I'm not sure Haskell's a freight train anywhere. :) It's an all stations passenger train to deeper understanding.

More generally, learning Haskell (and to a great extent any programming language) is about a different way of doing things. Deep Learning is a thing to do. (It can also be a way of doing other things, but my point is that they're at different levels.)

With that said, your time is limited. Studying Haskell, Deep Learning or Statistics (an option that is criminally underrated) is a choice you have to make, and Haskell isn't necessarily the best use of your time.

If you feel like dipping your toe in the water, though a) install stack https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack b) try doing this course (http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~cis194/spring13/lectures.html) and _do the homework_. If you find you're enjoying it, you'll have your answer. If you're not enjoying it, it's probably not worth your time.

And for the record, I have no idea what some of the top-flight Haskellers are talking about either. But maybe one day I will.