The Watchmaker: my fav argument

[Angrboda]

It's also worth noting that acceptance of a theory is provisional. Circular orbits may have been the most rational theory to embrace given the background knowledge of the time. Circular orbits fit the data in a way that elliptical orbits did not. It isn't about correctness, as all theories are false on some level. It's about what is the most rational theory to embrace. As Hume said, "A Wise man proportions his belief to the evidence." At the time, circular orbits were a better fit for the data and it would have been irrational to embrace elliptical orbits lacking any better data.