[hoosieree]

Designing a set of glyphs for an alphabet is a multidimensional optimization problem:

- economical for writing - minimize changes in direction, minimizing movement, etc.

- clarity between glyphs (0 vs. O, + vs ×)

- robust to noise, 3rd graders and doctors

- insensitive to medium (pencil/paper, stick/clay, brush/papyrus)

- legible at small sizes, low contrast, noise in the display (coffee stains, inkjet cartridge low, etc.)

- context - if two glyphs rarely co-occur, it's okay if they look similar (0 and O, I and 1)

[wolverine876]

I wonder how the modern English alphabet was developed. I assume it evolved, but perhaps it is partly or largely the product a few influential design decisions.

Also, while I agree those are important measures of performance, I wonder how much the development of the alphabet was influenced by them.

> economical for writing

Another interesting thought experiment would be designing an alphabet for typing, that ignored writing optimization.