Here’s something I’ve been thinking about.

Imagine a big knotted clump of yarn, the kind of thing that happens when you leave a crafting project at the bottom of your bag for too long. (Alternatively, what happens to your headphones if you leave them in your pocket for five seconds.) It’s a solid mass of strands going every which way at the centre and a bunch of loops and looser tangles hanging off it. If you’re lucky you might know where the two ends are (assuming there’s only two!), but you probably have no idea what else is going on in there and how it’s gotten this tangled and useless. The fastest way to get rid of it would be to cut it (ah, Occam’s Razor), but that wouldn’t help you finish the crafting project, the scarf or hat or sweater that this thing is supposed to be.