Maybe I talk nonsense, but the term "machine learning" could be detrimental to learning it, because it feels so machinesque ... It's a cool term, but also very vague and mystical, and from the antropomorphism it kinda implies the engineer is a teacher, or a translator. You're not even started, and you're already confused.

Surely it is better to talk of learning deep neural nets, and such things. Or maybe "machine training" would be less intimidating. But I guess we're stuck with it, and it's not so bad.