The paomnnehal pweor of the hmuan mnid

This paragraph is intentionally written incorrectly. Try to read it! An explanation follows why this is possible for some people.

Aoccdrnig to a 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 porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by sitlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

This paragraph is from the Write Group and I want to say there is an explanation for being able to read this paragraph.

The right hemisphere sees words as pictures and can easily give a synonym like dad for father. It can also incorrectly give a look alike word like form for from. The meaning can be changed and so comprehension suffers. In the brain of a non-reader, the above paragraph is frustrating, not funny. A person with a right dominant brain suffers with reading and comprehension. A good reader will comprehend this paragraph because the words are familiar. But you couldn’t read this if the words were unfamiliar. 

The left hemisphere of our brain was created by God to sound out words phonetically while the right hemisphere is supposed to comprehend, infer, add emotion, etc. We’ve done our students a great disservice by moving away from phonics and I am so glad we have returned to the basics of sounding out words!  Both sides of the brain were intended to work in concert when reading, so you and I can read the above paragraph. But it also the reason why it is difficult to proof read our own work!