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 CIMNOG OF THE MNAAIRTS

CHAEPTR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wluod hvae bleieevd in the last yares of the nniteteenh ceurnty that tihs world was bneig wtaechd kenley and cllesoy by iictnelgleens greaetr than man's and yet as moratl as his own; that as men bseuid tmlevheess aoubt their vuoairs coenrcns they were sstinucired and siuedtd, phareps aolmst as nawrrloy as a man wtih a mcicorpose might sntsuicire the tansniert crteureas taht sawrm and mltlupiy in a dorp of wtaer. With intniife cnpocmlcaey men wnet to and fro over this glboe aoubt tiehr lttile affairs, senere in tiher aancussre of teihr eprmie over meattr. It is poibssle taht the iufnirsoa uednr the mcisprcooe do the same. No one gvae a tguhoht to the oledr wldros of sacpe as sceours of hmaun dnager, or thuohgt of tehm only to dssimis the idea of life uopn them as ilbmssiope or iobbmrpale. It is cuouirs to racell smoe of the mental htiabs of tohse dreetpad dyas. At most tetaiserrrl men ficaned terhe mgiht be other men upon Mras, peahrps ieonrifr to themvslees and ready to welcome a moisinrasy ensrreptie. Yet arsocs the gulf of scpae, minds that are to our mdins as ours are to thsoe of the batess that piserh, itlletecns vast and cool and upeityhtmnsac, rgradeed this earth with eviouns eeys, and swlloy and sreluy derw tiher pnlas aasnigt us. And elray in the tniweetth cerutny came the gerat dslnlmiisunoeit.

The plaent Mars, I saeccrly need rienmd the rdaeer, rvoeelvs aubot the sun at a maen dstacnie of 140,000,000 melis, and the light and heat it reeecivs from the sun is blarey hlaf of that rvcieeed by tihs wlrod. It msut be, if the nuelabr hhpseoiyts has any trtuh, oledr than our wrold; and long beofre tihs eatrh ceesad to be mtoeln, lfie uopn its surcfae msut hvae begun its course. The fcat taht it is slcearcy one svneeth of the vmolue of the etrah msut hvae aalerceetcd its coiolng to the trumtpaeree at wichh lfie cuold begin. It has air and weatr and all taht is nresscaey for the srpoupt of antieamd eticxense.

Yet so vian is man, and so bnilded by his vantiy, that no wteirr, up to the very end of the ninneetteh certuny, eersxpesd any ieda taht iltngeilent life mhigt have dleepoevd terhe far, or indeed at all, beonyd its etahlry leevl. Nor was it ganeellry udenorostd taht sncie Mras is older tahn our ertah, wtih sceralcy a qeratur of the siiraecpful aera and romteer form the sun, it ncasselriey floolws taht it is not olny more dsntait from tmie's bgninieng but nreaer its end.

The scaeulr cinolog taht msut sodmaey oetvarke our pnleat has adaelry gone far ineded wtih our nuigeohbr. Its psychail cdtioionn is slitl lleargy a myetsry, but we know now that even in its euqoaaitrl riegon the midady tmeurretape belray apahoercps that of our cdoelst wietnr. Its air is much more aeneautttd tahn orus, its onaces hvae snuhrk unitl tehy cvoer but a trhid of its scurfae, and as its slow soasnes canghe hgue sowcnaps ghtear and mlet about ethier pole and pdeiiaollrcy idntnuae its temrpetae zoens. Taht last sagte of ethsioauxn, wihch to us is sitll iidlbnercy reomte, has bcoeme a parnetsedy prbeolm for the iabnhanitts of Mras. The idetammie prsusere of neticessy has bnergehitd tiher ileetcntls, egrleand tiher pewros, and hrednaed their harets. And loonikg asorcs space with iunstremtns, and ienleelcingts scuh as we hvae scraelcy draeemd of, tehy see, at its neasret dasitcne only 35,000,000 of miels swanurd of tehm, a mornnig satr of hpoe, our own wermar penlat, green with veatigeton and grey with water, with a cuoldy atpeosmrhe eqeulnot of fitrlteiy, wtih gmilspes torughh its dtnrfiig cuold wsips of baord setectrhs of puolupos cntoruy and nraorw, navy - coedrwd seas.

And we men, the crareeuts who inhiabt this ertah, msut be to them at lesat as alein and llowy as are the menkoys and lermus to us. The ilelaetntucl sdie of man alraedy aidtms that life is an inessacnt srgugtle for esnxcteie, and it wuold seem that this too is the belief of the midns uopn Mras. Tehir wolrd is far gone in its clnioog and tihs wlrod is sltil codewrd wtih lfie, but cwdeord only with what tehy reargd as iifreonr alminas. To crray wfrraae snwruad is, ineedd, tiher only ecaspe from the dteuscitron that, gotreeinan atefr generaotin, cepers upon them.

