Read this sentence and put spaces in it where you first think/notice they should go.
Loveisnowhere
Interesting bit of trivia:
[spoiler]Apparently those who are more optimistic and/or in a healthy relationship read it as “Love is now here”
Pessimists and/or people in an unhealthy relationship/no relationship read it as “Love is nowhere”
I have no cite for this, just something I read in a book. Probably bunk, because my prediction is that more people will initially see “Love is nowhere” before realizing it could be “Love is now here” as well.[/spoiler]
That’s first impression. Only once I’ve taken it all in and had the chance to reanalyze do I see “now here.” I don’t see what that process would have to do with my love life or outlook.
I saw “nowhere” first. My brain-hampsters computed and decided that’s more likely and more commonly said than “now here.” I’m an optimist and have good love experiences.
Not only that, but as a sentence, “Love is now here” really sounds awkward and silly. Not natural at all. “Love is nowhere” might not be much better, but it doesn’t sound as contrived, at least to me.
While I knew exactly what the trick was, I indeed parsed it as nowhere rather than now here.
And I agree that there is a bias for forming the words as quickly as possible, adding fewer numbers of spaces, and for picking the one that sounds the most natural. If your premise holds, it would take some really, really happy people.