# can you understand this?



## Alxmrphi

> *I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.*


 
I was amazed that I could speed read through this with tremendous ease and understand every word perfectly without stopping once.

My question is, I am not sure if it's just because I am a native English person or not, there are some fantastic English speaking people native of other countries and I was just wondering what happens when you read this, can you easily at speed, would it be more difficult, I have no idea how to compare, it just made me wonder.


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## invisibleu

Alex_Murphy said:


> I was amazed that I could speed read through this with tremendous ease and understand every word perfectly without stopping once.


Me too, the first time I saw it... it seems that paragraph - and its many variations - have been floating about on the web for ages. 

I've seen almost the same text in Spanish too (with Salamanca University as the supposed research place instead of Cambridge) and was also amazed at how easily I could read it, being a non-native, so I'm guessing that it's the same for non-English natives reading the above paragraph... but let's see what they say.


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## Paulfromitaly

I saw this test a while ago and I could read it without any problems...


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## TrentinaNE

But context tells you whether* cluod* is could or cloud*.  * 

Elisabetta


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Well, yeah, I could read it perfectly and at my usual English reading speed.

I remember the Spanish version of that text...  It stated something like "I cannot believe I wasted all those years in school, after all..." (sorry, it sounds much funnier in Spanish!)

Cheers,
VS.


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## Alxmrphi

I couldn't imagine seeing it as a foreign language and reading it easily.
But then again a paragraph that size in Italian I wouldn't be able to read anyway, haha.


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## Hakro

Maybe the WR rule about decent language could be changed:
*19. Please keep your language clean and decent or at least keep the first and the last letter of a word in their original places.*

But in languages with long (compound) words like in Finnish and possibly also in German it doesn't work as easily. We tried it once in Finnish and at least for me it was more difficult to understand than this "Elgnsih".

This is probably not only because of the length of the words but also because the case endings "break" the original form of a word. The last letter depends on the case, not on the word itself.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Hakro said:


> Maybe the WR rule about decent language could be changed:
> *19. Please keep your language clean and decent or at least keep the first and the last letter of a word in their original places.*


 
I like your idea, Hakro, and I have decided to support your motion.  Do you think the mods get to accept it in the near future?  That could save a lot of confussion, don't you think?


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## caballoschica

Well, I think of it as this: 
Look at the
the road.  

What do you read that sentence as? 

Look at the the road? Or look at the road? 

Your mind automatically erases one of the "the's" 

Apparently, your mind automatically fills in the letters of the word, no matter what the order.  It looked like a mess, but I could read it...and quickly.


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## Hakro

Venezuelan_sweetie said:


> I like your idea, Hakro, and I have decided to support your motion. Do you think the mods get to accept it in the near future? That could save a lot of confussion, don't you think?


Thanks, Sweetie! I believe that the mods could accept this easily, if we promise to keep the requirement about _cnoxett_.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

TrentinaNE said:


> But context tells you whether* cluod* is could or cloud*.  *
> 
> Elisabetta


I fully agree with this, Elisabetta!
This is a perfect example that context does everything. 
We are doing that nearly everyday here, when someone mistyped words in a sentence, aren't we? 
 (I too, already knew this one)


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## ameana7

I have seen the Turkish version of this text, but I can easily read the English one as well. This is called Halo effect in psychology, that we perceive the whole things, inspite of the details one by one.


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## justjukka

I wanna get to the point to where I could read this written in the same fashion in another language!


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## Hakro

Rozax said:


> I wanna get to the point to where I could read this written in the same fashion in another language!


It can be done easily. Which language would you prefer?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Hakro said:


> It can be done easily. Which language would you prefer?


Let's start with French:

«Sleon une édtue de l'Uvinertisé de Cmabrigde, l'odrre des ltteers dnas un mto n'a pas d'ipmrotncae, la suele coshe ipmrotnate est que la pmeirère et la drenèire soeint à la bnnoe pclae. Le rsete peut êrte dnas un dsérorde ttoal et vuos puoevz tujoruos lrie snas porlbème. C'est prace que le creaveu hmauin ne lit pas chuaqe ltetre elle-mmêe, mias le mot cmome un tuot.»


