> The reason this library was initially written was to optimise the layout of inflatable space habitats which may one day be constructed on the Moon and Mars.

Wow, they even deliver on the “in a vacuum” bit

>> "I have the solution, but it works only in the case of spherical cows in a vacuum".

I get the joke, but that's not really what modeling means. There's no "only" determination here.

So sure, the researchers devised a model, in which the cows were spherical and in a vacuum. That produced a solution, but there's nothing to show that solution would work less in an air environment with regular cows [1].

I bring this up only because elsewhere here is a discussion of computer fundamentals (and their lack in juniors / self taught folk, and AI output). The quote above is logically flawed (likely on purpose to create the joke) but understanding that it is a logical joke may not be obvious to everyone.

[1] to show that they would have to build a model with air and meat to show the solution fails, at which point the original model would be discarded.

The concept of a spherical cow was also part of Chris Morris’ comedy oeuvre. Possibly in the Brasseye episode “Animals”.

Did not over-promise