Merit is relative. For example, it shows a lot of merit that you successfully completed a PhD program in machine learning. However, for some reason, there seems to be this constant need to discount people with academic qualifications when most of what machine learning is comes directly from there.
For example, just because you write cool, useful applications in machine learning, doesn't mean you are breaking ground in the field. It means you are using other peoples knowledge effectively and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that and his highly necessary. But don't confuse it with making contributions to the theory itself.
Great point. If someone without credentials were truly doing ground-breaking stuff in the field, then getting a PhD should practically be a formality--schools should be banging the door down trying to recruit that person just for the status of having him or her (with full tuition waiver plus generous stipend being the bare starting ground).
