It is the mixing of terminology that gets people confused.
RULES and CONDITIONS.
Think of it the way it used to be referred to way back.
Flying in visual meteorological conditions ... You can see where you are going ALL the time, clear of cloud.
And
Instrument meteorological conditions where you can slip into a cloud and see nothing but fog.
Have a go at driving at 40 kph in fog in your car. Wont take long before you hit something and all you are doing is steering in the horizontal plane NOT three...pitch, roll and yaw.
Just trying to keep control of those three axis for the first flying lesson was usually a schemozzle. Most of us could handle two but for me I wondered how the hell I was looking at the bay when I'd started off flying towards the Dandenongs.
Concentrating so hard on keeping the nose on the horizon and wings level was as much as I could do as I very slowly skidded to the right. It was a Tiger Moth which aren't as easy to fly as modern balanced aeroplanes.
Sadly too many people believe that they can get themselves out of cloud when inadvertently going in, but your bum tells lies and you will firmly believe you are in total control because you are pulling positive G force. When the engine is screaming, you are getting buffeted by the unexpected turbulence in cloud you get confused instantly.
Nasty experience to come screaming out the bottom of a cloud at max revs, airspeed needle close to the red, in an attitude you haven't seen since you did unusual attitude training, throws common sense out the window and too many people YANK the controls and break up a perfectly good aeroplane and die.
Since soon after Wilbur and Orville, perhaps tens of thousands of pilots have killed themselves believing they could handle flying in a bit of cloud.
There are enough episodes of air crash investigator on TV showing trained airline pilots from say the north west of us, losing it and not believing their instruments because their bum tells a different story. Not enough practice.
Sadly too many people get a false impression of their flying ability playing flight simulator. Try it with moderate turbulence. Suddenly instruments are jumping.
The problem is, flt sim doesn't have motion which will soon have you confused and ignoring that screaming engine while you concentrate on two axis of flight and think you are going great.