Do you see the same colours that I do?

Our perception of colours could be different from another

- KENNETH CHANG

LIVING THROUGH EXTREME After decades of brain research, scientists still aren't sure whether most people see the same way, more or less — especially with colours.

Is what I call red also red for you? Or could my red be your blue? Or maybe neon pink? If it were possible to project what I see directly into your mind, would the view be the same, or would it instead resemble a crazy-hued Andy Warhol painting?

"That's an age-old question, isn't it?" said Andreas Bartels, a professor of visual neuroscience at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

But scientists do have a good understanding of which parts of the brain handle vision. They have even figured out where various vision-processing tasks are performed, like recognising what is moving, identifying colours and adjusting to different lighting conditions. Amazingly, it is even possible to deduce what you're seeing by looking at an MRI scan showing which parts of your brain are lighting up.

"That comes out of the world of science fiction, or one would think, right?" Bartels said. "It's amazing that this is possible, but this always has happened in individual brains."