SILICON VALLEY, PARIS, LAUSANNE… BERN

An enriching encounter, a gripping book, and some Swiss chocolate !

Or, when LinkedIn connections turn into an enriching conversation over a coffee!

Last August, a LinkedIn post drew my full attention. It was a detailed and enthusiastic review by Stéphane Dalbera, writing from near Paris, about a recently published book "The Compass".

What if a mysterious compass could unlock the secrets of history's greatest innovators? Four students and their professor. Three extraordinary innovators: Albert Einstein, Robert Noyce, Steve Jobs, and their transformational impact on the world we live in. A journey in time and space.

From Lausanne, I immediately ordered the book and wrote a message via LinkedIn to its author: Sunil Mehta, a chemical engineer established in Silicon Valley with more than four decades of experience in the semiconductor industry.

Sunil let me know about his plan to travel all the way from Silicon Valley to Switzerland in October, in the footsteps of Albert Einstein, who spent many of his formative years in Aarau, Zurich, and Bern, and carried out much of his groundbreaking work while living in Switzerland.

The book is a journey in itself. Reading it is captivating, but sitting down with its author and learning about his motivation to have readers, especially young ones, get inspired by these three visionary figures, and hearing about the in-depth research behind the story, brought it to life in a remarkable way. Truly worth the leap from behind our screens into the real world.

And the cherry on the cake!
We had the very Swiss opportunity to see
Mr Guy Parmelin crossing the street in front of the Bundeshaus, freely and almost anonymously, despite his role as President of the Swiss Confederation.

I warmly encourage you to read "The Compass".

Once you start it, you will not be able to put it down !

I also warmly encourage you to travel to the lovely city of Bern and spend a couple of hours in the Einstein Museum.

A big thank you to Stéphane for the original post that started it all.

Sunil, I wish your book great success! And enjoy the rest of your stay in Switzerland.

Inspiring reading to you all !

Anne-Sylvie