The best research is driven by both curiosity and necessity.
The best way to untangle a knotty tangle is not to “untie” the knots, but to keep pulling the loops apart wider and wider. Just make the mess as big, loose and open as possible. As you open up the knots they will unravel themselves. Works on cords, strings, hoses, yarns, or electronic cables.
The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.