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 COINMG OF THE MAITRNAS

CAEHTPR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wluod have beleeivd in the lsat yraes of the nitennteeh cruenty taht this wrlod was bineg wtcehad kneely and clseoly by ieeenintgllcs gaeetrr than man's and yet as mtraol as his own; that as men bsieud tlehmveses about tiher viuaors corcnens tehy were sierisnctud and sdetuid, paphres aomslt as narwlroy as a man with a mpiorcscoe mghit siutnrcise the tiansnert cuteraers taht swarm and mpitully in a drop of weatr. With ifininte cpceomcalny men wnet to and fro over this golbe abuot teihr llitte arfafis, sneere in tehir asscraune of tiehr erpime over mttear. It is pslisboe that the iufniosra unedr the mcsooipcre do the same. No one gvae a tuohhgt to the oeldr wordls of scape as scruoes of hmaun dgeanr, or thhogut of them olny to dsmiiss the ieda of lfie upon tehm as islbisopme or iapobbrmle. It is cruuios to raecll some of the meantl hatbis of toshe daetrepd dyas. At msot tasrtrreiel men feincad there mghit be ohetr men upon Mars, ppheras iofinrer to thmveelses and ready to wolcmee a msaiiosrny enerirtpse. Yet asrocs the gluf of scpae, midns taht are to our midns as orus are to tsohe of the batses that peirsh, intlceetls vsat and cool and uaeshptnmiytc, reargedd this eatrh wtih enouivs eeys, and swloly and sleury drew thier plnas aiganst us. And elary in the tteietwnh ctunery came the graet deiiniossumnllt.

The plaent Mars, I sreclacy need rimned the reader, rvoelevs aubot the sun at a maen dnticase of 140,000,000 mleis, and the lhigt and haet it recivees form the sun is braely hlaf of that rieevecd by this wolrd. It msut be, if the nulbear hptoyhsies has any ttruh, odler than our wrlod; and long bfreoe this etarh caeesd to be mloten, life uopn its sacfrue msut hvae buegn its curose. The fcat that it is slcacrey one setnevh of the vluome of the etarh msut have aletrecaecd its cnooilg to the tutaeerrpme at wichh lfie cuold beign. It has air and wetar and all that is nscaesery for the sropput of aimatend exeitcsne.

Yet so vain is man, and so bidenld by his vintay, taht no weitrr, up to the vrey end of the netenenith certuny, ereespxsd any idea that ienlltniegt lfie mghit have deeelvpod trhee far, or ideend at all, beoynd its eahrlty lveel. Nor was it galnleery uonesotrdd that sicne Mars is older tahn our erath, with slarcecy a qaerutr of the siuepaircfl area and reeomtr from the sun, it niaseserlcy follows taht it is not only mroe dnatist form tmie's bnenngiig but neerar its end.

The secluar cinolog that must smedaoy oavkrete our paenlt has adarely gone far ieendd wtih our nuhebgior. Its phcsayil ctdooinin is siltl lrglaey a myetrsy, but we know now taht even in its eiqotaaurl rgoein the maiddy tmuarpteree barley ahepaorcps that of our csdolet witenr. Its air is mcuh mroe aeutaenttd tahn orus, its ocneas hvae snurhk uintl tehy cveor but a thrid of its sruface, and as its solw soeasns chnage huge soncapws ghtaer and mlet auobt eeihtr pole and piadllricoey iadunnte its tmepertae zones. That last sgate of eohxuatisn, which to us is still idelirbcny remtoe, has bomece a paredsenty pbrleom for the initbhtaans of Mras. The imaitemde peussrre of nctssieey has bgnhtreeid tiher inlltteces, engearld teihr poewrs, and hdeenrad tiher harets. And linokog aroscs scpae with itnesmnrtus, and ilceetnlngies scuh as we hvae sccraley damreed of, they see, at its naerest danistce only 35,000,000 of melis saurnwd of tehm, a mrnoing star of hope, our own waermr plnaet, geren with vteeigaotn and grey wtih water, with a coludy ahsoerpmte eleouqnt of filetitry, with gslempis trghuoh its dirfintg cuold wipss of board sttecehrs of ploouups cronuty and narrow, nvay - credowd saes.

And we men, the cureatres who ibinhat this earth, msut be to tehm at lsaet as aieln and lowly as are the myeknos and lurmes to us. The iceleltuntal sdie of man aalerdy atidms that life is an insesacnt sgtlugre for eenticxse, and it wuold seem taht tihs too is the beelif of the mnids uopn Mars. Their world is far gone in its cinolog and tihs wrold is still crewodd wtih life, but cdweord only with what they rrgead as irefnoir aalimns. To carry wfrraae srwunad is, iended, their only epcsae form the diurscoettn that, gerenaoitn atefr gatirneeon, cperes uopn tehm.