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## Hakro

Bravo, Karine!


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

OK, now I'm going to flush myself away...  

This is the plain proof of one fact I have been running away from since long ago: I can't understand French yet!!    :'(


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## Hakro

Venezuelan_sweetie said:


> OK, now I'm going to flush myself away...
> 
> This is the plain proof of one fact I have been running away from since long ago: I can't understand French yet!!    :'(


I admit that it's not so easy to understand the French that Karine is using in her post; but if you make a similar text in Spanish, I can assure you that we'll have real problems to understand it. Why don't you try?


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## fiorilù

Wow!It is amazing


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## Pedro y La Torre

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> Let's start with French:
> 
> «Sleon une édtue de l'Uvinertisé de Cmabrigde, l'odrre des ltteers dnas un mto n'a pas d'ipmrotncae, la suele coshe ipmrotnate est que la pmeirère et la drenèire soeint à la bnnoe pclae. Le rsete peut êrte dnas un dsérorde ttoal et vuos puoevz tujoruos lrie snas porlbème. C'est prace que le creaveu hmauin ne lit pas chuaqe ltetre elle-mmêe, mias le mot cmome un tuot.»



Haha très bien. Je peux lire ce text sans problème et le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle.


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## judkinsc

I second the idea that it's the same thing in French. Karine's post is as easy to read as the English for me.


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## heidita

I suppose it depends on the level of your second/third..language. I could understand the text in English and in Spanish, which I saw recently. I can't in French. Too poor.


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## caballoschica

Now let me ask a question.

Did you read it faster or slower than you normally read things?

I think if I read it slowly, I would've had more trouble with figuring out the words.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

When I was reading it in English, it took me more or less the same time it would to read a "normal" text in the same lenght...

In French... well, I'm still trying to figure it out...


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## jazyk

I've seen this in Portuguese, Spanish and English. No problem deciphering it in any of these languages.


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## cuchuflete

Giev a mdoreaotr eoungh chcloaote dna yuo esaliy cnhage rlues. 

Otgaror chcloatoe sucifiente al mdoraodr praa cabmair rlegas.


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## danielfranco

I toguhht trhhee w'snat eognuh chcloaote in the uesrinve taht colud do taht!!

No, but seriously, folks, I think this has been discussed before in the WRF's and someone said something about how this thing has to follow certain forms or rules because otherwise "it don't work none". I'll see if I can find it and I'll post it.

[Surely the mighty Chicken of Fiery-rebirth has all those links ready for us!]


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Dineal, it semes you dnid't rspecet the reuls: the wrod "trhhee" is meslipt it sulhod  hvae been slept "terhe" for empalxe! Tkanhs cenxtot I utodesnord. 

More seriously, I remember PMing with one forera here even not keeping the  first and  last letter, and it worked too, we could understand each other even messing all the letters, and more surprisingly, even using letters for others! (cenxtot!)


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## Etcetera

I've seen the Russian version of this very test.
I was pleasantly surprised that I could read the English text almost as fast as the Russian one.


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## jefrir

The sad thing is I've seen messages that looked pretty much like that on forums when people were actually trying to post in coherent English. One of them claimed to be a non-native speaker, but it was generally pointed out that while foriegners make mistakes, exessive leet-speak and a complete disregard for spelling or punctuation are not generally among them. He never did say what _was_ his native language...


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Hakro said:


> Bravo, Karine!


I cheat a bit for this *hoax *(*)... 

«Vioci un neaviu de bgulirlaoe puls itopamnrt unilsatit anatut que pslibose un pahgaprrae cnnaeontt bueacuop de mtos de dgvanatae de tiros ltertes. Cuex qui anivrret à prorucair ce ttxee aevc auantt de fltiaicé que s'il éiatt éirct aevc des ltertes dans un orrde aqéuadt donviet neaomlernmt êrte monis numeobrx...»

