Is it healthy to try and solve the MS 408

[ophiodon]

Well, I think there are good reasons that most academics currently involved in MS 408 research are not medievalists or (art)historians (with the rare exception of Lisa Fagin Davis as we all know), but linguists or cryptologists. Frankly, as a trained scholar of manuscripts of a non-European cultural tradition, while I think MS 408 cannot be "solved" without the dedicated input of medievalists, to them there are probably far more interesting problems out there which can also be far better illustrated by other manuscripts. 
Unless this prize comes with a prestigious fellowship or endowed chair etc (and trust me when I say nothing the likes of Mr. Musk can provide will ever suffice), I do not see established scholars being very interested in something like this at all. 
Not to mention that MS 408 seems too tainted by the...let's say...the less rational or civil members of the amateur research community to be respected proposal material. 

Anyways to get back on topic, if trying to solve it is fun, then why not? I haven't tried myself since I don't pretend to know anything about European manuscripts, but I have spent many enjoyable evenings reading everyone's admirable efforts.