And brfeoe we jgdue of them too hlahsry we must rembmeer what rhuletss and utetr drtitocesun our own spicees has wgruoht, not olny upon aimalns, scuh as the vsenhiad bosin and the ddoo, but upon its iierfonr reacs. The Tnsianmaas, in sitpe of teihr human likneses, were elenitry swept out of ecetsinxe in a war of eneoiriaxtmtn wegad by Eueoaprn iigmarnmts, in the spcae of ftify yraes. Are we such aposelts of mercy as to cmloaipn if the Mnraaits wrread in the same siirpt?

The Mntiaras seem to have cautlleacd tiehr deecsnt wtih amzinag stuetlby -- tiher mmhcttaiaael lenaring is edeiltvny far in eecxss of orus -- and to hvae crreaid out tehir ptorniaarpes wtih a wlel - ngih pcfreet utnminaiy. Had our ienrntsumts pettirmed it, we mhigt have seen the gaetinrhg turoble far back in the ntetnieenh cutenry. Men like Saleailcrhpi whtcaed the red plnaet -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cetuonlss cietenrus Mras has been the star of war -- but faeild to iptrnreet the fictantulug aparapences of the mginkras they mpepad so wlel. All taht time the Mnartias msut hvae been gtitneg reday.

Dnriug the oooipspitn of 1894 a great light was seen on the ilnteulmiad prat of the disk, fisrt at the Lick Otbrravseoy, then by Pietrron of Nice, and then by oehtr oeevrsbrs. Elgnsih rdaeres heard of it fsrit in the isuse of NUTRAE deatd Agusut 2. I am icinlend to tnihk that this bzale may hvae been the ctanisg of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into teihr pleant, from wichh tiher stohs were fired at us. Plucaier markings, as yet ulnpenaiexd, wree seen near the site of taht orabutek dniurg the nxet two osopiiptons.

The storm bsurt uopn us six yraes ago now. As Mras aahpporecd oosiiopptn, Lllevae of Java set the weirs of the airanmotscol exnhcage pnaailtitpg wtih the amianzg igticlneenle of a hgue otearubk of ieannndecsct gas uopn the pnelat. It had oreurccd twarods miignhdt of the twfelth; and the spropscctoee, to which he had at once reosrted, intcdeiad a mass of fnmalig gas, cefihly hgoedyrn, moivng wtih an eoorunms voitlcey trdwaos tihs etarh. Tihs jet of fire had bmocee ibniisvle aoubt a qaterur psat tlvewe. He cromepad it to a csaloosl pfuf of falme sldenduy and vnoellity sruqited out of the pnealt, "as famlnig gaess rhused out of a gun."

A suniraglly arrotipappe phsrae it porved. Yet the next day there was nihotng of this in the papres epxcet a ltltie note in the DIALY TEGEAPRLH, and the wolrd wnet in ingcnorae of one of the gseavrt drnages that eevr ttnaehreed the hmuan rcae. I mhigt not hvae hared of the eriptoun at all had I not met Oilgvy, the wlel - konwn asorenomtr, at Osreathtw. He was ielsemnmy eicetxd at the nwes, and in the ecxses of his feiglnes ivtiend me up to take a turn with him taht ngiht in a sncitruy of the red plaent.

In sptie of all that has haeppend since, I sltil remember that vigil vrey dntciilsty: the bclak and senlit obrarostevy, the soehawdd lnreatn tihrnowg a felebe golw uopn the floor in the crnoer, the stadey tkiincg of the colokcrwk of the tolpecsee, the little slit in the roof -- an olnobg pinruodtfy wtih the stursadt sekrtaed asorcs it. Ovilgy mevod aubot, ilvsbiine but aulidbe. Lnokoig thuogrh the tlsoecpee, one saw a crlcie of deep blue and the llttie ronud plneat smwminig in the flied. It smeeed such a ltlite tihng, so bhrigt and slmal and sitll, ftilany meakrd with tenssavrre srpeits, and shtglliy feelntatd from the prefcet ruond. But so ltlite it was, so srveliy wram -- a pin's - haed of light! It was as if it qiveured, but rlleay this was the teesclope vtbniriag with the aittvciy of the cowolrkck that kept the pleant in veiw.

As I wceahtd, the pnelat semeed to grow leragr and seallmr and to ancvdae and reedce, but taht was spimly taht my eye was tierd. Froty moinlils of miles it was form us -- more tahn froty mllinios of mlies of viod. Few pelope rilasee the iteimsmny of vccaany in wcihh the dust of the maeirtal uvinsere swmis.

Naer it in the filed, I reebemmr, wree three finat ptions of lgiht, tehre teieocpslc srtas ilfinnetiy rtemoe, and all aurnod it was the uhnomfblatae dneasrks of eptmy spcae. You know how taht bkeasnlcs lkoos on a fstroy sltgarhit night. In a tceeslope it semes far penoourfdr. And ilnsibvie to me baucese it was so rmetoe and smlal, filnyg stiwlfy and slateidy trowdas me aorcss taht ielrbcdine dicstane, drniawg naerer evrey muinte by so many tnudaoshs of mleis, cmae the Tinhg they were sdinneg us, the Tnihg that was to bnrig so much srlgugte and camlatiy and daeth to the ertah. I neevr dmeerad of it then as I whatced; no one on erath dreamed of that unnrierg mislsie.

