Let’s put this in perspective. Highly trained engineer, in 2018, decodes ancient diagrams, to fix a vintage IBM machine of historical economic, but little tech

Let’s put this in perspective. Highly trained engineer, in 2018, decodes ancient diagrams, to fix a vintage IBM machine of historical economic, but little technical significance. But. The year is 1966. A 1401 at a Midwest insurance center’s card reader is acting up. It has been heavily used and is approaching obsolescence. IBM sends an a 20-year lifer, WW2 vet tech, making $7.50 an hour. He has seen this 3 times before. He opens that panel, switches the component, and it’s working. For good measure, he changes a number of other likely pitfall components, and cleans and lubricates the whole reader mechanism. All in 90 minutes, and he is gone.