Is there a field/subfield of mathematics dealing with the following type of optimisation problem; if so, what is it called?
-If every word in a language has a unique sign, a writer in that language will have to know as many signs as words, which would likely be arduous and inefficient. On the other hand, if there were only five letters/signs, words would have to be long in order to be differentiated. Somewhere in between is no doubt the most efficient way of building a written language. How can one decide?
-Say a person wants to make a computer program. He could do it by buying a pile of books about coding and build the program using snippets from what he reads over a long period of time. A more common approach is to study coding for a few years, so that not all information has to be found in books, making the process much quicker. A third alternative might be to get a PHD in coding before starting. For some reason, a few years of studies seems to be what is deemed sufficient and proper. Why is that?
Thanks