Spherical Cow

(lib.rs)

88 points by Natfan9 hours ago

4 comments

  • pinkmuffinere6 hours ago
    &gt; 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.<p>Wow, they even deliver on the “in a vacuum” bit
  • borborigmus8 hours ago
    The concept of a spherical cow was also part of Chris Morris’ comedy oeuvre. Possibly in the Brasseye episode “Animals”.
  • bruce5114 hours ago
    &gt;&gt; &quot;I have the solution, but it works only in the case of spherical cows in a vacuum&quot;.<p>I get the joke, but that&#x27;s not really what modeling means. There&#x27;s no &quot;only&quot; determination here.<p>So sure, the researchers devised a model, in which the cows were spherical and in a vacuum. That produced a solution, but there&#x27;s nothing to show that solution would work less in an air environment with regular cows [1].<p>I bring this up only because elsewhere here is a discussion of computer fundamentals (and their lack in juniors &#x2F; 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.<p>[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.
  • dwattttt6 hours ago
    Did not over-promise
    • jesse__6 hours ago
      I came for spherical cows. I left with spherical cows
      • gchamonlive6 hours ago
        In a world full of deception, the spherical cow is a cup of fresh milk.
        • squigz4 hours ago
          Is the milk spherical too?
          • vardump17 minutes ago
            Yes, if it&#x27;s floating in space in a pressurized spaceship.