Uo-hh, tihs menas "wolhe wrod" rediang mihgt siltl hvae a baiss in fcat!
No, not rllaey:
People don't perceive "wlohe wdros" until they've learned & internalized them - similar to muscle memory. However, when learning new words, students must do several things in parallel: (a) learn the meaning, including subtle nuances; (b) learn the pronounciation, which is the spoken version of the word; (c) learn the spelling, the written version of the word. Whole word teaching avoids the most effective technique for learning how to speak and write words. As they say: "you hvae to wlak bforee you can run."
This article is really not news or surprising. Ask a writer, editor or proofreader how often they come across obvious misspellings or transpositions that the writer (or even a reader) didn't notice - even though they knwo instinctively how to correctly spell the word. Likewise, how many times have you looked at word you've typed in an email or posting, thinking "That word just doesn't look right - but I can't figure out where the typo is" - and still you have no problem understanding the word.
The idea that after some familiarity people recognize entire words as a single symbol (as opposed to individual symbols stringed together) even if typos or transpositions are included is the basis for every "speed reading" technique.