(*) here is a French article.


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## V3nom_is_here

Alex_Murphy said:


> I was amazed that I could speed read through this with tremendous ease and understand every word perfectly without stopping once.
> 
> My question is, I am not sure if it's just because I am a native English person or not, there are some fantastic English speaking people native of other countries and I was just wondering what happens when you read this, can you easily at speed, would it be more difficult, I have no idea how to compare, it just made me wonder.


 

I`ve seen this on other sides too . Yeah , it`s pretty impresive on how the human mind percepts things


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## Hakro

Has anybody noticed a similar phenomenon when proofreading: If it's your own text you don't see the typos, you see a right word although it's written wrong. Proofreading someone else's text is a bit easier.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Hey guys, look what I found among my dusty files:
** 
*SI CONSIGUES LEER LAS PRIMERAS PALABRAS, EL CEREBRO DESCIFRARA LAS OTRAS.*


*C13R70 D14 D3 V3R4N0 3574B4 3N L4 PL4Y4 0853RV4ND0 D05 CH1C45 8R1NC4ND0 3N 14 4R3N4, 357484N 7R484J4ND0 MUCH0 C0N57RUY3ND0 UN C4571LL0 D3 4R3N4 C0N* * 70RR35, P454D1Z05, 0CUL705 Y PU3N735. CU4ND0 357484N 4C484ND0 V1N0 UN4 0L4 D357RUY3ND0 70D0, R3DUC13ND0 3L C4571LL0 4 UN M0N70N D3 4R3N4 Y 35PUM4, P3N53 9U3 D35PU35 DE 74N70 35FU3RZ0 L45 CH1C45 C0M3NZ4R14N 4 L10R4R, P3R0 3N V3Z D3 350, C0RR13R0N P0R L4 P14Y4 R13ND0 Y JU64ND0 Y C0M3NZ4R0N  4 C0N57RU1R 07R0 C4571LL0.*

*C0MPR3ND1 9U3 H4814 4PR3ND1D0 UN4 6R4N L3CC10N; 6454M05 MUCH0 713MP0 D3 NU357R4 V1D4 C0N57RUY3ND0 4L6UN4 C054 P3R0 CU4ND0 M45 74RD3 UN4 0L4 L1364 4 D357RU1R 70D0, S010 P3RM4N3C3 L4 4M1574D, 3L 4M0R Y 3L C4R1Ñ0, Y L45 M4N05 D3 49U3LL05 9U3 50N C4P4C35 D3 H4C3RN05 50NRR31R.* 
 
-----------------------------
 
No comments...


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## Vin Raven

Hakro said:


> Has anybody noticed a similar phenomenon when proofreading: If it's your own text you don't see the typos, you see a right word although it's written wrong. Proofreading someone else's text is a bit easier.



Count every    "    F" in the    following text: 
FINISHED    FILES ARE THE RE 
SULT OF    YEARS OF SCIENTI 
FIC STUDY    COMBINED WITH 
THE    EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...
(SEE BELOW)    
HOW MANY ?    
There are 6, count again if you missed it.

 Highlight the lines above to see the answer.​ 

These tests don't actually prove anything, though non-natives can usually count the Fs better than native speakers.


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## cem42

I counted 5 fs


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## panjabigator

There are 6.  I knew the trick to this one and I still counted 5 initially!  

By the way, something like the text in post 1 would never work in Indic languages.


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## germinal

KaRiNe_Fr said:


> Let's start with French:
> 
> «Sleon une édtue de l'Uvinertisé de Cmabrigde, l'odrre des ltteers dnas un mto n'a pas d'ipmrotncae, la suele coshe ipmrotnate est que la pmeirère et la drenèire soeint à la bnnoe pclae. Le rsete peut êrte dnas un dsérorde ttoal et vuos puoevz tujoruos lrie snas porlbème. C'est prace que le creaveu hmauin ne lit pas chuaqe ltetre elle-mmêe, mias le mot cmome un tuot.»


