A few years ago, I found myself sitting in a photonics lab, very aware that I was the least qualified person in the room. I had been brought in by a company I was doing some AI work with — flew me out to Dallas, met the team, did some training, got a feel for what they were building. Smart people. Real engineers. The kind of environment where you realize pretty quickly where your lane ends. On a follow-up trip, there was an issue they were working through. I didn't fully unde