yes - I also feel this does not have strong new findings about ML except some common sense that all ML practitioners should have: that is, do not interpret ML r

yes - I also feel this does not have strong new findings about ML except some common sense that all ML practitioners should have: that is, do not interpret ML results as cause-and-effect explanations when the data you have captured and modelled does not warrant it. Maybe in the real world, this common sense gets lost in the deluge of correlations when people are immersed in a sea of data -- but good experiment design and peer review should ideally sift out any unsound conclusions and interpretations -- which, to be fair, this replication study does an excellent job of! Well done, and good luck to the OP!