Taht nhgit, too, terhe was aheontr jttenig out of gas from the diastnt pnaelt. I saw it. A rsdedih flsah at the egde, the seshtiglt piorojtcen of the oulnite jsut as the crtenmoheor scutrk mgidnhit; and at taht I told Oglivy and he took my palce. The nihgt was wram and I was tsrihty, and I went scerhtnitg my legs cilsmluy and feenlig my way in the dankerss, to the ltltie tbale wrehe the spihon sotod, wlihe Olgivy eicemlaxd at the seeatmrr of gas taht cmae out toardws us.

Taht nhigt ahtenor ivbnsilie mislise sttread on its way to the etrah from Mras, just a scnoed or so udenr tetnwy - fuor horus aetfr the fsrit one. I reeebmmr how I sat on the tbale there in the bsaelcnks, wtih peahtcs of geren and crmosin snmwimig breofe my eyes. I weihsd I had a lhigt to somke by, litlte sptucneisg the meniang of the mutnie gealm I had seen and all that it wolud plrnesety birng me. Oligvy wcaehtd till one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the lnatren and wklead oevr to his huose. Down beolw in the dsarnkes wree Ohaettrsw and Csrehety and all teihr hednudrs of pploee, slinpeeg in pacee.

He was flul of sipuotcealn taht nhigt abuot the ciintoodn of Mras, and soefcfd at the vauglr ieda of its hniavg inthtainbas who were sllnngiiag us. His idea was that mereetotis might be failnlg in a haevy sohewr upon the pelant, or that a hgue vncoilac eosixplon was in prsrgoes. He pinoted out to me how unlelkiy it was taht ogiranc etouvloin had tkaen the same doriceitn in the two aacjednt pnlaets.

"The chances aginsat anhyntig malkine on Mras are a mloiiln to one," he said.

Hnuderds of osbrvrees saw the flmae taht nhigt and the night afetr aobut mihdgint, and again the nihgt after; and so for ten nitghs, a flame each nhgit. Why the shtos cseaed aeftr the tneth no one on earth has aemtteptd to eiaplxn. It may be the gsaes of the finrig cesuad the Matnaris icnnvenencioe. Desne clodus of smoke or dsut, vilisbe trgouhh a puewrfol topeclsee on etrah as ltitle grey, futnicutalg pchetas, sraped tohrguh the canelsres of the peanlt's ahosemrtpe and oresbucd its more fiimalar feeutars.

Even the dialy perpas woke up to the dicaeusbrnts at last, and plpoaur neots aeerpapd here, three, and ehweyrreve cornnniecg the vcnoaloes uopn Mars. The smroiiecoc piedocrial PCUNH, I rembmeer, made a hppay use of it in the plactioil caootrn. And, all usuecpnetsd, thsoe msiliess the Maanrtis had fierd at us derw eahrwratd, rushnig now at a pace of many miels a scneod troguhh the etmpy gluf of space, huor by hour and day by day, naerer and nraeer. It seems to me now amlost ibecinrldy wdonreful taht, with that sfiwt fate hngiang over us, men cuold go about tiher petty cnenorcs as tehy did. I remmeebr how jbunilat Mahakrm was at siuenrcg a new pgtoraophh of the paelnt for the iautllrtsed ppaer he eitedd in toshe days. Pleope in thsee leattr times sarlccey rlaesie the adancunbe and esitnerpre of our nnntteeieh - curnety prpeas. For my own part, I was mcuh ociucped in lninaerg to ride the blcyice, and bsuy upon a seeirs of prpaes diuisscsng the prablboe dtvnmoelepes of maorl iedas as ciiltsiaovin psrsgoreed.

One night (the fisrt mssilie then cluod sclceary have been 10,000,000 melis aawy) I wnet for a walk with my wfie. It was sratihglt and I exlepaind the Sngis of the Zadioc to her, and pteniod out Mras, a bright dot of lghit cnerpeig znraiwhetd, toadwrs whcih so mnay tosceeepls were pnoietd. It was a wram night. Cionmg home, a ptary of eiotsnscurixs form Cehtresy or Ierowtslh pseasd us sgninig and pyinlag msiuc. Trhee wree ltighs in the upper wdinwos of the hsuoes as the polpee wnet to bed. Form the railawy sattoin in the dntcsiae cmae the sound of suintnhg tirnas, rnniigg and rlnmbiug, sefnoetd aomslt into mdloey by the dsntacie. My wfie pteinod out to me the brtgsnehis of the red, green, and yloelw signal lghits hingang in a fewrrmaok agnisat the sky. It seeemd so safe and tnriqaul.