Bob F. writes:

Well, why not, that's right! If you are in "instrument conditions" you
must be on instruments. Now on the other hand, if you were in IMC per the
AIM definition, that would be another situation.

Not really. If you're in IMC but you can still see out the window, it means
that the risk is high that you will not be able to see out the window in just
a few minutes or miles. If you continue to rely on visual references even in
IMC just because you can still see something outside, you're putting yourself
in danger. There are good reasons why the regulations mention a distance from
clouds in most contexts, instead of just being outside the clouds.