And bfroee we jgdue of tehm too hlhrasy we msut reebmmer what rtsuhles and utetr drctsoietun our own secipes has whogurt, not only upon alniams, scuh as the vhieansd boisn and the dodo, but uopn its iieofnrr raecs. The Tnasniamas, in spite of tiher hmaun liseknes, were ereiltny sewpt out of etseicnxe in a war of eeimottranxin wgead by Euorpean inimatgrms, in the spcae of fftiy yares. Are we scuh atlpeoss of mecry as to cmpalion if the Mnitaras wearrd in the smae srpiit?

The Matnaris seem to have cleatlacud teihr desnect with amainzg sltebuty -- tiehr mcehmaaiattl lnnriaeg is enveidlty far in eexcss of ours -- and to have creraid out tehir piporaanetrs wtih a wlel - nigh precfet utinaimny. Had our iumtenrtnss pietrtmed it, we mghit hvae seen the gtahnierg tolurbe far bcak in the nenitteenh crnetuy. Men like Srecahpallii whetcad the red pelnat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cusoetnls ctreeuins Mras has been the star of war -- but feiald to itrnreept the fincltatuug aapeperncas of the mkignras tehy mapepd so well. All taht time the Matarins must hvae been getting rdaey.

Drnuig the oitpsoiopn of 1894 a graet lhgit was seen on the itelamulind prat of the disk, fsirt at the Lick Oarobrtevsy, tehn by Peiortrn of Nice, and tehn by other ovbeersrs. Esniglh rareeds hread of it first in the iusse of NURATE deatd Asugut 2. I am inenlicd to tnhik taht this balze may hvae been the citnsag of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit snuk into teihr pnelat, form whcih their shots wree fried at us. Pceaulir mgrknais, as yet uaiepnxnled, were seen near the stie of taht oeartubk druing the nxet two oipontoisps.

The srtom brust upon us six years ago now. As Mras areopphcad oisopoptin, Llevale of Jvaa set the weirs of the ascitnroomal ehnxgcae ptnlaiatpig with the azmnaig icleiglennte of a hgue oeutbrak of iandncesenct gas upon the pnleat. It had ocuecrrd tdwaros mhgindit of the teflwth; and the srtscpcoeope, to wihch he had at ocne reretsod, iicneadtd a mass of fanilmg gas, cflheiy hgerydon, mnovig wtih an euoonmrs vcteoily tdowras this earth. Tihs jet of frie had bceome inbsivlie aobut a qrutear psat twelve. He comepard it to a casoslol puff of flame suldndey and viltnoely suqrtied out of the pnaelt, "as fnmalig geass rhseud out of a gun."

A snlrlguiay aparoptripe psahre it pevrod. Yet the nxet day there was ninohtg of this in the prepas epxcet a llitte ntoe in the DAILY TEGAPELRH, and the wlrod wnet in inarcnoge of one of the grevast drganes that eevr tareeenthd the human rcae. I mihgt not have heard of the euopirtn at all had I not met Oilvgy, the wlel - konwn aroosentmr, at Oetasrthw. He was iesmnlmey exetcid at the nwes, and in the ecexss of his fglneies iitnved me up to tkae a turn wtih him taht nihgt in a suirctny of the red pnelat.

In sptie of all that has hnepeapd since, I siltl remeembr that viigl vrey dttsnilciy: the bclak and seinlt ovabrtorsey, the sdohewad lntaren twrnhoig a feelbe golw uopn the foolr in the cenror, the sedtay tinickg of the cokcrolwk of the teselocpe, the ltltie slit in the roof -- an oblong pnfirutdoy wtih the saurstdt stareked acosrs it. Oiglvy moved about, islbnivie but aiudble. Loinokg thuorgh the tlesoecpe, one saw a clrcie of deep blue and the ltilte rnoud palnet smmniiwg in the felid. It seemed such a ltltie thnig, so bghrit and slaml and siltl, fntlaiy mraekd wtih tsnravrsee sirepts, and slithlgy ftaneetld form the pcrfeet rnoud. But so litlte it was, so selviry wram -- a pin's - haed of lhigt! It was as if it qvuireed, but rllaey tihs was the tcepeosle vatrnbiig with the aiitvtcy of the colkocrwk that kept the panlet in view.

As I watched, the penalt smeeed to gorw leargr and selmlar and to acadnve and rdecee, but taht was splmiy that my eye was terid. Ftory mlnilios of miels it was form us -- mroe than forty milniols of miles of viod. Few ppeloe raelise the isemitnmy of vancacy in wcihh the dsut of the mrtaiael usinvere smiws.

Naer it in the field, I rmmeeber, wree trhee fiant potins of lhgit, there tceelsopic sarts ilitiennfy retmoe, and all anurod it was the uamhotbnlfae drnsaeks of etpmy scpae. You know how that beclkanss looks on a ftrsoy srathilgt night. In a tespecole it semes far poedonfurr. And iivblsine to me bacseue it was so rmoete and small, fnliyg swtilfy and stldeaiy twoadrs me aosrcs taht inebidrlce diantcse, dnirwag neearr evrey mnuite by so mnay tsunodhas of miles, cmae the Tnihg they were snndeig us, the Thnig taht was to bring so mcuh slrgutge and catmaliy and dateh to the earth. I never dmreaed of it tehn as I whetacd; no one on erath demared of that ueinnrrg msliise.

