On January 12, 2007, at Whasinton's L'Enfant Plaza station, an interesting social experiment was set up by the Washington Post; the experiment consisted of placing a man wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap to play the violin to see the reaction of passersby. That day, at the height of rush hour, the violinist arrived at the station, took out his violin and left the case open on the floor hoping to receive a few dollars. The musician began his performance by playing a piece by Bach in full view of the people coming and going in the station, but only a few slowed down when they heard the passionate melody.
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After a few minutes, he received his first donation, a woman threw a dollar bill into the violin case, but he continued on his way without even turning to look at the violinist. Some children noticed the resounding music in the place, pulled the hand of their parents to go to witness more closely that improvised concert, but with even more force the parents pulled the hand of the children, in a hurry not to miss the train. This scenario remained like this for almost an hour, despite the passionate interpretation of great works of classical music such as Schubert's Ave Maria, the violinist seemed invisible to the hurried passers-by.
During the performance, more than 1,000 people passed in front of the violinist, some left money, but only seven stopped for a few seconds to listen to him. If you didn't already know about this experiment, you may be surprised to learn that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most acclaimed musicians in the world, and that just three days before he had filled the capacity of the Symphony Hall in Boston, with tickets averaging $100. And among other interesting facts, the violin he used in his performance at the subway station was a Stradivarius made in 1713, which cost around 3.5 million dollars, and the first piece he played was "Chaconne" considered one of the best written pieces of music in history.
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The objective of the journalist who conducted the experiment was to find out if one of the most talented musicians in the world could cut through the noise of Washington DC during rush hour, and his conclusion was that things acquire value depending on the context.
It seems that the constant rush with which we move daily, leads us through the streets without appreciating sounds, aromas or scenes of beauty, as if the routine put us in automatic mode, and we were only able to see and do what we were programmed to do. Overlooking the beauty of some scenes, aromas and sounds that are around us, we walk without seeing. And beauty is everywhere, but we must have our senses predisposed to perceive it, otherwise we simply ignore it.
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But the conclusion of the journalist is also very interesting to analyze, beauty depends on the context, so it is not enough to be good, people must know that you are. In the case of this experiment, no one would doubt the skills of this virtuoso musician, but in order to be taken into account it is very important to address the right audience in the right place.
It makes me think, how many people go around angry because they are stuck in a relationship or a job where they are not valued. When we are in the right place, whether it's love, work, friendship or even family, we are valued in the right way, our skills and talents are noticed, but in the wrong place, you won't be noticed for what you are worth, you will even be made to feel like you are worth less.