Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

the women were proficient in basic
computing tasks, but knowing who was a
perfectionist with the computing
machines and who could churn out
perfect graphs on short order was key to
processing the data most efficiently. A
small elite, like Dorothy Hoover, were
endowed with an aptitude for complex
math so strong that it exceeded the ability
of many of the engineers at the lab.
Dorothy Vaughan might have eventually
lobbied to follow Margery Hannah and
Dorothy Hoover into a job working
directly for an engineering section. As a
supervisor she came into contact with
engineers from a variety of groups, some
of whom came to the office insisting that
she personally handle their jobs. In 1949,
however, an unusual and tragic turn of