Is it healthy to try and solve the MS 408

[Scarecrow]

Since no-one has solved this damned manuscript, is spending time on this manuscript just self-induced pain?

As Confucius said, "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance", and VMS is another great proof of it.
Studying VMS is not like studying Zodiac 340 or Cryptos, VMS has a real world around it and has a great number of knowledgeable and helpful people around it to help.
If you can manage a journey without much of facts, or lot of confusing ones, then VMS is a great journey to take, otherwise, yes, it can cause some pain, but it is not a curse.

"All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation." (WB)