Hi ,

​

Nobody ever talks about being "Team Hammer" or "Team Screwdriver".

Why would you? It doesn't make sense.

Hammers and screwdrivers have completely different use cases.

And even though you could, if you were desperate, "hammer" in a nail using the handle of a screwdriver or "unscrew" a screw using the claw end of a hammer, it's rarely going to be the best solution to the problem at hand.

A better solution would be to keep both a hammer and a screwdriver in your toolbox and use each for its intended purpose.

Here's the thing...

The same applies to programming languages.

The two main data science languages are R and Python, and many data scientists make the mistake of exclusively favouring one over the other.

But identifying as "Team R" or "Team Python" and trying to use only that language for all your work makes as much sense as identifying as "Team Hammer" or "Team Screwdriver".

R and Python have different strengths and weaknesses, and as a result, have different use cases.

Learning those use cases are and choosing the right programming language for the problem at hand is one of the secrets to becoming a more effective data scientist.

Talk again soon,

Dr Genevieve Hayes.

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