Is it perhaps obeying a perverse rule in English that the single 'o' in lose is pronounced with a long ooo sound: lüz, whereas the double 'o' in loose is pronounced with a short sound: lüs?
This happens with consonants as well because the double 's' in loss is a shorter sibilant than the single 's' in close (at least in 'close the book' but not in 'close to the edge').
lose - loose 
so much as direction in this case. What puzzles me is that more letters indicate a shorter sound and fewer letters a longer sound. 
Linear Mode
