@francoisfleuret: IMO a researcher studies a problem that may not be solvable, while an engineer solves a problem that is considered solv…
Summary
A tweet contrasts the roles of researchers (studying potentially unsolvable problems) and engineers (solving solvable problems).
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@ylecun: Major difference in my mind: - an engineer, given a problem, invents and tries multiple solutions and stops when the so…
Yann LeCun contrasts the engineering mindset (focused on product innovation and shipping good-enough solutions) with the scientific mindset (focused on asking new questions, proposing solutions, and rigorous methodology), noting both are activities rather than identities and that product innovation builds on earlier scientific advances.
@MaximeRivest: Coding agents can only accelerate our work when we are willing to accept that we may not fully understand the overly co…
The article discusses how AI coding agents require engineers to accept that they may not fully understand the complex systems created, drawing parallels to other fields like natural resource management.
@itsreallyvivek: https://x.com/itsreallyvivek/status/2062924410588406118
A reflective thread arguing that success in frontier AI labs requires the ability to operate without a map, where research is about navigating uncertainty and engineering is about compressing complex systems into useful abstractions.
Advice on becoming a research engineer [D]
A software engineer with 40+ years and staff-level experience seeks advice on transitioning to a research engineer role, discussing the realistic prospects, required experience, and strategy options given their strong technical background but limited recent applied ML work.
@Thom_Wolf: watching a team of agents tackling a hard theoretical physics problem is quite mesmerizing - self-correcting, deriving …
A tweet observes AI agents collaboratively solving a difficult theoretical physics problem, demonstrating self-correction and equation derivation.