Maybe the author of the article missed the simple fact that game designers want to come up with their own rules and mathematical models, because they enjoy the process more than reading 500 pages of explanations from a genius.
Especially in a game context, you usually have to pick a few details from the real world to simulate to make a compelling game. Too many variables and it gets hard for the player to track what's the cause and effect of what is happening.
We all like to start from scratch, don't we?