Breiman's two cultures: You don't have to choose sides

Understand

Breiman's classic paper casts data analysis as a choice between two cultures: data modelers and algorithmic modelers.

• Stated broadly, data modelers use simple, interpretable models with well-understood theoretical properties to analyze data.
• Algorithmic modelers prioritize predictive accuracy and use more flexible function approximations to analyze data.
• This dichotomy overlooks a third set of models $-$ mechanistic models derived from scientific theories (e.g., ODE/SDE simulators).