Spherical cow facts for kids
A spherical cow is a metaphor that is used when a complex scientific model is made more simple than it really should be.
The words "spherical cow" came from a joke where a dairy farmer talks to a theoretical physicist about how to get more prices for his milk. The physicist later talks about an answer to the problem at a seminar. The physicist says "First, we assume a spherical cow..." Sometimes, a "spherical horse" is used instead of a cow. For example, there is a joke about a physicist who says that he can find out who will win a race if it had a "spherical horse moving through a vacuum".
Images for kids
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A GIF of a spherical cow
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A drawing of a spherical cow on skis, with the text Approksimoidaan pyöreä lehmä (Finnish for "We approximate a spherical cow").
See also
In Spanish: Vaca esférica para niños
