Perception

PERCEPTION

. . . Something To Think About . . .



THE SITUATION

In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.


About 4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


At 6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell , one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

• *In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
• *If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
• *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Makes one think

Indeed it does... Oddly enough, as I have aged (matured? ) my way of thinking has changed... I would have had to be VERY busy to not stop and spend some time listening. I LOVE good music of all kinds.

I would be more likely to stop and look at a butterfly or even a flower. Not that the music would not be noticed, just different ideas of beauty.

I have learned most people will never recognize fine music.

I love going to Krakow. There are street musicians all over. I could sit and listen for hours. In fact one was a famous violin player, as told by the English speaking woman with him. They were on vacation from somewhere else in Europe. I could tell the violin he was playing was very special. But who knows, she may have been pulling my leg. On the other hand, the music was perfect.

People just walked by. It was not pop music, so it was not interesting to them. I stayed for about half an hour, while my wife shopped. She also does not care for classical music, nor anything played on a violin, not even in a group playing a Bluegrass diddy.