The trick is to make sure it doesn’t matter if that does happen. Design for failure first.
I think the trick these days is work out what the problem is called so you can google it.
Ability to search and disseminate information from the internet would be high on my list of skills for a new employee.
The ability to recognise a 'difficult' problem early and ask/look for help, without going too far down the rabbit hole is another important skill.
A simple search for 'solving the byzantine generals problem' gives plenty of leads and good information.
And there's the "chicken and egg problem" in a nutshell: you can't search for something if you don't know the name, or won't search for it if you haven't conceived of the problem in the first place.
That's particularly likely to occur in those that haven't been through a halfway decent theoretical course. Seen that all too often
Actually no, working out what to search for is part of the skill of searching. You have to search to determine what to search for. That is probably part of the reason why it is a skill, and some people just don't seem to be able to do it efficiently. For others it is second nature.
True, but...
Having a solid theoretical background gives you an excellent starting point. Too often too much concentration on practical
short-term information loses sight of the "big picture" universal truths.
It is worth remembering that the usefulness of such practical information has a half-life of years, whereas the solid theoretical has a useful half-life measured in careers!
I do agree that there is a skill in recognising that a particular problem is 'special' or 'difficult'. Recognising those particular problems for what they are isn't the exclusive domain of formally trained engineers however
All too true unfortunately - but
in the absence of other information that's the way to bet.
"The race does not always go to the fastest horse, but that's the way to bet".
There is nothing wrong with doing a theoretical course. As long as it doesn't cause a person to become arrogant then it is hard to see the downside.
However there are many things I would rate as more important in my dream employee - personality, willingness to learn along with the intelligence to absorb the learnings, willingness to teach and share etc.
Usually a significant enterprise cannot be done by one person: a team is needed. You will
never get all the necessary attributes for a large enterprise in a single person. Rather you have to construct a team with a range of individuals. Each individual's weaknesses are covered by other individuals' strengths.
As for arrogance, that is scarcely the reserve of people that know the theory. Evidence: the tendency to actively "distrust the experts". (There are some politicians that make such statements that really ought to ask me to operate on them when they become ill).