Is spelling really that important?

[jangab]

"I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh?  

[Hyperiona]

Wow.

*blinkblink*
eek
I read all of that without thinking twice....

But yes-- I still think spelling is important.  

[Shiyiya]

Sometimes, the spelling is off enough that you cannot tell what word it's intended to be. Then it's a problem.

I've always found that interesting, my mom gets it in her email about once a year and forwards it to me. My mom gtes it in her eimal and she fowrdas it to me. Um. I shouldn't try to emulate things like that, I just look silly.  

[Fuku Taichou]

Too bad that with anything three letters or lower, that mixing up the letters doesn't work.

I remember seeing something similar to what JanGab posted a while back. Studies were done, and yeah, the human brain reads words, not letters, so as long as you keep the first and last letters in place, somehow it comes together. It's so strange to think about how our brains can still process what is being said..... Although I'm guessing that if someone didn't know there was a Cambridge University, he/she might not understand that word.  

[Venat the Undying]

Yes, because if two words could fit in the sentence, have about the same number of letters, and begin and end the same, but totally different meanings, how do you know how to interpret the sentence?  

[Error Access Denied]

Well, I would say that spelling is pretty important. =/  

[Shygoddess]

I actually read through what you've posted, but good spelling can't hurt.  

[Zealot of Insanity]

That study's pretty old, and it is easier to write in full words rather than garble.