If you've ever moved your computer, you've probably noticed how the wires have become tangled in ways you wouldn't think possible. Or maybe you've been puzzled by knots in power tool cords that appear when you uncoil a seemingly neatly coiled length. I call this the priciple of maximum entanglement. I posted about this awhile ago but it still bothers me, and I actually do wonder if there is some topological entropy theory behind it. The maximum entanglement principle would apply on all scales, and could actually be a mechanism for interesting things that happen at the cellular level.

Anyway, whenever I try to extract a coathanger from a closet or get an elastic drawstring from my jacket surprisingly caught on a doorknob, I mutter "maximum entanglement" (making sure nobody is within earshot, of course).