Serious question, I know that this is "hacker" focussed forum, but in what field is/are * Gradient descent for solving a variety of optimization problems. * Ve

Serious question, I know that this is "hacker" focussed forum, but in what field is/are * Gradient descent for solving a variety of optimization problems. * Vector Space embedding as a conceptual tool for a variety of complex AI problems. considered fundamental knowledge? Personally, I think of fundamental knowledge as something that is covered in a school/college curriculum? What am I missing?