I'm not crazy about the numerology, Marclean, but I do find the L & R interesting in considering how Zodiac utilized letter frequencies in creating the 408 cipher. Did he decide on the number of symbols to use for each letter based on:
1. the established letter frequency in the English language?
OR2. the number of times the letters were used in the cipher?
E.....12.7%.....47 times.....7 symbols
T.....9.1%.....32times.....4 symbols
A.....8.2%.....23 times.....4 symbols
O.....7.5%.....27 times.....4 symbols
I.....7.0%.....41 times.....4 symbols
N.....6.7%.....23 times.....4 symbols
S.....6.3%.....23 times.....4 symbols
H.....6.1%.....14 times.....2 symbols
R.....6.0%.....18 times.....3 symbols
D.....4.3%.....7 times.....2 symbols
L.....4.0%.....33 times....3 symbols
U.....2.8%.....10 times.....1 symbol
C.....2.7%.....10 times.....1 symbolThe number of symbols used generally corresponds to established letter frequency but the L & R don't follow that trend exactly. The letter L, for instance, is used far more frequently in the 408 cipher than would be expected because of Z's appreciation for the word KILL. He utilizes more symbols for L (3) than would be expected by method #1 but fewer than would be expected by method #2. He could have added symbols randomly for letters that he felt he used frequently but I also wonder about the possibility that the number of symbols used could have been determined by the letter frequency in the two cipher combined if they were created together. I still find the fact that both ciphers fit precisely onto two pieces of standard graph paper rather compelling to consider. Fewer L's in the 340 cipher would reduce the need for extra symbols to represent the L, which could explain why using 3 symbols for L doesn't seem to match either method for establishing the ratio of letters to symbols.
Does that make any sense? Sorry to go off topic, Marclean. It was something that kept wandering around my brain some time ago.
http://i46.servimg.com/u/f46/17/06/58/89/engine10.jpg