My old boss ran a crew for thirty years using string lines and water levels. They built foundations that are still perfectly square and level today. That laser is a fancy shortcut, not a necessary tool.
Did your old boss also walk uphill both ways to the job site? Sure, you can build a house with a hand saw too, but why would you want to when there's a better tool? I guess we should all go back to using carrier pigeons instead of text messages. It's not that the old way was bad, it's just funny to act like progress is a bad thing.