 
Strange, I found I could read this quite easily - Not quite so well as I read the English example - but much better than I would have expected.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

germinal said:


> Strange, I found I could read this quite easily - Not quite so well as I read the English example - but much better than I would have expected.


And what about the second one (post #34)? More difficult, isn't it?


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## mirx

Venezuelan_sweetie said:


> Hey guys, look what I found among my dusty files:
> 
> *SI CONSIGUES LEER LAS PRIMERAS PALABRAS, EL CEREBRO DESCIFRARA LAS OTRAS.*
> 
> 
> *C13R70 D14 D3 V3R4N0 3574B4 3N L4 PL4Y4 0853RV4ND0 D05 CH1C45 8R1NC4ND0 3N 14 4R3N4, 357484N 7R484J4ND0 MUCH0 C0N57RUY3ND0 UN C4571LL0 D3 4R3N4 C0N** 70RR35, P454D1Z05, 0CUL705 Y PU3N735. CU4ND0 357484N 4C484ND0 V1N0 UN4 0L4 D357RUY3ND0 70D0, R3DUC13ND0 3L C4571LL0 4 UN M0N70N D3 4R3N4 Y 35PUM4, P3N53 9U3 D35PU35 DE 74N70 35FU3RZ0 L45 CH1C45 C0M3NZ4R14N 4 L10R4R, P3R0 3N V3Z D3 350, C0RR13R0N P0R L4 P14Y4 R13ND0 Y JU64ND0 Y C0M3NZ4R0N 4 C0N57RU1R 07R0 C4571LL0.*
> 
> *C0MPR3ND1 9U3 H4814 4PR3ND1D0 UN4 6R4N L3CC10N; 6454M05 MUCH0 713MP0 D3 NU357R4 V1D4 C0N57RUY3ND0 4L6UN4 C054 P3R0 CU4ND0 M45 74RD3 UN4 0L4 L1364 4 D357RU1R 70D0, S010 P3RM4N3C3 L4 4M1574D, 3L 4M0R Y 3L C4R1Ñ0, Y L45 M4N05 D3 49U3LL05 9U3 50N C4P4C35 D3 H4C3RN05 50NRR31R.*
> 
> -----------------------------
> 
> No comments...


 

I understood eerything, I am amazed.

About the initial post, I've seen this paragraph in spanish like 5 years ago, and didn't have trouble to understand it, now that i see it in english there's no difference either, However someone posted something later using this "system" and I did have trouble to read it, it might also be that the 1st paragraph is set up in a way that seems familiar to all of us, but ideas expressed by individuals may have structures that we are not used to.


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## Lilla My

The first I read was in spanish and I understood easily. The same in english and in french (of course), but the second one posted in french took me more time.
But I think it depends on your level in these languages. And it's the same with sentences :
If you read a normal text in a language you are not familiar with, you need more time because you need to read each word. In your mother language, you can read through a whole sentence without reading each word separetely.


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## Zoowärter

Der Txet fnukiotnerit gnsuaeo gut auf Dutecsh, weboi zu beekendn ist, dsas die  Gorschsersbinug und die vleie krzue Wretör schericilh hfliercih snid im Vlgrecih zu Fnincsh...


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## jorge_val_ribera

Vin Raven said:


> Count every    "    F" in the    following text:
> FINISHED    FILES ARE THE RE
> SULT OF    YEARS OF SCIENTI
> FIC STUDY    COMBINED WITH
> THE    EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...
> (SEE BELOW)
> HOW MANY ?
> There are 6, count again if you missed it.
> 
> Highlight the lines above to see the answer.​
> 
> These tests don't actually prove anything, though non-natives can usually count the Fs better than native speakers.



I counted only 3!


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## mirx

jorge_val_ribera said:


> I counted only 3!


