The spiral drivetrain seems like the most innovative, and elegant, technology that could be built with old tech. It requires some very strong rope though, so if you went back in time you'd need to really focus on that.
Hemp ropes are quite strong, they've proven themselves for thousands of years in marine applications. You definitely need more thickness to achieve the same breaking strength as dyneema or steel cable but at slower speeds and higher projectile masses the aerodynamic consequences of a thicker sling rope might not matter so much. As for the "drive rope" for lack of a better term (the one that transfers power from the falling weight to the rotating drum) that one can be basically as thick as you like.
The old school strategy was to hire a student as a summer intern and if it's recognized as a good fit by the end of the summer then ask them to apply after graduating. The second step (for people past that stage) is to trust but verify the work experience they list on their resumes. The difficulty these days is that companies want candidates to be a perfect match for the company's current tech stack.
I expect a lot of that is due to the referral being familiar with an already ensconced employee, as well as the referrer being incentivized to ensure the referral's success.
It's a bit ironic the laws of UX is presented this way with gaudy graphics that are cumbersome to scroll through. They take up a lot of screen real estate and would disrupt what the typical user is used to.
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