[mi_lk]

I guess this message is delivered by an AI scientist, sure.

It's almost self-exploratory that when you hit a roadblock in practice you go back to foundations, and good people should aim to do both. In that case I don't see where ML engineer/scientist bifurcation comes from except for some to feel good about themselves

[martingoodson]

Not at all. It's something I've seen in practice over many years. Neither skill set is 'better' than the other, just different.

There is a need for people who are able to build using available tools, but who don't have an interest in the theory or foundations of the field. It's a valuable mindset and nothing in my original comment suggested otherwise.

It's also pretty clear that many comments on this post divide into the two mindsets I've described.

[johnthescott]

as a friend from at&t dallas told me, tis cheaper to turn a mathematician into a programmer than a programmer into a mathematician.