>Note that there isn’t the slightest attempt to explain the planet trajectories (specifically, why the planets keep ending up where they do regardless of how many epicycles you bolt on) from a theoretical perspective. My impression is that they have absolutely no idea why the heavens behave the way they do; all they can do is stare at the night sky, record, and see what happens. That is not reassuring to me at least.
I think people have been selling things that they don't know how they work for a long time. Think herbalists selling medicinal plants, I'm pretty sure Romans didn't know how or why concrete works, but they still used it.
- AstronomerNews user, circa 1650 (probably)