This is basic information theory. If there's a smaller way (a formula, a pattern, etc) to represent data, then the larger representation has wasted bits (wow,

This is basic information theory. If there's a smaller way (a formula, a pattern, etc) to represent data, then the larger representation has wasted bits (wow, that was a frightfully poor explanation, sorry). OK, how about this - lets say there is an ideal smallest way to represent a problem, and you can generate any other view of the problem based on that ideal representation. Well, that's just a DSL - pg is always saying "write a language for the problem, then write your program in that language". That's about as small as you can get. Other views of the same problem are accidental complexity or Steve Yegge's rants about code compression (Java vs Ruby/Javascript vs Lisp). As far as your stock market example, you could use a genetic algorithm to predict a formula to invest with. But as they say, past performance is no guarantee of future results. This is a problem that humans can't even figure out, let alone computer programs.