I was reading at four and... I... of course the schools were quite unlike American schools, we... the little school I went to at four years old was actually a serious school, it wasn't just kindergarten, so we were expected to be reading at four. And we went ahead very fast. It was a delightful school. It was about six or seven children all together with a lady called Miss Turner in charge, and she was just superb. That was the kind of teaching that every four year old should have.

[Q] And your proclivity in mathematics showed itself already at that stage?

Yes, I was always fascinated with numbers and I used to sit down calculating powers of two, and just enjoying calculating, from a very early age. That's something that's never left me, just this joy of playing around with numbers.

[Q] And your father and mother recognised this?

Yes. They were very supportive and it was particularly lucky that I didn't inherit their particular tastes. So I... I was never a question of my becoming a musician or becoming a lawyer. It was clear I was something different from them, and so they never tried to push me into their own mould.