I think the classes opt for starting with a simple mental model students can adopt, which is gradually replaced with a more robust and nuanced mental model. In

I think the classes opt for starting with a simple mental model students can adopt, which is gradually replaced with a more robust and nuanced mental model. In this case he wasn't talking just about frequentist methods tho, it's also talking about doing statistics without first doing science (and formulating a causal model). I would be wary of jumping to conclusions from that introduction alone if you haven't seen the rest of the course or the book.