It goes back to the Greeks. Plato was an idealist, Aristotle was a materialist.

Herodotus, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all claimed that they knew nothing and so I guess I know even less.

Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And they don't smile much.
Nominalists have more fun. They are known as Aristotle or Decimus-et-Ultimus Barziza, or as Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montague, or perhaps by one name in childhood and several others in the course of life.
A firm Realist misses out on one of the most satisfying of all human activities -- the assumption of secret identities. A man who has lived and never been someone else has never lived.
It is true that occasionally there can be embarrassment in secret identities, but only a Realist will take the whole thing seriously enough to hit you. So have your fun, and avoid Realists.

Plato is my friend; Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.

The only thing almost all people don’t understand is something whose monetary benefits they don’t find it coming in their pockets or hand.