The term "spherical cow" is a humorous concept used in scientific and engineering contexts, particularly in theoretical physics and applied mathematics. It refers to a simplified or idealized model that disregards many complexities and details in order to make a problem more manageable and easier to solve.
The origin of the term can be traced back to a joke often attributed to physicist John Archibald Wheeler, although it has been used by various scientists and engineers over the years. The joke goes something like this: "Milk production at a dairy farm was low, so a farmer wrote to the local university, asking for help from the experts. A multidisciplinary team of professors was assembled, headed by a theoretical physicist, and they came up with a solution. The answer was, 'Consider a spherical cow.'"
The joke highlights the idea that in some situations, it may be more practical to simplify a problem to the point of absurdity, creating an idealized scenario that allows for easier analysis or computation. By assuming a cow is a perfect sphere, many complexities related to its shape, structure, and behavior can be ignored, making calculations or theoretical models much simpler.
The term "spherical cow" has become a metaphor representing the trade-off between accuracy and simplicity in scientific and engineering models. While it may seem ridiculous to assume something as complex as a cow can be reduced to a perfect sphere, the concept emphasizes the value of simplification in tackling difficult problems or exploring theoretical concepts.