FBI and CIA learn to "think outside the box".

There's a brilliant story in the International press this morning.

In New York, FBI and CIA agents have apparently been sent on a course at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to study classic paintings, with the aim of "refreshing their sense of enquiry".

What a fantastic idea.

By taking notes as they view the masterpieces, the hope is that they will improve the things they notice about a crime scene, and also their ability to describe it.

I fully expect a flood of complaints along the "total waste of money - just get them back on the streets" lines.

But I love it. By teaching them to look more closely at art, I can see the benefits in real life. In art, first impressions are often false, and there's usually more to the painting than initially meets the eye.

I'm no crime-fighting expert, but I suspect the same might also be the case in crime scenes.

And I think the course will go even further. By visiting places we don't often go (whether that be a gallery, a zoo, a new shop or even the pages of a new newspaper) we stimulate our brains in new ways. We give the brain new content with which to link. New experiences. New connections.

New ability to think differently. To think creatively.