The Truth About Blue

I wonder why my hair looked blue, when I'd just coloured it red? Perhaps it was a kind of Doppler effect. You perceive a redshift when a light source moves away from you, and a blue shift when it moves towards you. The question is, was I moving towards my mother when she made her observation? I think I was.

Not that I have anything against the colour blue. In fact I would go so far as to say it's my favourite colour. I did go so far as to say it once, although it isn't strictly true.

Some years ago my friend Li Feng asked me to name my favourite colour. She was learning the English names for colours at the time. I thought it best to give a definitive answer, so I said blue. Then I asked her what her favourite colour was. She said she didn't have a favourite colour; sometimes she liked one colour and sometimes another depending on the circumstances.

I was taken aback. It was what I would have said, had I told the truth. Now every Christmas and every birthday she gives me something blue.