In Data Science, the word "Data" isn't meant to modify "Science" in the way that food "Food" modifies "Eating" in your friend's example. It's more like Politica

In Data Science, the word "Data" isn't meant to modify "Science" in the way that food "Food" modifies "Eating" in your friend's example. It's more like Political Science, where "Science" is used as a fancy way to say "the study and practice of".