Reflecting on the stories in the previous chapter, “Rise and Fall,” we find that Herman Hollerith was a contemporary of the Wright brothers, and his groundbreaking invention was no less revolutionary. A true patent expert, Hollerith quietly refined his machine after obtaining his first patent. Aside from a brief episode of litigation after his initial patents expired, he exited the scene early, never becoming entangled in long patent wars. Ultimately, it was through the hands of the Watsons—father and son—that the great computer industry was born, propelling the technological leap of the late twentieth century and beyond.