A Dementia Looking Glass: Making Sense of Gibberish

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

If you can raed this srhae teh lnik to tihs atrilce.

If you can read this, YAAAY. If you canNOT, you’ll feel what it’s like for someone with dementia.

Some days, the world makes sense for people living with dementia. Other days, it’s hard making sense of gibberish, like the paragraph above. Except for those recently diagnosed who can still function fairly well, despite the emotional weight of an incurable diagnosis; plain English even loses meaning for many living with dementia.

Did Cambridge University create this test?

I honestly don’t know. Still it is an interesting exercise in perception on this April Fool’s Day.

A couple thoughts to ponder:

• If you can make sense out of this, what does this say about the power of our language?
• Better yet, what does this say about your power to perceive?

If you made sense of it, you’re on a roll! Now, try the following:

7H15 M3554G3

53RV35 7O PR0V3

H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N

D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5!

1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5!

1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG

17 WA5 H4RD BU7

N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3

Y0UR M1ND 1S

R34D1NG 17

4U70M471C4LLY

W17H 0U7 3V3N

7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17,

B3 PROUD! 0NLY

C3R741N P30PL3 C4N

R3AD 7H15.

PL3453 SA4RE 1F

U C4N R34D 7H15.

If you didn’t get it at first, close this page then come back to it at another time. Once you relax your eyes, your perceptual filters may open wider to invite in the meaning of the nonsense above.

I felt like a child riding a bicycle for the first time without any help! The meaning flowed from the passages above–EXCITING! Well, until I became aware my legs weren’t long enough to reach the pedal brakes! ARRRRGGGHH. Sometimes, it’s best to try again another time.

Thank you, Les Hurdle, for sharing this.

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