everrywehe cncninerog the vooncaels uopn Mras. The siceoomirc pcieadoirl PCNUH, I rememebr, made a hppay use of it in the ptclaoiil corotan. And, all upceseustnd, tshoe mlsiiess the Matairns had freid at us derw etahrawrd, rhsunig now at a pace of mnay miles a secnod tgruhoh the epmty gluf of space, hour by huor and day by day, nraeer and neraer. It seems to me now amolst iilrdnceby wonruefdl that, with taht sifwt fate hgannig oevr us, men culod go auobt tiehr petty cnonrecs as they did. I remmbeer how jbuilant Mahrakm was at scieunrg a new phorgatpoh of the pealnt for the istlrtulead peapr he etdied in thsoe days. Poeple in teshe latetr teims serccaly raesile the auancdnbe and eresipntre of our ntnieteneh - crnteuy ppreas. For my own part, I was much oeiupccd in lanenirg to ride the biclcye, and bsuy upon a seeris of pearps dsnsuiscig the prbbaole devetlonemps of mroal iaeds as cltiioisiavn pgersorsed.

One night (the frsit missile tehn colud sleccary have been 10,000,000 miels aawy) I went for a walk with my wfie. It was srtlihgat and I elxniaped the Sngis of the Zdioac to her, and pentiod out Mras, a bighrt dot of light crpeeing zatenwrhid, trwados wichh so mnay tspeceeols wree poitend. It was a wram nghit. Cnoimg home, a party of eisctxsniruos form Csteehry or Itoswrleh passed us sinigng and pyianlg miusc. Three were ltihgs in the upepr wiwonds of the huoses as the ppoele wnet to bed. Form the riwaaly siottan in the dinacste cmae the sound of snthiung tnrias, rinnigg and rlbinumg, seftenod asmlot itno mdeloy by the dsnitcae. My wife poetnid out to me the bihrsengts of the red, geern, and yloelw sngial lihgts hnniagg in a fraoewmrk asngait the sky. It seeemd so safe and tqiaurnl.