[geofft]

Is that true of the Manhattan Project? The fundamental science that the bomb was potentially possible had already been worked out (which was why they launched it in the first place). Most of the work there was physically building the bomb, acquiring and working with the raw materials, performing tests, etc.; most of the complex work was still working from what scientists had already written.

Consider that it took Newton and Leibniz to invent calculus, but, once invented, we expect high school/college students to be able to learn it.

I think for almost all roles in the Manhattan Project (possibly everyone except Oppenheimer himself, and there were plenty of other candidates for even that role) you could hire and train anyone with a baseline level of competency in the work needed. It wasn't the sort of work that required genius, but at the same time, it was novel; nobody came into the project deeply experienced in refining uranium or whatever. So as long as you structured the project in a way that people could get up to speed quickly you were fine.

[nonameiguess]

Given how few countries have managed to launch a successful nuclear program, in spite of the basic theory of how fission and chain reactions work being published a century ago, there must be something beyond basic follow instructions ability required. Though whether that is anything intellectual versus access to raw material and enough time to enrich it and build facilities before the US or Israel notices and blows you up isn't clear.