I'm the Dallas R Users Group organizer and I could not agree more. I've had similar experience. Here is my opinion of the Python vs R "debate" in a nutshell.

I'm the Dallas R Users Group organizer and I could not agree more. I've had similar experience. Here is my opinion of the Python vs R "debate" in a nutshell. Programmers prefer Python because data science is just another hack for them to accomplish as they make their applications. Statisticians/Data Scientists pefer R because it is a standalone mathematical suite. I believe what drives a person to use R or Python is what kind of tool they want to use in their toolbox to accomplish their respective task at hand.