There is an old joke, variations of which have long circulated. It goes like this: there once was a farmer whose cows had stopped producing milk. The farmer tried everything but could not manage to solve the problem. She tried altering the cows’ diet, she tried putting them in a new pasture, she tried enlisting the help of the local vet—all with no success. Finally, she took one of the cows to a world-renowned university located in her state. The university was home to some of the brightest contemporary minds; surely, they could help fix her malfunctioning livestock? The professors were indeed willing to help, leaping at the chance to tackle a difficult challenge. They agreed to examine the cows and apply their know-how to finding a way to return the herd to milk production. They spent weeks on the problem, making calculations, running various milk-production models, and consulting with researchers at other universities. When they had finished, the farmer returned to hear what they had come up with. Had they solved the problem? “Yes,” said the lead researcher. “We have found a surefire way to increase milk production. First let us assume we have spherical cows in a vacuum.”
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