Bob F. writes:

There is some room here between VMC and complete loss of outside references
resulting in complete reference to instruments needed.

No, there isn't. That margin is for safety. If you're in IMC, chances are
that you won't be able to use visual references for very long, and things can
change extraordinarily fast. This has caught countless pilots, many of whom
were sure that flying in IMC visually was okay as long as they could see
something out the window.

VMC means that if you roll the dice, you're likely to win. IMC means that if
you roll the dice, you're likely to use. How much of a gambler are you?