Once a
giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but
none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old
man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag
of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He
inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship's owners
were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking
things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He
gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully
put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week
later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did
anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send
us an itemized bill." The man sent a bill that read,
Tapping
with a hammer...................................$2
Knowing where to tap................................$9,998
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