As always, the question is: a strong foundation in what? And why?

Obviously the AI researchers in MIT need a strong foundation in GPU and parallel computing design and semiconductor technologies in order to innovate. Only those in trade schools `import pytorch` /s

> Excel at what? You need to build a strong foundation in order to innovate and to discover new stuff.

I agree. The problem is that you have a gross misconceptions about what "strong foundation" represents in this day and age.

I knew guys who fail to stop and think about "foundations" and instead use that as a scapegoat to shoehorn their gatekeeping logic and as a form of ladder-pulling. It's the kind of character who think that playing trivia games is a good way of asserting whether a candidate is a competent engineer.