Replace $field_a and $field_b with (guitar, sitar), (piano, violin), (digital design, rf), (software, hardware), (python script, kernel programming), .....
yet in every of $field_a there are masters whose work is at least as exciting and worth praise (if not even more) than most those that master $field_b. Although it's true that $field_b requires more skill in average to enter.
The point that the OP in the linked article makes is that is a few guys with a few years of modest experience in programming can go create a company worth 8 to 9 figures on the market with few resources other than time and luck and connections.
He then states that this isn't possible in the semiconductor world due to the amount of experience required in that field. I've worked in the semiconductor industry and I agree 100%. I've also worked in RF and it's the same. There's no successful equivalent in those realms that compares to something like Twitter or most of acquisition bait out there. The amount and complexity of the knowledge is insane. (Not to mention the manpower...)
And from a guy who's worked the whole stack from component level to user applications; Python scripting is a couple of orders of magnitude easier than debugging firmware or dealing with DSP code/math or testing semiconductors/antennas. Doesn't require a doctorate to build websites or develop CRUD applications.