Perception
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?
Enjoy life NOW .. it has an expiration date !!!!
It's really gr8 experience which throws light on very reasons of why talent shows on TV gets so much response.
At first, talent should be recognised (by somebody). Many times a person him/herself can't reconginze he/she has talent (in any form - be it voice, dance, research .....)
Secondly, once the talent is recognized it needs proper development and acknowledgment (/publicity).
{It's like a nice fragrant flower blossomed in the heart of jungle, the air flown it's frangrance and in the evening it died. Nobody (humans) noticed it. One day a beautiful woman roamed their and she plucked it and put on her long hair. She found dat people admired the beauty of flower on her long hair}
Talent / intellect could have 8 x 8 = 64 forms (if i remember rightly). Talent in the form of art naturally needs proper attention from proper person. (a music very famous in Masai tribe of Africa may not be looked upon in far distance country) In normal life, art could be a part of entertainment and entertainment will be only considered after work. In a busy day of normal person (assuming that the person has normal inclination towards any form of art), to get attention curiosity needs to be aroused. Otherwise, people may tend to ignore.
If Beyonce had farted in the tube station, more people would have noticed. It's not about people being busy and failing to see. It's about how crass commercialization influences the general populace.
Has anyone actually seen buskers at train / bus stations ?
Yes, some of them play great music, but as baldrick said , we are theer to travel , not to marvel.
I have stopped and stood for a minute sometimes. Appreciated the act and moved on. Most of us just take it in our stride..
OK:"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. "Let's look at this logically:1. Not many people could tell a 3.5m violin for a backwater fiddle. 2. In this modern age, not too many people appreciate classical music.3. of those that do, how many play and would recognise the intricacy of the piece.4. Of those that do, how many take the tube.5. Of those, how many would recognise this "Famous" player.6. If he had a guitar and played modern songs that everyone knew he might make a few bob.
Perceptions change with circumstances/ situations...everything has its place...for ex. I would not enjoy smoking a ciggie after food, which I normally do, if I have to in this heat when I walk out of resto, however I will enjoy the same when at home in aircon. Also wouldn stop to admire Angelina, not the way I would otherwise if come accross her (again) in his heat.As for missing out on somethings in this rush of life...may be yes, but then again may be that was no the important thing at that moment but something else.
TFS, Painther Jee.... :P
Thank you for sharing this story painther. It is true indeed that our developed daily routine and programs makes us miss lots of wonderful things in life. But thats the way it is. Appreciation is just subjective, it depends on one's values, mental set, priority or even mood at that certain time on that very location.
Enough Said by PrincessSarah statement - "We are always in a rush that we sometimes forget how to appreciate the beauty of many things...:)"
tinku ji, will U please translate for me? ;)
Impressing indeed, and very true. Thanks.
In one of the busiest places in the world, many opt to ignore art because they are caught up with the challenges of today.
if it's Angelina there, I'd happily leave the train, go to work late or if necessary skip the work for a day :)
Even if we need to catch a train ..if it was Angelina Jolie who was dancing or singing in the street..I am sure many people will stop and watch the show...
It's all about awareness of the moment.
People don't go to a tube station to listen to music. They go to catch a train.
TB - being judged is one but do we have time for that in this maddening RUSH, rn't we dancing to the tunes most of the time...
depends on how you see perception, it states that the night be4 people were paying 110 bucks to see this guy play and he sold out, this was a pre planned perception as everyone knows the morning/work run is filled with a lot of obstacles the drown out the outside world, will i make the train, will there be any delays, will the man with the bo that normally stands next to me or will the seat be strewd with chewing gum , be of sick today etc etc so it is definately a worthy experiment and for what its worth, my experiment was a projected perception as at that time of the day the perceptive cogs of the mind are not receptive and we all know a lot of buskers are located around tube stations it is common, so people listen but they never stop just the way it is
Yes, some of us recognize beauty when we see/hear/feel it. Sadly, most don't.Many pay a lot of money for beauty, only because if it is expensive, it must be good....
good one TFS
do we learn to live a life FULL ?
TFS - very true...We are always in a rush that we sometimes forget how to appreciate the beauty of many things...:)