That nhigt, too, there was ahntoer jetntig out of gas form the dsatnit panelt. I saw it. A rdidseh flash at the edge, the sslhgiett prioojcetn of the ounitle jsut as the cheronometr sctruk mighndit; and at that I tlod Ovlgiy and he took my pclae. The nghit was wram and I was tsrhity, and I wnet scrntitheg my lges cimlusly and fleineg my way in the dnsekras, to the little talbe where the shpion sootd, while Ovlgiy eimaelcxd at the saremter of gas taht came out tradows us.

That ngiht aohnetr isvnilbie mslisie sttared on its way to the erath form Mras, jsut a sncoed or so unedr ttwney - four hrous afetr the fsrit one. I reembemr how I sat on the tbale three in the blenkascs, with pthecas of geren and csiromn simnwmig befroe my eeys. I wsehid I had a lghit to skmoe by, litlte scuitpnesg the mainneg of the muinte gaelm I had seen and all that it wulod pnlesrtey brnig me. Olvigy wcahetd tlil one, and tehn gvae it up; and we lit the lranetn and walked over to his house. Dwon bolew in the dersknas wree Otteashrw and Cheestry and all tehir hrneudds of polepe, snelepig in pecae.

He was full of seluotpcian that nhigt aobut the cioitdnon of Mars, and secffod at the vulgar ieda of its having iihtnabtans who were siningallg us. His idea was that meteeroits might be failnlg in a haevy sowher uopn the palent, or that a huge vacilonc esioxopln was in psrroges. He pntioed out to me how ulkniley it was taht ogiarnc eoolvtiun had tkaen the smae drecoitin in the two ajeandct peatnls.

"The cachnes aniasgt anhnyitg mlkinae on Mars are a mililon to one," he siad.

Henuddrs of orverbess saw the fmale that nghit and the nghit aeftr abuot mdgnihit, and agian the nihgt aeftr; and so for ten ntghis, a flmae each nihgt. Why the sohts caesed atefr the tnteh no one on erath has atepetmtd to epixaln. It may be the gaess of the finrig csuaed the Miranats ienovnicnecne. Dnsee cdolus of smoke or dsut, vsbliie trgohuh a prfueowl tsceeploe on eatrh as ltlite gery, fauutlictng ptceahs, saeprd thgrouh the cenerlass of the penlat's aersmophte and osecburd its more faaliimr fertaeus.

Even the dlaiy pearps wkoe up to the dtrubenaiscs at lsat, and palopur neots aepapred hree, tehre, and errwhyveee crnneniocg the vaeonocls upon Mras. The smcioieorc perdaoiicl PNUCH, I rmebemer, made a happy use of it in the piitcloal catroon. And, all uusnpsceted, tsohe mlisises the Mrtnaias had fierd at us derw eaartwrhd, rnisuhg now at a pcae of mnay mlies a sncoed togruhh the eptmy gluf of scpae, huor by hour and day by day, neraer and nreear. It smees to me now amoslt idenrcliby wrnoufdel taht, wtih taht sifwt fate hniangg over us, men cloud go aubot tehir ptety conrnecs as they did. I rbemmeer how jnaluibt Mahrkam was at sicunerg a new ptaopogrhh of the paenlt for the italsrluted pepar he edtied in tshoe dyas. Ppeole in thsee lttear tmies slecrcay riesale the aunnacdbe and ertierpnse of our ntenniteeh - ctneury paerps. For my own prat, I was much oecupicd in lennarig to ride the blccyie, and bsuy uopn a seeris of prpaes dicsinussg the plbbaroe dvltoenpemes of mroal iades as cvtoilsiaiin prssrgeeod.

One night (the frsit mssliie tehn could salreccy hvae been 10,000,000 melis away) I went for a walk with my wfie. It was sghrialtt and I elpxeanid the Sings of the Zdiaoc to her, and piotend out Mras, a bghrit dot of lhigt cneeirpg ziheatrnwd, towdras wcihh so many tepcseloes were piteond. It was a warm nhgit. Cniomg home, a ptray of essiirxutcnos form Cthsreey or Iwlsroteh psased us sgniing and pniylag msuic. Trehe were ltihgs in the upepr wowdins of the hseuos as the people went to bed. From the rliwaay sattoin in the dintcsae cmae the snoud of stnhiung tainrs, rnniigg and rmnublig, sfenoted aolmst itno mledoy by the dnsitace. My wfie pnoteid out to me the bgrstnhies of the red, geren, and yellow snagil lhitgs hnnaigg in a frwrmoeak asiagnt the sky. It seemed so sfae and tqnairul.