> If you have never approached things this way, there are almost certainly very large holes in your understanding. When anyone tells me that X is the ONLY way

> If you have never approached things this way, there are almost certainly very large holes in your understanding. When anyone tells me that X is the ONLY way to do it, almost exclusively I have found them wrong - beyond data science. Formalism is a means of communication, not the end. You can always communicate ideas without formalism. FYI, I am a Ph.D Computer Science and a practicing Data Scientist for many years now.