ps: interestingly, nature doesn't always seem to go for the "simplest" model--or at least not necessarily as we will model "simple". An interesting case in point is how the genes code the 20 amino acids. The original idea Crick had involved coming up with exactly 20 "unambiguous" triplets that can be placed next to each other and you will still be able to decode the sequence correctly even though there is no obvious delimiters between each amino acid code. This "comma free" version turned out not to be the one nature uses--which uses ambiguous triplets but ensures correct translation by using specific starting/stopping delimiters (see for example
http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~rwinning/genetics/code.htm). The original Crick code was so compelling that it has been called the "greatest wrong theory".