Studying art can have a dramatic effect on our brain activity, too. What we know changes how we look at things and this is easy to prove in the art world. Scientists have tracked the movements of an art historian’s eyes: the results show how they scan, fixate and linger on particular points of the canvas reveals their skill and is entirely different to someone with an untrained eye.

We know that every area of expertise changes our view of the world, so why concentrate on art historians? Simply because they are the easiest to study, as they’re often focusing on one static image at a time – unlike film critics, racing drivers or neurosurgeons. This may reassure parents worried about the gravitas of the subject. Now they know that if their children immerse themselves in art history, they will develop such a specialist skill it will produce a  change in their brains.

As a knitter, I probably look at a jumper differently from a non knitter. It proves nothing.