Number of nails as analogy for CPU operations? That's not hiring a programmer, that's hiring a computer.
What I mean is that -- thanks to all the programmers of yesteryear -- most programmers operate at a much higher level of abstraction when building anything that big.
> How many nails does it take to build a house? a) hundreds b) thousands c) millions d) billions
> How many rooms are in a house? a) tens b) hundreds c) thousands
> How thick is a house wall? a) inches b) feet c) miles