 

So did I the first time, the ones of "of" also count, I am sorry to disagree but foreigners did not find the "f" easily, for me, well, I am a little reterded so it actually doesn´t matter the foreigner thing, but I am sure your case is different my dear friend george.


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## Macunaíma

In Brazil you are submitted to a few examinations to test you reflexes before you get your driving licence. One of those tests consists of reading the names of colours written in a different colour than the one it describes. So, green, for example, is written in red letters, and red, in blue letters, and so on...I have never heard of anyone who made it through that test. Sooner or later you switch from reading the words to describing their colours.


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## iheartflutes

Hello all,

Sounds like an interesting topic, but I would like to point out one thing about the english "riddle" I guess you could call it in the first post. Notice how the "curvature" of the words stays the same. For example in every, the word used is more like eoury or something like that where you have just the y coming down. Or another example is "whole" being "wlehe" You see the rise of the "l" and you think it's an "h", and you see the rise of the "h" and you think its the "l"

I at least feel that this has some sort of role in how we comprehend things. Some of the English "transformations" that seemed made up above, were sort of "faulty" in the fact that we aren't seeing the same rises and falls as the original word.

Am I making any sense?

       --iheartflutes


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## Brioche

Mix those letters up a little bit more, and it is not so easy!
_I conudlt bvieele taht I cloud alulcaty uaennrstdd waht I was rdiegng. The pemaaonhnl peowr of the huamn mnid ancircdog to rrccseeahh at cigbmadre uiiesvntry,_ 
** 
Try this one:
_plpeoe of the uientd seatts, in oedrr to from a mroe pceerft uoinn, elssabith jtcusie, irnuse dtoimesc tqtlanuiiry, pidrove for the cmmoon dsnfeee, ptmrooe the gareenl wfreale, and sreuce the biglnesss of literby to ovesurels and our piroestty, do odrain and elsasibth tihs ctttuooiisnn for the utenid settas of airmcea._
 
Give up?
It's the preamble to the US constitution, all except _We the_


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## curly

I've found that the same is true of reading sentences, if you look at each word and slowly assemble the sentence, or sometimes just read a little slower than usual you can sometimes be thrown into confusion until you give up for a second, look up and look back down at the sentence.  I find that it's helpful to read sentences in other languages quite fast a pick the meaning up a second later as I begin to read the next sentence.

Also if you arrange the letters in a long word, or sometimes a short word, so that each letter repeating is placed beside it's other same letter, Example cooiiuttsnn-----------------------------------------constitution
vowels beside vowels and such, it become a lot harder.


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## ameana7

> In Brazil you are submitted to a few examinations to test you reflexes before you get your driving licence. One of those tests consists of reading the names of colours written in a different colour than the one it describes. So, green, for example, is written in red letters, and red, in blue letters, and so on...I have never heard of anyone who made it through that test. Sooner or later you switch from reading the words to describing their colours.


 
I've seen this test too. It is said that the reason is that you perceive the colours with your left hand side brain, but you read the letters with your right hand side brain.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Hope it's not tooooooo late... 

Look what I bumped into, in a strike of "luck". I found it while reading what I think is the largest thread ever (+800 posts) ---> link.


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## don maico

and if you can then you are proving their point

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist
and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset
can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed
ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. ceehiro
__________________


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## agie

The first text was easy, but the second one added by Brioche... omg


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## Lugubert

Alex_Murphy said:


> there are some fantastic English speaking people native of other countries


like me.

On a more serious note, I have seen this thing referenced in many places, and I'm not amazed. A mature and experienced reader doesn't read letter by letter, but identifies pictures of complete words. If you're learning a language with a script that's much different from yours, you'll (hopefully) rather soon experience this phenomenon. From that day, you'll find that your learning proceeds much faster than you ever imagined before.


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## Inx

Near my job, there's a library and they pasted this on the wall. Amazing, isn't it? Human Brain can be really weird.


