Kaidan's Short Stories: Vol. 1 - Teen

by Kaidan

12 Typoglycemia :: Fun Concepts

A/N This story takes advantage of how the mind perceives written language. Nicknamed Typoglycemia. You can still read a story when the letters are scrambled, so long as the first and last letter remain the same. Using context and process of elimination, your brain sub-conciously deciphers the words for you.
Unscrambled version follows in case it doesn't 'work'. It's still a relatively unstudied phenomena, being mostly used as a joke. (I could also just be insane.) Enjoy.

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Tgwiihlt Slkprae sat in fornt of the fpalierce wtih her fndeirs and Spkie. "So, taht's why I tinhk Celtseia is bset pnoy, how auobt you Rbnoaiw Dsah?"

"Wlel oviobsuly it's Srtfipie, Cipaatn of the Wondlberots! She is asmlot as fsat as me, in fcat she panelslroy itneivd me to tehir ttroyus ltear tihs yaer. It's gonig to be so awoemse! I can purtcie it now, soinrag tgruohh the sikes, a rbaoinw preices teuhndr cluods, and a ginat snioc rbooinam!"

"Ugh taht's so oivbous." Rtariy reolld her eeys at the psirtmaic pnoy. "Clelary you've neevr been to a clnoeartt fsiahon sohw. Hioty Ttioy is the bset pnoy, he lvies and bhtraees fosaihn. His wentir lnie of cihnotlg atesobully aamezd erveopyny! I catered oevr hlaf of tshoe dessres for him."

"um... I thnik Big Mascnitoh is bset pnoy." Ftherstluy bluehsd, and hid bihend her fwnilog pnik mnae. Fshttlurey had a cusrh on the lgrae red soaitlln for mohtns, hwevoer she was ariafd to aaopcrph him.

"I tnihk Droscid is bset pnoy! I jsut lvoe his vicoe, and the coaoclhte rian, and now taht we romfered him, he pisermod to aalwys add wipehpd caerm wehn he mkaes it rian! And taht deep vioce, it caonmdms reecspt! Lkie smoe knid of msiichevous diety form aegs psat. Puls cadny cnaes, splarasriala, slrkpaes, blolonas, cftetnoi, and ccukapes! And he bhogut me a new ptray cnnaon!" Piinke Pie kpet bunnicog aurond the room lnsitig the mnay awsoeme tirats of Dscriod, wihle the oehtr penois irnegod her.

"Wlel I rokcen Lnua is bset pnoy. Tehre ain't neevr been a pnoy taht has wkored so hrad to ccreort her mitaesks. Eevr scine we datfeeed Nthgmirae Moon, she has wokred day and nihgt to rdeeem hreslef. Taht's mhgtiy abdiramle."

"Eovenyrpy is wnrog. Rtriay is bset pnoy. Taht biutfeual bule mnae, toshe clurs, tsohe cruvy fanlks and taht polt--" Skipe was iptunerrted by Tgiwhilt siikcntg a hoof in his motuh.

"Ha ha. Skipe, you are eaasmrnbrsig yeouslrf aagin. Slily dorgan, aalyws jkonig aoubt yuor uh... fanlk." Thilgiwt girennd sihelpehsy at Rtiary, who was scutk bteewen fleetatrd and cnousefd at the draogn's biorlnrede lwed cmmneots.

"Tohu are all wrnog! Cellray the bset pnoy is Siinnhg Amorr. Had my sitesr not itenrvened, I wuold hvae bnihesad Cdenace and teakn him as my hnsbuad!"

Eeyprvony gpeasd at the univeintd gesuts sinntadg bhenid tehm. Cleietsa bkore the akrwawd scenile. "Epnvoyery is bset pnoy. I lvoe all of my ltitle pnoies the smae."

Ctlieesa leaend dwon to Tlhwiigt's ear and werpihsed. "You csohe wlel Tigiwlht Skprlae. Had I not been yuor chicoe for bset pnoy, I wulod hvae snet you bcak to mgaic kdenerargitn."

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Unscrambled version (in case the trick didn't work. It did start as an email joke/hoax after all. It isn't a well-studied field of neurology yet.)

Twilight Sparkle sat in front of the fireplace with her friends and Spike. "So, that's why I think Celestia is best pony, how about you Rainbow Dash?"

"Well obviously it's Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts! She is almost as fast as me, in fact she personally invited me to their tryouts later this year. It's going to be so awesome! I can picture it now, soaring through the skies, a rainbow pierces thunder clouds, and a giant sonic rainboom!"

"Ugh that's so obvious." Rarity rolled her eyes at the prismatic pony. "Clearly you've never been to a canterlot fashion show. Hoity Toity is the best pony, he lives and breathes fashion. His winter line of clothing absolutely amazed everypony! I created over half of those dresses for him."

