Something to think about...

PERCEPTION ​

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



4 minutes later:

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

6 minutes:

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


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 all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

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.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
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.

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

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*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?​

 

Great article whiks. And I think we miss a lot of beauty in life.

 

Right.

It reminds me of various buskers I saw on my travels recently. Especially those on the subway in New York etc... Some of these people had amazing talent and people intentionally look away, pretend they can't see them.

A group of three middle aged men got on the train one afternoon and one of them started talking happily to me about something or other. We exchanged a few pleasantries and then the three of them began singing an acapella version of an old song (I can't remember what it was, but it was something I knew and liked).. they were amazing, singing beautiful harmonies, all had lovely voices. I looked around the train and I was the ONLY PERSON looking at them, enjoying their performance and smiling. Every other person had their eyes down, pretending the men weren't there. Why? To avoid being asked for a dollar? I thought it was sad.

 

Do you think it's over the dollar or that people are selfish, only thinking of themselves. Thinking of work, home, the car, the kids etc....They don't open their mind to what's around them??

 

Well... I don't think you can be so distracted by your thoughts to not notice people giving an enjoyable performance metres away from you... Everyone knows they're there, everyone can hear them, but people can't bring themselves to look up and appreciate it? Too embarrassed? By what? :smt102

 

Seems like such a shame.

I think street performers (or subway performers!) are part of what makes a city vibrant and interesting. I always kept dollar bills folded in my pocket everywhere I went in the US for moments like those! The beauty of paper dollars instead of our silly coins

 

It doesn't surprise me that people missed his beautiful art, because people are so much about appearance...you could stick dog shit under their nose on a white plate at a fiver star restaurant and some a lot of fools are going to taste if not eat or wrap it up in a doggie bag to have as a snack later...

 

It’s weird isn’t it. I think people are like sheep, unless a few stop and look no-one will; they may well be appreciating the music, but they aren’t “strong” enough to stop as they would stand out from the crowd then. Also I wonder if there’s an element of treating buskers like beggars and that they should be ignored?

I know. Neighbours of mine have some rocks just outside his garden (to stop traffic parking on the grass I expect, so they are aware of them) and I’ve noticed these rocks are covered in numerous different mosses and lichens. Absolutely beautiful they were, like a miniature forest. I pointed it out to him and he was completely indifferent. His loss. There’s a lot of joy to be had by appreciating what’s around us; my faves are tree bark and mosses.

 

Right, that's exactly what it's like! I like to support people who make an effort, especially if they're genuinely talented. Even if I have no money to give, I still like to give eye contact and a smile to show I appreciate their talent.

I'm a big fan of nature and find it hard to understand when someone couldn't care less.

 

lol.. interesting way of putting it, but it's so true. I think it also ties into what Lilly was saying about group mentality.

 

This kind of thing reminds me of the show "caught on camera", but it is a very sad story in comparison to yours Whiks,,,, in one episode an older man standing at a bus stop gets king hit in the back of the head for no specific reason it seems and he falls down and is out cold. The tape recording sees him lying on the concrete side walk for a good 7 minutes before someone stops to see if he is okay. There was a couple not too far away who just continued with their conversation and it didn't even get a second look to them. Atleast three other people walk past and it took a good 7 minutes before a delivery guy driving by thought to stop and check.

I certainly know that I would check for life and get help,,,, why didn't it even register on these half a dozen peoples minds......

 

That's a really sad story, Curlz I can't understand doing nothing.

 

Agreed. It says a lot about society and how people don't go out of their way to help others. Very sad.

 

The problem Whik isn't that people ignore the beauty they're just so used it. New York is really the artist capital of the US maybe the world. They don't use the phrase "If you can make it here you can make it anywhere" for nothing. What you saw was incredibly common place for major cities. That's why I always say if you need proof of a soul look no further than through the eyes of an artist. I am seriously regretting I didn't get the opportunity to expose you to more of what NY had to offer. Next time buddy.

 

I understand that it's common place, but I've seen it time and time again and it's not just a case of "here we go again" because it takes more effort to avoid looking at something going on around you than it does to naturally just look up and take in your environment. People make a conscious effort to avoid looking and actively ignore what's going on. It makes them uncomfortable.

 

:smt045Yes well said.:smt045