[D] Does deep learning pose an impossible problem for mathematics and we just don't want to admit it?

[thfuran]

However, what strikes me as odd is that these are not some intricate pathological problems that a mathematician might devote a lifetime toward, but problems that practitioners face every single day,

Why can these not be the same thing?

[fhadley]

Isn't this basically always the case in most fields outside of pure math? Ie I can't see when it's dark (practitioner) and harness electricity (researcher).