The opacity between implementation and understanding is large here and many fields. It depends where you want to contribute. I can build (i.e assemble) a comput

The opacity between implementation and understanding is large here and many fields. It depends where you want to contribute. I can build (i.e assemble) a computer. I could learn to build a small basic computer out of transistors and logic gates, etc. Theres a difference between a technician, an engineer and an inventor. To be an inventor takes a lot of work and experimentation probably proportional to the novelty of an invention. Not to overdo analogies but you dont need to rebuild your own internal combustion engine in a unique way to drive a car or to contribute improvements to a car. The more you understand how and why tensorflow works the more you can do with it. It depends whether you want to build on top of that platform and use it, or build on the concepts for something else.