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