THE palette that colours our perception of the world is universal, according to a survey of 110 different cultures. So when it comes to choosing the reddest red or the bluest blue, everyone tends to go for the same hue.
This is perplexing, says Paul Kay at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California, because it implies that there is something fundamental about these focal colours. But it is not clear why this should be so. For example, there is nothing in the physics of light to preclude some cultures from choosing an oranger red or a more turquoisey…
