Being close to something doesn't make it that thing. The orbits are close to perfect ellipses, but Mercury's orbits isn't a perfect ellipse – it required Einste

Being close to something doesn't make it that thing. The orbits are close to perfect ellipses, but Mercury's orbits isn't a perfect ellipse – it required Einstein's modification to understand the discrepancy. Human vision isn't even remotely in the same ballpark as "close to an ellipse". That idea is a very powerful, very persistent illusion, and as far as I'm concerned it will be productive to break it whenever possible.