Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Anyone else get this email?

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. amzanig huh?

I don't think so. Since these are simple words they are easy to figure out (for a native speaker), but you could actually argue over what certain of them mean. Also, what's actually important in the sentence is the context the word appears in, like "huamn mnid" -- "human mind" is a familar phrase and is easy to figure out based on the traditional pattern. What if we applied the theory to these sentences: "One particular chronological interval, the materfamilias impelled her to convey a dosser, replete with alible pabulum and potations, to her matrilineal predecessor, forasmuch as, through her valetudinarian state, the somatic condition of the aforementioned octogenarian was compromised to the point of her being enervated and impuissant. Ergo, her being was delimited to the supine position. The vinaceous-bedaubed scion acquiesced extempore, and forthwith embarked on her entrustment."? (from "Little Red Riding Hood" at Fairy Tales for the Erudite)