The Difference Between Machine Learning and Statistics

At a glance, machine learning and statistics seem to be very similar, but many people fail to stress the importance of the difference between these two disciplines. Machine learning and statistics share the same goals--they both focus on data modeling--but their methods are affected by their cultural differences. In order to empower collaboration and knowledge creation, it's very important to understand the fundamental underlying differences that reflect in the cultural profile of these two disciplines. To gain a deeper understanding of these differences, we need to take a step back and look at their historical roots. In 1946, the first computer system, ENIAC, was developed with the vision of reforming numerical computation using a machine (instead of manual numerical computation using pencil and paper).