While that could be an acceptable simplification on the aforementioned Amiga, it breaks down when multiple balls are in play, if the friction between the top and bottom plate differ (introducing spin) or when the ball doesn't hit the bumper exactly straight on the y axis.

Generally speaking, there are many ways you can simplify the game by sacrificing precison. This is exactly the kind of detail the original article is about. Ones simplified model of the world is always incomplete, and there are always surprising ways in which it will fall short.

So confident and so wrong. The microphysics of pinball are critical to the game, consider the live catch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjALq96jpJQ). It's impossible to see with the naked eye, but the reason it works is because the flipper is so powerful that flipper bounces off the stop. That combined with a milimeter or so of give in the rubber allows a live catch. The timing is difficult, but not THAT difficult. And this is just one specific maneuver that relies on nuances of the physical properties of actual machines, and being able to read those tiny subtleties is what makes the difference between the best players.

Pinball simulation has come a long way, but it still feels very different from the real thing.