> our common expectation

I think you're going too far with this. Most people understand scientific theories to be an approximation. F=ma is approximately true, in the sense that it's only accurate within the newtonian regime and each of those terms includes so many asterisks that you will only ever measure it approximately.

The latter is the jokes about the physicists "assuming a perfectly spherical cow."

In fact that's kinda the whole point of the "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" essay. It is unreasonable that mathematical approximations are so good at describing our world.

> The latter is the jokes about the physicists "assuming a perfectly spherical cow."

Not to detract from your point at all, but I only ever heard this joke about mathematicians!