Yes, it probably is. Have you ever heard of the spherical cow?* Simplifying the surface makes it possible to model the system with equations that can be solved

Yes, it probably is. Have you ever heard of the spherical cow?* Simplifying the surface makes it possible to model the system with equations that can be solved analytically--which gives theorists something to work on. Modeling more complex systems (which often happens, eventually) typically requires lots of computing power and results in a model that doesn't generalize well. * https://www.sphericalcowblog.com/spherical-cows https://www.sphericalcowblog.com/spherical-cows