➀ The conventional wisdom was that the oxide layer on a wafer needed to be removed after masking to prevent contamination. ➁ A Swiss genius proposed that the oxide layer might serve as protection for the circuitry, enhancing reliability. ➂ His idea led to the mass production of ICs. ➃ The moral is that counter-intuition should not be dismissed.

➀ The article presents a fable titled 'Crucible', which features sculptures standing on the site of a once-celebrated lab; ➁ The lab was nicknamed 'Paranoid Place' by some; ➂ The moral of the fable is that genius has its downsides.