Way to feel inadequate: spend the afternoon at EPFL

Here I find myself once again: at EPFL, posing as a phony student in the Rolex learning centre, back in Lausanne to visit Frenchie, surrounded by (mostly) French-speaking scholars. If anyone asks, I’m studying Life Sciences…

I get a strange feeling when I find myself in such a milieu. It is part admiration, part envy, part fondness and part humility. And there is a big dose of