"um... I think Big Macintosh is best pony." Fluttershy blushed, and hid behind her flowing pink mane. Fluttershy had a crush on the large red stallion for months, however she was afraid to approach him.

"I think Discord is best pony! I just love his voice, and the chocolate rain, and now that we reformed him, he promised to always add whipped cream when he makes it rain! And that deep voice, it commands respect! Like some kind of mischievous deity from ages past. Plus candy canes, sarsaparilla, sparkles, balloons, confetti, and cupcakes! And he bought me a new party cannon!" Pinkie Pie kept bouncing around the room listing the many awesome traits of Discord, while the other ponies ignored her.

"Well I reckon Luna is best pony. There ain't never been a pony that has worked so hard to correct her mistakes. Ever since we defeated Nightmare Moon, she has worked day and night to redeem herself. That's mighty admirable."

"Everypony is wrong. Rarity is best pony. That beautiful blue mane, those curls, those curvy flanks and that plot--" Spike was interrupted by Twilight sticking a hoof in his mouth.

"Ha ha. Spike, you are embarrassing yourself again. Silly dragon, always joking about your uh... flank." Twilight grinned sheepishly at Rarity, who was stuck between flattered and confused at the dragon's borderline lewd comments.

"Thou are all wrong! Clearly the best pony is Shining Armor. Had my sister not intervened, I would have banished Cadence and taken him as my husband!"

Everypony gasped at the uninvited guests standing behind them. Celestia broke the awkward silence. "Everypony is best pony. I love all of my little ponies the same."

Celestia leaned down to Twilight's ear and whispered. "You chose well Twilight Sparkle. Had I not been your choice for best pony, I would have sent you back to magic kindergarten."

Author's Note:

I hope you enjoyed my abuse of an oddity of how our minds percieve written language. The majority of people should be able to read this at the same speed as unscrambled text. Some people can't, and I don't know what the percentage is. I only found one scholarly article related to this phenomena. Maybe your minds aren't a tangled mess of neurons like the rest of us mere mortals :)

see this scholarly article on our ability to read words scramble in various ways.

Also on the off-chance your a die-hard fan of my random short stories, I haven't written as many for two reasons: Sanctuary, and Scootaloo the Fugitive. Now that I have 2 projects, I have fewer random story ideas pop into my head. I will continue to add chapters as ideas come to me, and I have written down everyone's suggestions to add more next week.

Comments

[ARandomGuy]

All of them are amazing, can't wait to see more. Also, can you put up a unscrambled version of "Typoglycemia (It will blow your mind.)"? I am sadly one of the few people unable to read it.

[Kaidan]

2114448 I hadn't thought of that, I'll post it into the story in about 30 seconds. I actually don't know what percentage of people can read it, just that it's neat when it 'works' :)

And the wiki page (linked at the start) has a nice side by side comparison. It also illustrates how if you reverse all but the first and last letter, it becomes undecipherable. So for some reason, scrambled is usually understandable, but reversed is nearly impossible to understand.

I love the brain :)

[ARandomGuy]

2114672 Wow that was a fast reply! Thank you!

Also, first thing I thought of at the end "Oh Twilight, Magic Kindergarten is a real place, and you will be sent there at the first sign of defiance." :D

[Kaidan]

2114823 Why do you think Twilight is such a loyal and obedient student? Threatening to send her to magic kindergarten, or to banish her, or throw her in prison, or all of the above is how Celestia keeps her on the straight and narrow. That's just basic parenting, right? Threaten the kid until they behave?

And they thought Luna was the evil one.

[Kaidan]

2143891 it was fun to recall a bit of college chemistry, even if all I remember is how to make aspirin, and put a hole in the ceiling

[Kaidan]

2160441 It does have a 100% mortality rate.

[Race9000]

You mgiht wnat to mkae the frist two and lsat two letrtes unhcganed. It smoe tmies wrkos a bit betetr.

[Kaidan]

2219355 I agree, that's what the actual study found most effective. If only I could convince one of the Doctors at work to do a case study on that. I would have so much fun doing the statistics for that.

[Sozmioi]

got bogged down a few times but mostly smooth sailing.

[HiddenBrony4]

2144091 Well, in all seriousness, those are both worthwhile skills to know. Particularly the second one.

[Neko Majin C]

Cpahter tvelwe: Tmeciyplgoya: Fun Ctopnecs.

I catered oevr hlaf of tshoe dessres for him.

I lvoe Tiympeogclya, hewveor, you hvae to be curafel wtih amnsrgas.

[Snowstreak]

I wulod htae to see the selpl-cehck mkraup for tihs cpahetr.