On January 12, 2007, Joshua Bell, one of the world's top violinists, strolled into the L' Enfant plaza metro station in Washington, DC, pulled out his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin and began playing. Joshua had, evenings before, played before a sold out crowd in Boston where people gladly paid $100 per ticket to hear him perform. But, on this morning, during rush hour, Bell was playing in this metro station for free.
During his 45 minute concert, nearly 1100 people passed by, and 27 paused to put money into his violin case ($32 and change was collected in all). Only seven actually stopped to listen, despite his world class performance of six extremely well performed classical violin solos.
This event was an experiment sponsored by the Washington Post. The Post was confirming what psychologists (particularly those interested in ecological or environmental influences on behavior) already knew. People's perceptions are greatly influenced by situational or contextual variables. We are apt to expect to hear a great concert in a concert hall, but not in a subway station.
You can see (and hear) a filmclip of Joshua playing his free performance here.
What lessons should we take away from this event, now over two years passed? Well, for one thing, there is the lesson that if we are attentive and in the moment, we are more likely to recognize what is taking place in our lives and to thus benefit from the beauty when it is there. Beyond this, it seems likely that another lesson is that good wine can be sipped and enjoyed from a paper cup, just as poor wine can be found masquerading in elegant crystal wineglasses.
Deception preys on assumption, but truth exists independent of its surroundings. Life is all around us to enjoy. Next time you pass by a performing musician working to supply the air with beauty, take a moment to enjoy them, feed their empty case, and thank them for making the world a more beautiful experience. Everyone will feel better as a result.
