>because of an unspoken, undetectable limitation.

It is certainly not. It's a well-known limitation.

And it's not even specific to Dwarf Fortress: with most "simulation" games you really can't have your cake and eat it too.

Some games sidestep it with "make-believe" simulation, where they reduce simulation resolution to arrive at something plausible, but not necessarily correct.

But that's not what people are playing DF for. I like my pinkies damn well simulated.