Hackaday

This is especially true since most people don't interact with knots on a regular basis. And those places where we do interact with knots regularly, and the strength matters, there's already been a lot of work done on determining the best knot(s). So, we will just rely on said previous study. For example, when I tie a rope to my climbing harness, I tie a figure eight knot. Have I done the research to show that this is the right choice? No, I haven't. But, the climbing community has done a lot of work on it and I trust the work done by the community. Maybe there is a stronger knot. But, the figure eight is good enough, is easy enough to tie and visually confirm.

The few other knots I use, don't need to be the strongest knots; or, strength is only one factor I care about. Just about every rope I own has a bowline tied at one end. A non-closing, secure enough, loop at one end is great when tying up a load on a vehicle. The other end gets my other common "good enough" knot: a trucker's hitch. For clothesline type situations (e.g. hanging up towels at a beach), a taut-line hitch gets used. Again, maybe not the strongest, but it gets the job done and is easy enough to work with.

And I would guess this is how a lot of people work with knots. They know a few, use them for everything and only really get specific in the few cases where it matter. And then they rely on information for people/groups who have put the time and study in.

Turns Out Humans Are Terrible At Something That Doesn't Really Matter To Most Of Them