Deep Dive: Gaillard Cut, Man Ray’s Photographic Rebellions, and the Brain at 120 m/s - August 27, 2025

In this Deep Dive episode, our hosts discuss the U.S. excavation of the Gaillard Cut in 1900, Man Ray’s photographic innovations, and the human brain’s information speed.

• 📜 On this day in 1900: U.S. engineers began excavating the Gaillard Cut — the crucial slice through the continental divide that defined the Panama Canal’s engineering risk and required massive earthmoving, slope stabilization, integrated rail-and-shovel logistics, and a political commitment to complete what the French had failed to finish.
• 🎂 Birthday spotlight on Man Ray (1890): a look at his Dada and Surrealist experiments — rayographs, solarization, and how his method-driven approach reengineered photography from documentation into conceptual art, influencing galleries and fashion alike.
• 💡 Fact of the day: the human brain can process information at about 120 meters per second — a visceral framing of neural throughput that designers and engineers can use as a reference for timing, responsiveness, and safety margins in systems.

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