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+---
+tags:
+  - status/fleeting
+---
+# Realism vs. Instrumentalism
+
+Realism holds that the purpose of ~~science~~
+is to describe the world as accurately as possible.
+Instrumentalism (anti-realism) holds that the purpose
+is to make accurate predictions.
+
+> [!quote] George E. P. Box, British statistician
+> All models are wrong, but some are useful.
+
+> [!quote] _Did Copernicus steal ideas from Islamic astronomers?_, Opinionated History of Mathematics (pp.)
+> Ptolemy's lunar model is "flawed"
+> in that it inaccurately describes Luna's distance from Earth,
+> however Ptolemy only ever uses the model to predict eclipses,
+> which the model does very well.
+> The discrepancy is only a flaw from a realist perspective.