Epitome

Newton was the first to point out that light is colourless, and that consequently colour has to occur inside our brains. He wrote, “The waves themselves are not coloured.” Since his time, we have learned that light waves are characterized by different frequencies of oscillation, and when they impinge on the retina of an observer, they set off a chain of neurochemical events, the end product of which is an internal mental image that we call colour. The essential point here is: What we perceive as colour is not made up of colour. Although an apple may appear red, its atoms are not themselves red. And similarly, as the philosopher Daniel Dennett points out, heat is not made up of tiny hot things.
A bowl of pudding has only taste when I put it in my mouth—when it is in contact with my tongue. It doesn’t have taste or flavour sitting in my fridge, only the potential. Similarly, the walls in my kitchen are not “white” when I leave the room. They still have paint on them of course, but COLOUR only occurs when they interact with my eyes.

Excerpt from This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin comparing humans perception of colour and taste with the pitch of music.