He studied computer science, lives in Wollishofen, is interested in God and the world – and can explain it clearly.

In an email to editors, author Albin Meyer quickly made the point: “The core message of my book is that we must listen more to science so we can deal with the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and poverty. Otherwise there is a danger of society being divided by conspiracy narratives and extremism.” Indeed, it is the facts – many facts – that Mayer focuses on. His non-fiction book is divided into 50 chapters on the questions of our time, fills about 500 book pages and reads as fast as a novel. Mayer reveals : “The ‘Tags-Anzeiger’ journalist Miklos Gems, who also lives in Wollishofen, has supported me with his writing expertise.”

Mayer himself gained over 20 years of professional experience as an engineer after studying Computer Science at ETH Zurich. “In his spare time, he acquired extensive knowledge in many areas, which he presents in this book in collaboration with experts,” he says on the cover of the book.

The fifty chapters can be read in any order. This makes it a little tricky, because one title sounds more exciting than the following: How did the universe come about? Is there consciousness and free will? What drives us humans in the end? How is money made and to whom does the world belong?

Meyer admits in the introduction: “The question of how the world works can never be answered clearly and objectively.” So, it’s a “great book title”, he realizes it. He could not give complete answers, only thought-provoking ideas. The book aims to stimulate thinking and provide an impetus for action. Do you want two examples? Chapter 40 asks: “Is media quality declining?” People are less willing to pay for independent journalism because they feel they are receiving enough information via social media, according to Meyer, referring to a contribution from the University of Zurich. Fact reporting takes a lot of effort. Writing reviews is cheaper and therefore more popular. “For these reasons, the quality in the media is constantly declining.”

When asked if we would ever meet aliens in space, the author referred to the Fermi Paradox: if there were aliens in space, the probability was high that they would have advanced and discovered us. But we haven’t met any extraterrestrials, so there aren’t any. The emergence of human intelligence is also something unusual, after all, only in Africa was a living being developed with our abilities. In Australia or Madagascar, the development did not work out. Albin Meyer: “We may be the only ones.”

If we are so unique, we should be kind to ourselves and not compromise on this book. But put it under the Christmas tree ourselves.

“How does the world work?” , ISBN: 978-3-7407-1669-1