That said, in a universe that seems to hold tons of non-linear phenomena, I wonder why our minds are so into thinking in straight lines. — Agent Smith

Linearity cursed physics since math was introduced. Linear equations offer the easy solution. Non-linearity is the norm indeed. But turn the world into a linear structure and your problems are solved! Which is the reason computers, with their linear structures, feel so at home in linear structures. Linear, step by step, hyperfast approaches to non-linear problems seldom offer good solutions.