There really is no such thing as an "exact science". Check out Heisenberg:
Science, by definition is as precise as humans can make it be, but still it is not absolute.
Almost everyone does not understand that, even though every Physics course should and usually does explain that.
Were it to have been exact, matter would be exact. The universe would not be constantly changing.
Elon is 'wired' for continuous improvement, he deeply understand the universe and physics end out being, as far as we know, probabilistic.
Here is the quintessential example, at least in historical context:
Schrödinger's cat is one of the most famous thought experiments ever devised. He suggested that if quantum mechanical states are described as superpositions of multiple different states, what if this superposition was transferred to a macroscopic object, like a cat? Could it be both alive and dead?
sciencing.com
None of that explains why Elon's practice is to guess the best solution at all times, after using everything one can immediately know. Then, correct the mistakes one has made when fining better information.
That describes the Scientific Method which Elon uses in everything. He calls it First Principles, since that sounds less obscure to non-scientists.:
Brittanica has a decent explanation:
Scientific method, mathematical and experimental technique employed in the sciences. More specifically, it is the technique used in the construction and testing of a scientific hypothesis. The scientific method is applied broadly across the sciences.
www.britannica.com
In short, science is empirical, it is also probabilistic.
I belabor that because so many of us seem to think that science does not work in social context. It does!
Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series shows where science could go in social context...and he was a scientist as well as a prolific writer. Elon read it all and studied.
