Maybe you’ve seen this circulating on Facebook:
AOCDRNDIGCG TO RSCHEEARCH AT CMABRIGDE UINERVTISY, IT DSENO’T MTAETR WAHT OERDR THE LTTERES IN A WROD ARE, THE OLNY IPROAMTNT TIHNG IS TAHT THE FRSIT AND LSAT LTEETR BE IN THE RGHIT PCLAE. TIHS IS BCUSEAE THE HUAMN MNID DEOS NOT RAED ERVEY LTETER BY ISTLEF, BUT THE WROD AS A WLOHE. IF YOU CAN RAED TIHS, PSOT IT TO YUOR WLAL.
I’ve seen this before, and I am totally fascinated by it. So I decided to test the theory on my readers. I’ve taken a paragraph from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (it’s chapter 61, but no fair peeking) and mixed up the letters for you according to the Cambridge criteria (although I think they only stirred whereas I thoroughly scrambled them). See if you can read it as well as the paragraph above, and leave me a comment – preferably scrambled! It’s hard for me to judge for myself if it’s working, since I already know what it says.
HPAPY FOR ALL HER MERNATAL FLINGEES WAS THE DAY ON WCIHH MRS BNENET GOT RID OF HER TWO MSOT DIVERSNEG DETRGAUHS. WTIH WAHT DIGTELEHD PIDRE SHE ARTEWADRFS VETISID MRS BILGENY AND TEKALD OF MRS DRACY MAY BE GSUSEED. I WSIH I CLOUD SAY, FOR THE SKAE OF HER FILMAY, TAHT THE ACMNEPSHLICOMT OF HER ENREAST DREISE IN THE EMBNESSTABLIHT OF SO MNAY OF HER CLIDERHN, PRUCDOED SO HPAPY AN ECEFFT AS TO MKAE HER A SLEBINSE, ABLIMAE, WLEL-IMFOREND WAMON FOR THE RSET OF HER LFIE; THUGOH PAHPERS IT WAS LKUCY FOR HER HANBSUD, WHO MGIHT NOT HVAE RISHEELD DEIMOTSC FITCILEY IN SO USUNAUL A FROM, TAHT SHE SILTL WAS OCSNALOLAICY NOURVES AND IVABLAIRNY SLILY.
This whole idea kind of shoots down the importance of spelling correctly, doesn’t it? PS -My laptop nearly had a melt down when I hit spell check for this post. 😉 Tee hee.
Conjectures as to the meaning of it, rapid and wild, hurried into her brain; but she was satisfied with none. (Pride and Prejudice, chapter 51)
PS – For another example of this sort of thing, please see More Mind Games.
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Shannon Winslow's "Jane Austen Says..." 
I WSIH I CLUOD SAY I UTODENSORD ENYRHEVTIG. AALS, I HAD SOME PEBLORM WTIH THE LNEGOR WDROS. MYBAE FOR A NIVTAE ELGINSH SKAPEER IT WILL BE EIESAR.
TNAKHS FOR PLYINAG THE GMAE, BLELE, AND FOR THE FEBEDCAK! SHONANN
I could still read it, although “delighted” gave me pause. And I’m so familiar with the sentences that I knew what it was supposed to say. It would have been much more difficult with an unfamiliar piece.
Good job! You must know your Jane Austen well.
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I can raed the parphragas, but wluod htae to raed an etrine book tihs way.
Haha! Vrey ture! Mroe dfifulcit tahn taht, thoguh, I’d htae to witre one tihs way!
I am not going to mix up my words but I have seen and read several posts which verify the fact that the human mind will translate a word if the first and last letter are in the correct places.
BTW: it is chapter 19 and the word EMBNESTABLIHT does not translate as it has only one “s” and need two. As you have it you get ESTABLIBHMENT.
You’re right, Sheila. I dropped an “s” somewhere. Corrected now. Thanks. 🙂
…where the quote came from…Of course my edition has three volumes so that must be the problem…sorry.
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