Yes, it was easy to read.  How strange!

Yes I can read it!

It's all about the shape of the numbers being close to the shape of the letters they represent.

manxli

what does it say about learning to read proficiently?

Some neurological brain studies have shown that there is initially much electrical activity when first confronted by an unknown pattern such as the puzzle text here. Once the similarity in letter/number shapes is recognised the words become instantly graphically recognisable and electrical activity in the brain reduces. The ability to instantly 'decode' such texts then remains and is preserved with repetition of the task.

Of course, proficient readers can guess and predict what words might follow to assist in decoding the phrases. This can occur without even much conscious thought. 

On the other hand, I've seen many slow readers who decode nearly every word purely 'phoetically' because that's what they've been taught and who can't decode such puzzles even when they represent very simple sentences. For us it mostly goes without saying ('sense of logic') but many kids may never get it if they don't also get contextual training. For that reason, I often get my slow readers to deconstruct existing texts into phrases, blocks of meaning, morphemes and finally phonemes before putting them at each stage back together again. It helps them recognise phonetic and word patterns improving both reading ability and writing.

See http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/

Regards

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... it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place

This is clearly wrong. For instance, compare the following three sentences:

1) A vheclie epxledod at a plocie cehckipont near the UN haduqertares in Bagahdd on Mnoday kilinlg the bmober and an Irqai polcie offceir

2) Big ccunoil tax ineesacrs tihs yaer hvae seezueqd the inmcoes of mnay pneosenirs

3) A dootcr has aimttded the magltheuansr of a tageene ceacnr pintaet who deid aetfr a hatospil durg blendur

manxli

If you can read it, what does it say about learning to read proficiently?

That learning to read by decoding is only the first step to becoming a proficient reader.

That SP evangelists are wrong to push beyond the first year of literacy teaching.

That we read to access meaning.

As adults we read by registering words as wholes and wrong or surplus letters give us no trouble. They do while learning to read. They make the process much slower.

U can test this with any child who has had roughly 6 months of basic phonics teaching.

Ask him or her to read 30 of the most used English words spelt phonically

and also spelt normally and see the difference. U could try this with slightly older slow readers too. It brings home what makes learning to read English so time-consuming.

thequillguy

From: http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/people/matt.davis/Cmabrigde/

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... it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place

This is clearly wrong. For instance, compare the following three sentences:

1) A vheclie epxledod at a plocie cehckipont near the UN haduqertares in Bagahdd on Mnoday kilinlg the bmober and an Irqai polcie offceir

2) Big ccunoil tax ineesacrs tihs yaer hvae seezueqd the inmcoes of mnay pneosenirs

3) A dootcr has aimttded the magltheuansr of a tageene ceacnr pintaet who deid aetfr a hatospil durg blendur