I don't like the spherical cow meme because it misses the point. The assumption isn't that the cow is a sphere but rather that all cows have 4 legs, all cows give milk, there are lots of cows, etc. From a cursory glance these may look completely reasonable, until they aren't. Some cows injured their legs and can't walk. There are male "cows" that don't give milk. Sometimes there is only one cow. Meanwhile the spherical cow meme implies that there was never any truth to it in the first place.

The complexity of life throws a wrench into everything.