Fresh eyes can see a solution the experts may miss. At school I discovered the cure for cancer aged 13. I was in a science lesson and I was only half-listening because I found the nerdy, white-coated teacher faintly absurd. And yet the branches of science intrigued me. I loved physics (rockets), I quite liked chemistry (explosions) and I had a passing interest in biology (tadpoles); it was a biology lesson that prompted my brainwave.

The boffin was describing the division of cells and he mentioned that tumours evade detection because they grow at the same rate as healthy tissue. Human macrophages are primed to attack bacteria that multiply faster than normal cells. Hey presto. A bulb went ping in my head. If we could hoodwink a tumour into growing more quickly, like an infection, we could trigger the rescue sirens and get our microbial forces to destroy it. Problem solved. Cancer cured. I mentioned this to the teacher but he appears not to have passed it on to his fellow scientists. Alas, cancer endures.

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Since then, I’ve solved other difficulties with my ‘fresh eyes’ approach. I examine the issue while drifting into a state of inattention and then I blurt out the first thing that comes into my head. I’m........

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