
Quicktrader, Subject: CIPHER STRUCTURE Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:02 am
Ok, had a better look on the 408 cipher structure to better understand the framework of the 340 and the way how Z had 'worked'.
First to clarify with the 'errors' Z had made in his 408 cipher:
FORREST, EXPERENCE and PARADICE presumably have been made by lack of knowledge.
'ANAMAL' (instead of 'animal') and
'MOAT' (instead of 'most')
however were caused because Z had made one simple error by mixing 3-4 triangle-like symbols (accidentially or by purpose):
Instead of using
(representing the letter 'S') he had used the
(representing the letter 'A'). This lead to the two 'MOAT' errors.Also he had used the
(representing the letter 'A') instead of using
which would've represented the letter 'I'. This lead to the 'ANAMAL' error.All of those three symbols look quite similar, which is why I think that Z had made this error accidentially. There is another switch of the
to the - also similar -
symbol, which would have correctly represented the letter 'W'. This lead to the 'SLOI' error.When correcting/ignoring those errors, you get a solid structure of how Z had set-up his homophone cipher by using sequences:

While about 45 symbols seem to not be part of the solid sequence structure and even 6 errors still occur, most of the cipher follows these sequences (green area, representing 87.5%). This is why I believe that looking for sequences in the 340 is the best approach.
The overall length of the sequences for each letter therefore is:
E - 7 (plus 'interruptors')
T - 4
A - 4
I - 4
N - 5>4>4>4>3>3 (decreasing)
S - 4
R - 3
O - 3
L - 3 (mixed)
H - 2
F - 2
D - 2 (first one mixed)
B - 1
C - 1
G - 1
K - 1
M - 1
P - 1
U - 1
V - 1
W - 1
X - 1
Y - 1
J - 0
Q - 0
Z - 0
According to this, Z had used sequences mainly for the more frequent letters while almost half of the letters (the less frequent) have been replaced by one symbol only.
The 340 has more homophones, therefore it may be assumed that the sequences for ETAINSROLHFD would be either longer or at least more present (or both). Most sequences with a length of 5 or longer presumably would have been used for the ETAOIN letter family (to hide any cipher structure).
Z also had differed the way of sequencing, e.g. with the letter 'N' (decreasing) or the letter 'L' (completely mixed, although consistantly using three symbols). With 'L' he had tried to hide any structures such as 'will', 'kill' etc. It might be assumed that 2-dump-n-grams would rely to double-letters, such as mm, ff, dd, ss.
If used once in a sequence, the symbols occured more often. This is why it may be assumed that rare symbols, such as the square with the spot inside, indeed represent rare letters, such as letters from the JQXZ family, too.
Overall, if Z had used a similar ciphering method, the last third of the cipher is less relevant as the sequences dilute more the longer the cipher is. By figuring out the top e.g. 5 sequences with a length of >4, this could lead to 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 = 120 variations of the cipher. All of those variations would show up with approx. 40% of the cipher filled out, only one of them being the right combination of letters and sequences.
It seems to be a fact that the 340 has only shorter sequences to be recognized, however more homophones were used to make the cipher 'harder' to crack (+500m possible variations = level of Z's idiocy..).
Please also be aware that for getting the cleartext, the sequence itself is not relevant as all symbols of one sequence do represent the same letter..(cipher errors are the real troublemakers). Overall it should also be considered that the change of sequences might have not been made by purpose or accidentially, but rather by using a cipher that is more developed than a 'simple' homophone cipher, e.g. by adding such asymmetry, therefore the sequences all being correctly following such asymmetric enciphering method.
Furthermore it might be assumed that symbols that occur regularly in the beginning of the cipher, however don't appear at the end anymore, could be parts of decreasing sequences and vice versa.
As there is no need for setting up a sequence, the letters of the BCGKMPWY might also rather occur as a single substitution (letters that are not very frequent but presumably appear at least >3-5 times in the 340 cipher).
QT

QueenOfClews, Subject: Re: CIPHER STRUCTURE Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:32 pm
I first want to say that I am very impressed by the level of sophistication and detail of the discussions and analyses in this thread.
I get the impression when reading some of the letters that there is some connection between Z's misspellings and his code. It makes me think that my brain is recognizing something on a subtle level, but cannot bring the connection to the conscious thought level.
In an effort to flush the idea out a bit, I started going through the letters and finding all the instances of misspellings. I entered them into a spreadsheet in a format which documented the the following characteristics, the word as Z spelled it in the letter, the correct spelling of the word, the error made. The errors fell into different repetitive categories, for example, omitted letters, added letters, correct letter in a wrong position, wrong letter in correct position, etc. I was trying to find out if the resulting list of omissions or additions may have spelled something or revealed a pattern that may have been relevant to solving the cipher.
I have only done the Mikado letter thus far, and until my temperamental tablet has a new female plug receiver installed, I can't access the file.
In any case, I am wondering if anyone else can see what I am trying to get at here, and whether the idea has any merit or if it is likely a dead end.

tahoe27, Subject: Re: CIPHER STRUCTURE Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:08 pm
QueenOfClews wrote:...It makes me think that my brain is recognizing something on a subtle level, but cannot bring the connection to the conscious thought level.
^I love this comment. :cheers:
Welcome to my world. I think many feel the answer is right there waiting to smack us upside the head.

smithy, Subject: Re: CIPHER STRUCTURE Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:00 am
A nice diagram, that.
