Just reading the intriguing book ‘When We Were Kids; How a Child Becomes a Scientist’ by John Brockman which has inspired to think off any clues in my own childhood to such later (albeit amateur) pursuits. I can’t really think of any though since historian David Cannadine once said I had a ‘profound mind’, maybe I should sleep on it before my ego gets the better of me? (My abiding memory of him is sitting there in tutorials while he paced around the room rolling his eyes as he thought deep thoughts). Perhaps my interest in the science of coincidence is a legacy from childhood, though it’s far from unique? Certainly I recall playing with fire engines outside our home in Danbury, Essex, while firefighters were attending to an oven fire inside, and making a note of the coincidence. But one of the features of coincidences is how they stick in our mind, so nothing there either! So I guess this means (1) I’m not a scientist (2) Profound mind? On the available evidence it appears David Cannadine was talking about himself as I can’t see no Wikipedia entry for myself! So I guess the next best thing is my Christ’s College matriculation pic from 1984 (see Photos for the full blown version):