Where did it all begin?

Made of This is a three part series from The Economist’s More Intelligent Life magazine in which people are asked about early memories that shaped the rest of their lives. Part one, part two, part three.

I must have been around seven or eight. My mother, a dancer, was — and is — very bright. And I very clearly remember her saying: “What you see as red is not necessarily what I see as red.” I of course said: “But red is the colour of a cherry and tomatoes.” And she said, “Yes, but you don’t know what I’m experiencing when I look at a cherry or tomatoes.” It immediately fascinated me, that things weren’t obvious. It was really exciting.