I find that I generally agree. However, I have the intuition that good data-oriented design requires an exceptionally solid understanding of the problem domain.

I find that I generally agree. However, I have the intuition that good data-oriented design requires an exceptionally solid understanding of the problem domain. You might say that any good design requires that. I'm not going to disagree. But if there's a place for OOP, maybe it is as a preliminary abstraction, something to hold the chaos at bay while we build our understanding of the task at hand. Of course, preliminary abstraction has a nasty habit of becoming permanent.