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## salvador_1_99

I was able to read that text in english easily at a normal speed or  even fast, though my level in english is intermediate, however when I read the subtitles from tv  several times I dont finish  reading them when  those have already changed I think it's because I'm not used to see those words so I can't apreciate what the word looks like and  I have to read letter by letter.


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## Zsanna

If you have the impression of reading subtitles slowly (not always) it may be just because more words were put in them/line than "normal". (It depends on the film, the length they can show the text at a time and the company who does the subtitling.) 

It was mentioned that we don't read by letters... That made me wondering about what the reason may be for my finding it much easier to do puzzles where only numbers are given for letters (the same letter = the same number/puzzle, no definitions only a few letters and their corresponding numbers to start with) _in English_ as opposed to _in Hungarian_ (my native language).


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## Lady Pantera

Venezuelan_sweetie said:


> Hey guys, look what I found among my dusty files:
> 
> *SI CONSIGUES LEER LAS PRIMERAS PALABRAS, EL CEREBRO DESCIFRARA LAS OTRAS.**C13R70 D14 D3 V3R4N0 3574B4 3N L4 PL4Y4 0853RV4ND0 D05 CH1C45 8R1NC4ND0 3N 14 4R3N4, 357484N 7R484J4ND0 MUCH0 C0N57RUY3ND0 UN C4571LL0 D3 4R3N4 C0N** 70RR35, P454D1Z05, 0CUL705 Y PU3N735. CU4ND0 357484N 4C484ND0 V1N0 UN4 0L4 D357RUY3ND0 70D0, R3DUC13ND0 3L C4571LL0 4 UN M0N70N D3 4R3N4 Y 35PUM4, P3N53 9U3 D35PU35 DE 74N70 35FU3RZ0 L45 CH1C45 C0M3NZ4R14N 4 L10R4R, P3R0 3N V3Z D3 350, C0RR13R0N P0R L4 P14Y4 R13ND0 Y JU64ND0 Y C0M3NZ4R0N  4 C0N57RU1R 07R0 C4571LL0.**C0MPR3ND1 9U3 H4814 4PR3ND1D0 UN4 6R4N L3CC10N; 6454M05 MUCH0 713MP0 D3 NU357R4 V1D4 C0N57RUY3ND0 4L6UN4 C054 P3R0 CU4ND0 M45 74RD3 UN4 0L4 L1364 4 D357RU1R 70D0, S010 P3RM4N3C3 L4 4M1574D, 3L 4M0R Y 3L C4R1Ñ0, Y L45 M4N05 D3 49U3LL05 9U3 50N C4P4C35 D3 H4C3RN05 50NRR31R.*
> 
> -----------------------------
> 
> No comments...



Wow, I understood it all. I was amazed when I read the first text both in english and french and I understood them as well.

This is the same text in Spanish "* Sgeun un etsduio de una uivenrsdiad ignlsea, no ipmotra el odren en el que las ltears etsan ersciats, la uicna csoa ipormtnate es que la pmrirea y la utlima ltera esten ecsritas en la psiocion cocrrtea. El rsteo peuden estar ttaolmntee mal y aun pordas lerelo sin pobrleams. Etso es pquore no lemeos cada ltera por si msima preo la paalbra es un tdoo." 


* 							 					 		  					 		  					 		 					 		 					 			And this one is similar

"*Un expesimento sinilar de una univarsibad divamapquesa denueftra qua las  palebzas puenen teher una o das lejras epuivoxadas sin qne ezto inpkda la camprengión del mandaje.

El extudeo grovocó uma enérqiha pratesto del Spndijato Dvnéz de 
Corractyres, qus ve paligrcr su foente da trebejo*."

But I assume that this is a bit difficult.


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## MarX

I could read the first post easily at speed.

As for the Spanish text using numbers, I got to get used to it, but I could read all of it.

The counting of the F's was really tricky. First I counted 4, after I read the answer, I checked several times and kept on arriving at 5, before finally reaching 6.

The double "the" also worked for me. I actually didn't read the other the.

Amazing.


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