I have a simpler reason why, colour literacy. Most people at the age of 4-6 have similiar drawing and colour mixing skills. You just have to look at kindergarten pictures to see that. There is some variation but they are pretty similiar in ability.
Then most people stop drawing and playing with colour. Their colour literacy stays that of a four year old and worse as they will not experiment it probably degrades from there. So what is the quickest way to re-learn colour and colour combinations? Go outside and observe natural colour combinations. Combine these observations with a bit of theory and experimentation and you can be on your way creating your own colour combinations. For example: http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/541666109/
One other thing. Hackers, programmers and probably writers will have to work hard and re-wire their brain to some extent. Working with text, code or words require different parts of the brain compared to visual tasks like combining colour.
Then most people stop drawing and playing with colour. Their colour literacy stays that of a four year old and worse as they will not experiment it probably degrades from there. So what is the quickest way to re-learn colour and colour combinations? Go outside and observe natural colour combinations. Combine these observations with a bit of theory and experimentation and you can be on your way creating your own colour combinations. For example: http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/541666109/
One other thing. Hackers, programmers and probably writers will have to work hard and re-wire their brain to some extent. Working with text, code or words require different parts of the brain compared to visual tasks like combining colour.