THE CULTURAL HERO OF THE DAY

\r\nOne cold January morning a man sat in a central Metro Station and began to play the violin. He played for approximately 45 minutes. Given that it was during rush hour thousands of people passed before him most of who were probably going to work.
\r\n
\r\nThree minutes after he began playing a middle aged man noticed there was a musician who was playing the violin. He stared for a while and then rushed on to his way. One minute later the violinist received his first dollar from a lady who passed by in front of him without even stopping. A little later someone leaned against the wall and listened to him for a while but then looked at his watch and left in a hurry.
\r\n
\r\nThe only listener who bothered the most with the violinist was a three year old boy who stopped to listen but his mother pulled him away so they can carry on their way. The little child kept looking back as they drifted away in the passers by. The same thing happened with most children who happened to pass by with their parents who – without any exception- dragged them to continue walking.  
\r\n
\r\nWithin the 45 minutes of music 6 people in total hesitated before the violinist even for a little while. Twenty people threw money in his hat as they continued walking without slowing down their pace. Thirty-two dollars were gathered in total. When the music stopped there was silence, no one noticed. No one applauded nor did anyone show any kind of acknowledgment.  \r\n

\r\n

\r\nWhat no one knew though, was that the particular violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest musicians in the world and that he was playing with a Stradivarius violin which costs 3,5 million dollars manufactured by Antonio Stradivari himself in 1713.
\r\n
\r\nTwo days later, Joshua Bell played in a sold out theater in Boston and the cheapest ticket price available was 100 dollars. Bell makes almost 1000 dollars a minute! This experiment, Joshua Bell playing in a Metro station undercover, was arranged by the Washington Post newspaper, as part of a social study on what we perceive as important, what we like and how we set our priorities.
\r\n
\r\nThe general description of the experiment was “In a casual environment, in an inappropriate time, can we perceive beauty? Do we stop to enjoy? Can we acknowledge talent in an unexpected environment?” \r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n