Think about it like trying to hack an iot device or even just solving a 3D puzzle box. In either case, you could use brute force to ram your way to a version of success, but replacing all the OEM code or smashing a puzzle box gives you no new information and leaves you with unrepeatable results.

So, to work your way to the solution you're seeking, you have to poke and prod: What’s the IP address of this iot device? What’s this puzzle box made of? You start looking for outputs from your inputs: When I send an empty command, the light blinks. When I push on this piece, that other piece is able to move.

Just like the first step of developing an API for someone else's software is finding out what language they used and then what declarations and keys are important, scientists have worked for decades at decoding the human genome and more recently gene editing.

So why try un-graying someone's hair? Back to the example of the puzzle box, if you can figure out what each piece does individually and how they interact, you might find a way to open other puzzle boxes in fewer steps or with only minor and repairable damage.

But the gray hair thing possibly gets even more interesting. Why does hair turn gray? What makes your body produce fewer pigments? Why does this happen with age? That last question is the most interesting: if aging causes grey hair, can reversing gray hair unlock the key to reversing aging?

You never know what major solutions you might get from tackling minor issues.