And related to this, but perhaps not easy to find: An audio recording of the entire performance: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/04/09/VI2007040900536.html
(Listening to this while reading the article enhances the experience quite a bit.) Discussion of the article, including some additional background: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/06/DI2007040601228.html Cheers, Justin On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 6:46 PM, Justin T. Sampson <jus...@krasama.com>wrote: > As such stories can often be exaggerated as they are forwarded through > email, I dug up the original Washington Post article. In this case there > seems to be no exaggeration; and the original has an even more gradual, > suspenseful build-up -- indeed, it won a Pulitzer Prize: > > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html > > Cheers, > Justin > > > On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 8:05 AM, Denise Tennen > <deniseten...@comcast.net>wrote: > >> This seems somehow relevant to the discussion about youth leaders. >> >> Notice how many times it says the children noticed the violinist and >> wanted to linger... >> >> Denise >> >> >> >> >> ITP (integral transformative practise as described by philosopher Ken >> Wilbur) works to understand useful patterns and find ways to incite others' >> interest but there are hurdles involved in expanding understanding and >> awareness (pick your definition). >> >> Attached is a fascinating piece about lack of perception -- or the >> UN-willingness of anyone to perceive anything that doesn't immediately >> interest them. This is a key problem for ITP'ers for it demonstrates a blank >> area in everyone's responsiveness -- an intentional blank region we won't >> fill in *unless we are ready to change*. >> >> Even then, if haste intervenes or our interest is focused elsewhere, we >> have little ability to attend to anything new -- anything truly different >> from what we think or assume. >> >> We are happy to reorganize 'facts' into more convenient patterns or add >> new factoids to our beliefs. >> >> We are happy to believe in magic of various practical sorts -- but we >> block anything exceptionally different from our trains of thought for, even >> when we seek new scenery, our 'trains of thought' are truly on 'rails'. >> >> Imagine the new scenery that the microscope and telescope have brought us >> -- but all they reveal is physical. With much of what we see, we still have >> no idea why some of it *happens. *The implications these devices bring >> offer new areas for speculation but, *first*, we must engage an emotional >> self if we are to give a damn about something outside our frame of reference >> -- *not just to expand that frame but to reconstruct it*. No one >> understands Relativity or Quantum Mechanics by 'expanding' *anything. >> They are different* from everything that went before -- so different in >> fact that even those who understand are still mystified. >> >> Changing perception requires *adjusting intent* -- even for a moment*.* >> >> There is nothing in a view-finder that can do that for us. >> >> There is nothing we know that can tell us when, how or why to engage >> anything beyond our awareness. >> >> Beyond our awareness are things we cannot recognize -- for they are not in >> our history. >> >> We can still have access and many of them are both simple and beautiful. >> >> >> *Here's the piece:* >> >> *. . . Something To Think About . . .* >> >> * * >> *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 theatre 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?* >> * >> * >> >> >> >> * * ========================================================== >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To >> subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about >> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist > > > * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
